Muthambi must be removed from failing digital migration project

06 December 2015

The Democratic Alliance calls on President Jacob Zuma to remove Communications Minister, Faith Muthambi, from managing the Broadcasting Digital Migration (BDM) policy and its accompanying legislation and to restore these with urgency to the Ministry of Telecommunications and Postal Services.

Minister Muthambi is about to fail to meet her own deadline of ‘concluding the migration’ from analogue to digital broadcasting in the Northern Cape by 1 January 2016.

The Northern Cape was to receive 16 000 decoders or Set-Top Boxes (STBs) in the first phase of government’s plan to ensure 5 million identified indigent households can continue to watch TV programmes once the analogue signal is switched off, but this is now materially impossible.

This deadline will fail for two main reasons:

No government ordered STBs which went into production in August/September, have reached the Universal Service Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA) which is managing the programme, and

Only 2 074 (of the 2 336 identified indigent households who have so far applied) have qualified for free decoders. The remainder have failed to qualify because they do not have valid TV licenses.

This lack of decoder delivery is aggravated by two issues:

1. Free-to-air broadcaster eTV has successfully taken its challenge to the encryption clause in the controversially revised BDM policy to the Supreme Court of Appeal, and

2. Minister Muthambi’s October announcement that she has requested the National Treasury to investigate the decoder procurement process.

This means that USAASA is uncertain whether to formally halt the production process to await the outcome of eTV’s appeal and the National Treasury’s enquiry.

I am told that USAASA has written to Minister Muthambi asking for direction on this issue but there has been none forthcoming.

This lack of political leadership and policy missteps by Minister Muthambi that has seemingly stalled the perpetually failing transition to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) broadcasting, with its vast dire political, legal and financial implications, may be behind the sudden resignation last week of USAASA chairperson Ms Pumla Radebe.

USAASA, along with the South Africa Post Office, has been ready to manage the logistics process of the BDM programme for the past year. The current delays can be laid firmly at the door of Minister Muthambi.

In August/September USAASA issued orders for 1,5 million decoders from three ‘manufacturers’ – BUA Africa, Leratadima and CZ Electronics; and 1,5 million antennas and satellite dishes from Ellies Industries, QEC and Temic Tshwane East Manufacturing.

These orders are worth R1 322 515 000: R995 745 000 for the decoders and R326 770 000 for the antennas and dishes.

These were to be delivered to USAASA in a phased approach started from 15 November and ending on 15 March 2016. None has been delivered nor paid for.

Minister Muthambi’s wresting control of the BDM process from the Ministry of Telecommunications and Postal Services in mid-2014, has:

Caused protracted legal wrangles in the telecommunications sector;

Caused South Africa to be the only SADC country that has not transitioned to digital broadcasting, and one of the few left in the world that is listed as not yet having started the migration process;

Further aggravated the digital divide between those who have access to internet and the marginalised communities that don’t;

Inhibited e-Government service delivery;

Inhibited the potential economic growth and job creation opportunities that come from inclusion in the global digital economy;

Collapsed the much-trumpeted – and delayed – boost to the government’s electronics manufacturing strategy that was to open the doors for BBE entrepreneurs to gain a foothold in the sector and create jobs;

Created expensive legal battles over policy decision and – should there be further delays with the decoder production process – legal claims from the tender ‘winning’ companies, and

Jeopardised the cash injection SAPO has been expecting from its role in managing the decoder application and delivery process.

Minister Muthambi must be removed from the digital migration project as a strategic imperative if South Africa wants to progress to a viable and prosperous digitally empowered future.

The DA believes that no South African should be excluded from the global digital economy due to government’s lack of strategic implementation. We believe that the digital economy will help create jobs that many South African’s desperately need.

Statement issued by Marian Shinn MP, DA Shadow Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, 6 December 2015