Explanation on set-top imports needed
THE DA HAS called on Communications Minister Faith Muthambi to come clean on allegations that 70 000 set-top boxes had been shipped to South Africa from China.
The party yesterday claimed it had “uncovered” information that Chinese telecommunications giant, Shenzhen Skyworth Digital, has successfully imported the STBs into the country through BUA Africa, a company that was not even listed as one of the manufacturers who won the R4.3 billion Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (Usaasa) bid to manufacture the boxes in April.
DA spokesperson on telecommunications and postal services, Marian Shinn, called for transparency on the progress of the STB orders, manufacturing, beneficiary distribution and installation process. Shinn said they had tried to get clarity on the alleged Chinese imports from government to no avail.
“While BUA Africa did attend mandatory briefing for companies interested in tendering, the company’s name is absent from the panel of winning company names that was briefly posted on Usaasa’s website in April,” said Shinn.
“The STB manufacturing programme developed to encourage new black-owned companies to get a foothold in South Africa’s electronic manufacturing industry and to create jobs, has been enveloped in rumours of corruption by politically-connected individuals and enterprises almost since inception.
“It is widely accepted that many of the groupings formed to take advantage of the programme have scant manufacturing experience or the facilities to be viable STB producers in the long term.”
The DA claims come in the wake of concerns that cheap Chinese imports would flood the local market and undermine jobs in the industry.
Local suppliers claim that the involvement of Chinese STBs could force them into a fierce competition that could lead to the closure of their businesses and cut jobs as they would not be able to compete with cheap imports on pricing.
They point to government’s requirement that 30 percent of
The existence of the Chinese imports had been known in the industry for a while.
components used to manufacture the STBs as inadequate charging that the condition could be easily skirted by aggressive manufacturers who would assemble imported components within South Africa.
Two manufacturers, who were among the bidders that won the tender for the supply of 5 million STBs to poor households, claimed that the existence of the Chinese imports had been known in the industry for a while and now attempts to get clarity on their status had fallen on deaf ears.
The two, who spoke to Business Report on condition of anonymity, said their hands were tied as the law only made the requirement without imposing tariffs and taking steps to protect the industry.
“We warned that overseas companies would simply partner with a local entity that can submit imported STBs to the SA Bureau of Standards to enable them to manufacture fully imported STBs on the South African market, but no one listened,” said one.
Shinn said records show that BUA Africa Investments was registered in May last year and could have easily submitted a tender in its own name.
Muthambi’s spokesman Mish Molakeng referred all inquiries to Usaasa.
“This is an operational issue that we made clear from the beginning that Usaasa had to handle,” said Molakeng.
“Usaasa is tasked with the procedural roll out of the programme and not us.”
Usaasa was not immediately available for comment.
Another businessman claimed that the local industry was at the mercy of cheap imports, particularly from China.
“We knew that there were Chinese manufacturers who were ready to flood the market with cheap imports, but nobody took us seriously when we called for the protection of our industry,” said the businessman.
“In a way, we a likely to go the way of the clothing, textile and steel industries that have been overrun by Chinese imports.”