Statement by Ms Nomvula Mokonyane, the Minister of Communication at the occasion of Media Briefing on Broadcasting Digital Migration (BDM)
Members of the Media fraternity,
The Premier of the Free State, Mme Sisi Ntombela,
Chairpersons, board members and CEOs of State Owned Entities
Senior Government Officials
Leaders of various business entities
All our esteemed stakeholders, here present
Good morning!
Once again let me take this opportunity to thank all of you for your conspicuous presence this morning at the briefing on Broadcasting Digital Migration, often known as Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) project. Your presence signifies the importance of this project that has bedevilled us for the last 10 years. As you can see, by the presence of various role-players, this is a complex project that does not only transcends the role of a single department or entity, it requires closer collaboration within and across government and the private sector.
It is for this purpose that we invited every role player in the DTT value chain so that the A-Z questions of this project can be dealt with at this briefing. So essentially, this briefing is not similar to others where a statement is read and questions are fielded.
We want to give the media and the public a holistic picture of the project and its ecosystem. You are therefore warmly welcome. I hope by the time you leave this briefing, you will all be better informed so that you can equally inform the public accordingly.
Ladies and gentlemen, you will recall that during our maiden Budget Vote speech in Parliament earlier in May, we committed to getting the project back on track so that South Africa can join Zambia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, other countries in International Telecommunications Union (ITU)’s Region 1 and some of our BRICS partners who have migrated their broadcasting system to digital. As we are all aware, the ITU deadline for the protection of analogue systems against interference has lapsed in June 2015, thus implying that as a country our broadcasting system is currently not protected. We dare not linger any longer, particularly if we want to lead the continent.
With us this morning we have the Premier of the Free State, Mme Sis Ntombela. Premier Ntombela has not only become the ambassador of the project in the Free State. She has become a driver, bringing all the MECs and mayors along wherever the project is discussed. As you will hear shortly, the Free State will be the first province to be switched off. This decision was based on the immense support the projects continues to receive from the leadership, both at provincial and local levels. Thanks to the Premier for her courage and vision.
In the last few months, ladies and gentlemen, we have been hard at work trying to get the project on track. Our immediate task was bring all the stakeholders on board so that we can jointly drive the project in an inclusive manner and rebuild the lost momentum.
As announced earlier in July, we have already established a dedicated Project Management Office (PMO) and appointed Mr Aldred Dreyer to lead it. We have further more established a Digital Migration Advisory Council led by Ms Nomonde Gongxeka-Seopa to consistently work with the PMO and advise the Department on how to implement this project.
I am happy to announce that the men and women who represent government and industry on the Council have done a sterling work, hence we see some movement on the project. Ms Gongxeka will share with you some of their activities since they were established. I wish to thank all the industry players, for making these individuals available to the project, including seconding officials to be part of the PMO.
The revised model
Colleagues will remember that South Africa had opted for a delivery model that was not only expensive by any country’s standard. It was cumbersome with multiple risks all carried by the government. The mere fact that 11 years since Cabinet has approved that this project, and we are still this far behind underlines the challenges of this delivery model.
It will be foolhardy of ourselves to continue on this path and yet there is no progress. Again, we have to take into account that the technological landscape has changed relative to the environment when Cabinet approved the project in 2007. From a government perspective in particular, the declining public funds is a stark reality which we have to deal with.
Therefore, revising the delivery model became inevitable. This is the work that we carried out jointly with the Advisory Council. As you saw last week, the revised delivery model has since been appointed by Cabinet and we are putting systems to accelerate its implementation. The DG will elaborate further on this revised delivery model.
Benefits of the revised delivery model
I have noted the some comments that the model will put to death the revival of the electronics industry. On the contrary, the revised model will allow more participation by all the industry players instead of the selected few participating through government procurement system.
To the consumer, the new model transfers power to them as they can decide where to exchange their voucher. Again, the price of the appliances will be affordable as the various retailers will compete on the basis of the price instead of the one set by government. For those emerging local manufacturers requiring assistance, the DTI and Small Business Departments are available to provide various schemes.
Clearing the existing Stock
There is currently over 390 000 STBs in SAPO warehouses. We will move swiftly to clear the stock in the Free State and Northern Cape based on the current model. This will also allow us some time as we prepare for the implementation of the revised delivery model. USAASA will talk about this in greater details.
DTT Roadmap and Analogue Switch Off (ASO) Date
Through the collaborative work between the PMO and Advisory Council, we have finalised the Project roadmap which outlines how DTT will unfold in South Africa. Beyond the presentation this morning, the Roadmap will be published on the various platforms so that all South Africans can know and prepare accordingly. Based on the activities plan and the resources we have, Analogue Switch Off will occur in South Africa in July 2020. However, we will work harder to do it earlier if it’s possible.
In the meantime, I can confirm that the Free State province will be the first one to be switched off on 31 December 2018. Next week the provincial government of the Free State is hosting a joint DTT colloquium with the Department and other stakeholders so as to galvanize the province and unlock the opportunities within the project to benefit the people of the province. The presence of the Free State Premier, Mme Sisi Ntombela underlines the degree to which the province has embraced this project. We are therefore grateful to the Premier, executive and the people for the Free State for their support.
Northern Cape will follow shortly with ASO earmarked for 31 March 2018. The work in the Northern Cape will be carried out concurrently with the North West. There has been some suggestions that we should look into the possibility of switching off metros and other urban centres so that we can immediately release the high demand spectrum. While there is merit in doing so, the work done with Sentech and CSIR have red-flagged the risks of doing so. Sentech will present on this matters later.
Disposal of analoque TV sets
The disposal of analogue TV sets is critical for the uptake of Digital TV in South Africa and also for guarding against these obsolete technologies becoming an environmental hazard. The 2007 Cabinet decision had it that the department should work with the DTI on the strategy for the disposal and discontinuation of analogue TV sets in South Africa.
This work is ongoing, however, our engagements with the DTI have revealed that though this is legally possible, it is a long-drawn out process prescribed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. Given the limited time available, we instead decided to focus on labelling and discouraging consumers from buying these analogue TV sets. In other words, digitally enabled appliances have to be clearly marked with our Go Digital Logo.
To guard against these analogue sets becoming environmental hazards, we are working with Environmental Affairs and Small Business departments to incentivize communities to voluntary deliver those at waste depos established by the Environmental Affairs department. Small business department will create SMMEs opportunities.
Heightening communication and awareness and a functional Call Centre
Throughout the world, a successful DTT rollout hinges on communication and a functional call centre. In the next few weeks, we will accelerate this area and increase DTT brand awareness. We wish to thank the industry player for volunteering one of their communication agency to help us and the broadcasters and telcos for contributing their airtime.
I am also happy to announce that Sentech will manage our call centre operations. This is because of the fact that the majority of the questions are of technical nature, it is therefore logical that Sentech does it. This will be supplemented by both the SABC and etv on broadcaster specific questions.
In conclusion, this is no easy project as lessons from other parts of the world can attest. It requires all the stakeholders working together, and the media in particular, informing the public. We still have lot of miles to cover. But with all of you’s continued support, we will pull it through. In northern Sotho they say, Mpsa pedi ga di shitwe ke sebata! Ditau tsa hloka seboka di shitwa ke nare e hlotsa.
As a department, we are open to ideas on how to accelerate this, as long as those ideas are within the model approved by Cabinet and therefore not taking us backward nor confusing to South Africans. The time of talking is over. Let’s get on with this project and deliver it on behalf of the country and its citizens. The road to South Africa being a global leader in ICTs starts with the DTT project.
Thank you!!
Issued by the Department of Communications, 19 October 2018
