Malatsi aims to stabilise troubled SOEs
Newly appointed communications and digital technologies minister Solly Malatsi says stabilising SOEs in his portfolio and introducing legislation that opens up competition in the sector are among his top priorities.
In an interview this week, Malatsi said he was already preparing to fill vacancies in a range of entities’ boards whose term is due to expire.
“There are a series of boards whose terms are coming to an end, so it is important for us to open and expedite filling those for stability in-house.
“The initial discovery is that there has been a lot of steady work that has been established, but there is still a lot of room for improvement — the governing and stability of SOEs and the department’s role in regulation and creation of legislation that enables market competition in the ICT sector and fosters the unlocking of economic opportunities in the digital economy.”
Malatsi criticised the litigious nature of the ICT sector, which he hopes to change.
“Communications is a sector that is huge, has competing interests that often are litigious. I believe that some of the differences, deadlocks and impasses that exist in the sector can be resolved with a very proactive approach to stakeholder engagement.”
As the much-anticipated date for the analogue switch-off approaches this December
— more than a decade after the initially planned November 2011 termination date — Malatsi said this was also one of his big projects.
“One of the priorities is going to be a decision regarding analogue switch-off, it is going to require us to look at it very carefully and action it in a very delicate manner.”
The minister expressed concerns over embattled entities in his care, from the cashstrapped Post Office to the stability of leadership in the SABC.
“We are going to look at the business rescue that is currently under way at the Post Office and explore ways of structuring [its] future ownership by making provision for government to still have a stake while opening it up to public-private partnerships for it to be financially sustainable in a market that is already competitive.
“The SABC has had a difficult past and it comes from controversies. What is refreshing is the sense of the current leadership, at group CEO level with Nomsa Chabeli and the new board chair — the focus has now been on the things that matter: positioning the SABC as competitive in the broadcasting space, improving its content offering and governing it well with the stability it needs.”
Malatsi said it was important for a public broadcaster to be financially sustainable and competitive.
He expressed a determination to protect its editorial independence and promised zero interference.
Malatsi said that during his first 100 days in office he would also be paying attention to the issue of sports broadcasting rights.
“We need to have certainty around the structure of sports broadcasting rights and how those are managed and resolved. The industry and the public also need this level of certainty.”