Communications Department Strategic Plan & Budget 2008/09

Meeting report

Department of Communications (DoC) Strategic Plan 2008 – 2011: Briefing
Ms Lyndall Shope-Mafole, Director General, DoC stated that the presentation would be divided into two sections, one dealing with the strategic plan and another with the Digital Dzonga. She tabled, but did not deal with, the introductory slides, and stated that the Department was following the theme of “business unusual”. The mandate of the DoC and the Presidential National Commission (PNC) was stated.  The medium term strategy of both the DoC and the PNC was outlined in relation to the five Key Focus Areas (KFAs) of the government. These included achieving higher rates of investment, increasing competitiveness in the economy, broadening participation in the economy, improving the capacity of the State to deliver and contributing to building a better world.

Priorities for 2008/09 included the Implementation of phase one – the roll out of wireless broadband infrastructure to 233 Dinaledi Schools, in order to increase the uptake of Information and Communications technology (ICT) by both government and individuals. An amount of R500 million had been allocated to Sentech to enable this. The construction of the joint UHURUnet/Infraco government supported submarine cable would commence this year. There would be development of a Programme of Action to benchmark telecommunications costs in relation to comparable countries, ultimately utilising the successful areas as a model for a universally successful South African system. Phase 1 roll-out of 50% population coverage of Digital Terrestrial Television(DTT) would be completed, and there would be acceleration of the building of the Set Top Box (STB) industry. The Department would also be developing radio frequency spectrum usage policies, contributing to combating of crime through provision by the South Africa Post Office (SAPO) of an address identification system, beginning construction of the second Sentech teleport, increasing universal access through the Thusong post offices and improving employment equity.

A summary of the DoC approved structure was provided.

PNC priorities were outlined in line with the Apex priority Project. These included the uptake and usage of ICT through the Dinaledi schools, contributing to social cohesion, a National Youth Service initiative of deploying e-Cadres to support teaching in schools, and assisting youth development and job creation by using e-Cooperatives to develop websites.

The Department requested the opportunity to brief the Committee further on the Apex Priority project, the Meraka e-skills institute and the ISAD Youth Village.

The Medium Term Economic Framework (MTEF) baseline allocations were provided. A comparison of the allocations between the 2007/08 and 2008/09 years was given. The total allocation for 2008/09 was R1.72 billion , rising to R1.77 billion in 2010/11.

Digital Dzonga: Department of Communications (DoC) briefing
Ms Lara Kantor, Chairperson: Digital Dzonga,  DoC,  provided an overview of the functions, composition and goals of the Digital Dzonga. She noted that the Digital Terrestrial Television System (DTT) would change the nature of television, and she set out the relative advantages and disadvantages. She outlined how DTT would impact free-to-air broadcasters’ value chains on different levels. Because DTT migration required the cooperation of multiple stakeholders there was a need for a digital migration working group. It consisted of representatives from the broadcasting industry, community and commercial licensees and signal distributors, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA), government, civil society and organised labour. An action plan, the digital dzonga, was required because of the scale and complexity of the switch-over, the number of stakeholders, the necessity of coordination and the need for a strong uniform communication to the public. This dzonga was envisaged as providing a “one-stop shop”. The proposed staffing, working groups, and timelines given for the implementation of various stages were set out. The key priorities of the set top box strategy and the consumer awareness were each described. It was indicated that the work of signal distributors, ICASA and broadcasters would take place outside the dzonga, but would be critical in meeting the timeframes for implementation.

Digital Dzonga: Department of Communications (DoC) briefing
Dr Keith Shongwe, Deputy Director General: ICT International Affairs and Trade, DoC, provided an overview of the presentation on the Undersea Cables. He ran through the SAT-3, Seacom, EASSy, East African, Infraco and UHURUnet cables - delineating their lead operators, capacity, routes and advantages. The UHURUnet cable was stressed as it would circle the entire continent and land at point along every country on the coast. UHURUnet was the flagship cable project for New Economic Partnership for African Development (NEPAD).

Discussion
Ms D Smuts (DA) asked how the DoC benchmarked its performance and asked for more information on what the DoC was doing about the theft of copper cables. With regards to Sentech she remarked that it seemed odd that only 233 schools were going to be serviced, given that Sentech had received R500 million. She asked who would be paying for the equipment delivered to schools. Ms Smuts also asked whether the E-cadres were from the defence force and who would pay them.

Ms Shope-Mafole replied that the thefts were considered serious crimes by the JCPS Cluster and that it had been identified as organised crime. Telkom and other role-players had initiated a committee to deal with this issue. She added that some of the difficult issues around Sentech resulted from a difference in policy between the DoC and National Treasury. One of the points of difference concerned whether schools should be covered by Sentech. The Director General of National Treasury was of the view that they should fall under the auspices of private enterprises. She argued that it was a matter of policy and not administration. Ms Shope-Mafole stated that Sentech could not cover all 30 000 schools and that they were trying to do what they could with the resources available, and would then evaluate the difference made in order to promote a case, backed by solid evidence, for the implementation of this roll-out to all schools. She added that E-cadres were National Youth Service volunteers and did not get paid, but received a stipend. They were young unemployed people who had gone through the Military Skills Development Scheme and the Management Information Systems programme,

Mr R Pieterse (ANC) stated that copper theft was an age-old problem and suggested that the Committee did not have the capacity to deal with such a problem. He asked who decided on the 233 schools and when they could expect to see results. Mr Pieterse asked whether it would be safe to assume that the 50% DTT coverage would focus on urban areas. He added that it appeared that little was happening with regard to Post Offices. Mr Pieterse remarked that the Minister of Public Services and Administration had stated that all vacant posts would be filled by June and asked whether the DoC was going to comply with this.

Ms Shope-Mafole replied that transmitters would be rolled out in terms of their reach to the greatest numbers of people and as a result this roll out would begin with urban areas in order to meet the 50% margin. At a later stage the rural areas would be targeted. She added that it was unfortunate that the presentation only included a small section on Post offices, but assured Mr Pieterse that progress was being made.

Mr Harold Mathabathe, Deputy Director General : Finance & ICT Enterprise Development,  DoC, replied that there were 500 Dinaledi schools and that an investigation had been undertaken on how the R500 million given to Sentech could cover the most schools with the available number of base stations. He added that 233 was a conservative figure.

Mr M Kholwane (ANC) asked how the DoC measured success and whether the estimated budget for 2009/10 included funding for the SABC. He asked what the Department did in the case of critical posts that were not funded.

Ms Gerda Grabe, Chief Operational Officer & Deputy Director General: Governance and Administration , DoC,  replied that the Department would engage in dialogue with State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). She stated that if members wanted to compare last year’s strategy plan with the current one they would find many changes, including a move away from output indicators to outcome indicators. She added that the main target for 2008/9 in this regard would be baseline information determination.

Mr S Nxumalo (ANC) asked what was expected of the Committee, and he wanted to know whether they had the opportunity for input or whether the presentation outlined finished products. He asked whether the goals outlined by the Digital Dzonga were really feasible in the specified timeframes and asked whether the DoC could be held accountable at the end of the year.

Ms Shope-Mafole replied that the Committee’s recommendations were taken into account and that the Department was by law obliged to provide the Committee with documentation before anything was finalised. She added that she thought their performance rate was quite good.

The Chairperson noted that the presentations lacked timeframes and Key Performance Indexes. He stated that these were requirements. He requested timeframes for the vacancy rates. He asked what the DoC was doing to minimise its reliance on consultants.

Ms Shope-Mafole added that the slides were presented to contextualise appointments. She added that every post was evaluated and that the DoC had initiated a new divisional structure. She added that the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) had only approved the structure this year and that the 50 approved vacancies would be filled before June, but that the others would depend on additional approval from the DPSA. Ms Shope-Mafole stated that the DoC had minimised its reliance on consultants and that it prided itself on developing the capacity to deal with areas that it was responsible for.

Ms L Yengeni (ANC) asked how the Director General evaluated her performance. She wanted to know what were the most significant challenges faced by Sentech and ICASA over the past three years and whether they were able to overcome them.

Mr Mokwining Nhlapo, Chief Operational Officer: PNC on ISAD, DoC,  replied that in terms of SOEs, PFMA compliance had been problematic, but that it was being resolved. Corporate Government issues had been addressed.

Mr Pieterse asked about the E-rate.

Ms Shope-Mafole replied that during her presentation there was a request that the Department be allowed to make another presentation to the Committee, as it was still finalising payments, and that this was one of the issues the Department would like to cover in a later presentation. E-rate complications were due to Telkom and Internet Service Providers. However she added that there was no reason why no-fee schools should have to pay for ICT.

Adv P Swart (DA) stated that he was impressed with the progress on the Digital Dzonga, considering that only the Chairperson had so far been appointed. He asked what the total digital Dzonga staff complement was. He asked whether the timeframe goals were feasible and asked for clarity on the number of people who would be able to afford Set-top Boxes (STBs) with the subsidies.

Mr Pieterse added that surely there should be a lifespan attached to the Digital Dzonga, and perhaps this should be 2011.  He added that STBs would affect consumers and that currently they did not have a voice in the issue. He stressed the need to provide consumers with relevant information.

Mr Nxumalo asked whether the Digital Dzonga was an entity.