Budget Media Briefing by Communications Minister

Q. There seems to be a whole lot of policies that are being finalised this year, does that mean that there has been a policy vacuum or is it just a coincidence?

A.  In any given situation where there are policies with shortcomings, you would want to improve those policies. And that is what we are doing.

Q. At the end of the 23 June meeting between the SABC Board and the Portfolio Committee a member of the SABC board cried, “Please dissolve us”. What is your response to that?

A. I don’t know about the SABC Board having said that they must be dissolved. I went to the hearing today and indicated to the people who were there not to put blame on anyone and that we must all take responsibility. What is important is that we need to have an SABC that functions, an SABC that carries out its mandate as stated in the Act. If the board says “dissolve us”, that is going to take forward our work. There is no proper functioning of the board and there is no proper functioning of the leadership there.

Q. Could you give us a comment on the reports that an ICASA councilor apparently cut a deal to stop the Vodacom listing so that he could be re-nominated?

A. That matter is being dealt with in Parliament, I cannot comment on it.

Q. Have you been briefed about the MTN Bharti deal?

A. We did receive a briefing before MTN started negotiating, but that is where it ended. But, yes, MTN did inform me, and I trust that I will be kept informed with regards to what happens.

Q. Could you give us more information, on what is happening with KuluNet [sp?].

A. There is still progress as far as KuluNet [sp?] is concerned. There is thinking now to link the West and the East Cable. The funding for that is still going to be discussed. So it is still on the table, even though it has been outstripped by other developments. But it is still something that we support as government.

Q. Could you give us some more information on the issue of users, as there are some things that seem not to be clear?

A.  On the issue of users, I am not pronouncing on anything - except that there will be a review on the matter. This review will be with the users themselves and everybody. It is pointless to leave something in place even though there are some issues around it.

Q. What changes are you proposing to make to the Broadcasting Act?

A. We need to deal with the Charter of the broadcaster, as it needs to be looked at as well as the editorial policies.  We also propose a change in the funding model of the broadcaster, which will have a balanced funding model. It will not necessarily be 50/50 or 60/40.

Q. How do you propose to bring telecommunication prices down? As the competition that has emerged seems to have aligned themselves with the high prices that Telkom has?

A. We need a team of experts to look at the prices of telecommunication.  So far we have not made much progress in bring prices down. Perhaps we need to bring in more competition. There might be a need for engagement with the mobile telecommunications service providers. Some people believe that even if we provide the broadband and the submarine cables, it will not bring down the cost of making a call. So it is a complex thing that we need to engage. The cost to communicate is still very high for people in rural areas.

Q.  Would you be prepared to re-look at the funding model for ICASA, maybe move them from getting money from the department to them getting money through an industry levy.

A.  Yes, ICASA has raised that and we will look at that.

Q. Do you feel that the appointment of the SABC board is subject to the influence of political factors?

A.  Certainly it is a concern that there should be no political interference in the SABC. The appointment of the board goes through a public process, anybody can nominate anyone. I think that system tries to get the best people, people who will serve the board with integrity. 

Q. What is the SABC not doing that you would like it to do?

A. [This question did not appear to be answered]

Q. On the funding issue, do you have a broad idea of funding that you would like to see the SABC getting from Treasury?

A. We need to find at what level the government has got to fund the SABC. In the past the SABC was able to generate funding from advertising but that is not working due to the economic downturn.  So we need to look at how much they need from government as 2% is too little.

Q. The 2% that the SABC receives from government, does that include TV licence revenues?

A. 18% comes from licences, 2% from government and 80% from advertising.

Q. The Chair of the Communications Committee suggested that the structure of ICASA is not actually working. You have ICASA councillors who are non-executive members and you have the executive of ICASA and in the end you find a duplication of tasks. And this actually led to the court ruling in the Vodacom deal. Do you think there should be a change in the structure when you have non-executive members of the Board who do not come to work every day but who sit in meetings and make decisions?

A. We don’t appoint ICASA, we provide the policy directions. ICASA, according to the Act, considers the policy directions; they are not forced to adopt them. ICASA has indicated that it wishes to propose amendments to the Act with regard to their mandate, and it must also address and finalise regulations that deal with competition matters. So as far as structure, we will engage with ICASA. However, we have only been in office for a month but we will engage them.

Q.  What are you going to do if mobile telecommunications companies, as private companies, refuse to bring prices down? Is more competition the answer, as the prices seem fixed?

A. As mentioned before about the ICASA Act, ICASA needs to finalise regulations that deal with competition matters. We are aware that the mere increase in the numbers may not lead to the healthy kind of competition that is needed, but it is a start.  The regulatory authorities need to look at this. It is a worry. We have not met with the private sector yet, after a month in office, but engagement is something we need to do.

Briefing ends.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS POST-BUDGET VOTE BRIEFING

The Minister and deputy Minister of Communications yesterday delivered the department's budget vote in Parliament, Cape Town.

The occasion served as an opportunity for the Ministry to outline the department's programme of action in line with the key priorities set by the President in his State of the Nation Address.

The President emphasized that the fight against poverty remains the cornerstone of government policies. The question that we have to answer as a department is: How do ICTs assist as a tool to support National Imperatives as outlined by the President?

Our vision is to establish South Africa as a leader in Information Communication Technologies.

The policy choices we made as a country with regard to Broadcasting Digital Migration will ensure that the process is not only about modernising technology, but that it also addresses key socio-economic, developmental and infrastructure challenges facing us.

While we recognise the complexity of the digital migration process, significant

progress has been made to meet the November 1s 2011 analogue switch-off date.

In line with government's decision to support poor TV-owning households, we are finalising the details regarding the implementation of the Scheme-for-Ownership - Support for set-top boxes for submission to Cabinet soon.

During the past fifteen years, the ICT sector contributed close to seven percent to the gross domestic product of the country - which is a significant contribution, given the size of the sector.

The policy choices we made as a country have enabled the development of a robust, vibrant and competitive ICT sector that has seen the emergence of strong mobile technology companies, the roll out of wireless broadband service offerings, and an increased diversity in ownership.

To consolidate on these gains, the country needs to constantly review its policy and regulatory environment to assess whether it appropriately supports the future growth of the sector.

We will therefore develop an Integrated National lCT Policy Framework, which will be ready by the end of the financial year.

This Policy framework will seek to promote the convergence of technologies and to stimulate the growth of the economy in line with the objectives of the National Industrial Policy.

It will furthermore encourage e-commerce activities and expand ICT infrastructure, linking rural and urban communities as well as uplift the poor.

The department also aims to finalise a National Broadband Policy by March 2010. The Policy will provide a holistic, coordinated national approach to the provision of affordable, reliable and secure broadband infrastructure and services.

This, we believe, is in line with the President's call to contribute to the development of rural areas in our country.

In particular we will ensure that remote rural communities and under-serviced areas are an integral part of the planning from the start, and not as an afterthought.

In 2008 the department commissioned an independent benchmark study to look at the cost, quality, access and usage of telecommunication services with comparative countries such as Malaysia, India, Chile, Brazil and South Korea. The study confirmed that our telecommunication prices are still high compared with those countries.

To respond to this, the department will develop a programme of action aimed at reducing the cost, improving quality, availability and usage of ICTs.

In addition, the Ministry will be appointing an independent panel of experts, whose recommendations will assist us to design appropriate interventions to address the cost to communicate effectively.

The enhancement of cyber-security and protection of critical information infrastructure is essential to our country's economic and social well-being and the maintenance of national security. A national cyber-security policy will be finalised by the end of the year. This initiative is our contribution towards combating crime in our country - another government priority.

Sentech remains a national strategic asset. We wish to congratulate them on their achievements in signal distribution and the excellent work done with regard to the ICT guarantees for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Sentech was able to deliver timeously to the 2010 Organising Committee for the Confederations Cup, despite very trying circumstances.

The Department of Communications will accelerate the corporatisation of the Post Bank to provide a wider range of affordable financial services for the unbanked, particularly the marginalised and the poor. In this regard the Post Bank Bill will be tabled before Parliament by the end of this year. The Bill aims to provide for the establishment of a stand-alone public company to be known as the South African Post Bank.

We have taken a detailed look at the challenges facing the Public Broadcaster, which include governance, management capacity and financial management challenges.

The department believes that a new vision and mandate is required for public broadcasting services in line with South Africa's developmental agenda, and the governance of the SABC needs to be strengthened.

The department will therefore amend the Broadcasting Act, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, and rename it the Public Services Broadcasting Act.

The amendment will bring the Charter in line with international best practice, and ensure that the public broadcaster is best suited to our young democracy. The amendment will also introduce an appropriate funding model for the Public broadcaster.

We have set up a task team comprising the Department of Communications, National Treasury and business turn-around strategists, with a view to effecting the successful functioning of the Public Broadcaster. This task team will also look at Sentech's strategic thrust going forward and advise us accordingly.

End.

Issued by

Department of Communications