Hon Deputy Speaker, government is currently exploring all options to ensure that the use of communications infrastructure in the country is maximised and also maintained to be on a par with the world. In this regard, there is a Cabinet-led process to develop strategic options on how to assist Telkom to implement its turnaround strategy to ensure that whilst it pursues the developmental objectives, it also remains commercially viable. It therefore follows that once this balance is attained, Telkom's credit rating will also improve, making it possible to attract investments.
However, on investment in general, as we speak now, there are a number of companies all over the world that have invested and continue to do so in the Information Communication Technology, ICT, sector in the country. I thank you.
Deputy Speaker, I want to say that I took note of the Information Communication Technology Indaba's Ministerial Declaration which declared a common vision of economic growth for Africa through increasing accessibility and affordability to broadband for all. Yet, Telkom has just been found guilty of being involved in activities that go against these ideals. Their reactions have negatively impacted on South Africa's broadband penetration and on the economy by increasing the cost of doing business and ultimately costing South Africa jobs. Against this background, do you still believe that South Africa has positioned itself, through the indaba, as being at the forefront of driving access through ICT in Africa, considering that these latest developments belie your statements? I thank you.
Hon Deputy Speaker, I would like to indicate that the finding against Telkom is a finding on something that happened many years ago, while Telkom was still a monopoly. As we speak today, Telkom is no longer a monopoly because there is competition both at a fixed level and at a mobile level. I want to again confirm that we believe that Telkom is a very strategic entity for South Africans and that the infrastructure that it has, as we speak today, is one of the best infrastructures in the world. It can help us as a country to continue to roll out broadband in all other areas, including the rural areas especially, because the private sector does not invest in the rural areas. I thank you.
Deputy Speaker, the Telkom crisis clearly illustrates to South Africa and to our global trading partners that this ANC government is a rank amateur at managing businesses and protecting the value of state assets. Telkom's share price has halved in two years. Now the ANC is playing with an idea to merge government's three underperforming communications entities into one underperforming state-owned entity. Or maybe it will nationalise Telkom, which is likely to tempt it to revert to its market bullying tactics to protect its turf and forever fight legal challenges to its uncompetitive behaviour.
Hon Minister Pule demonstrated very clearly, during the Telkom/KT Corporation negotiations, that this government negotiates in bad faith with foreign investors and cannot be trusted. So we are unlikely to attract any better offers than those that were on the table three months ago. Will this government sell its communications infrastructure to a South African-led consortium of efficient companies to be managed as a national asset on which to grow the economy? If not, why not?
Hon Deputy Speaker, the answer is no. I thank you.
Deputy Speaker, we have recently seen - in the past week - pronouncements made in the media by the hon Pule, as well as the hon Gigaba, with regard to Telkom and their future plans. The issue here is that there are questions out there in the market as to whether it was a deliberate plan of the ANC to decline the offer by the company from Korea who wanted to invest and, in fact, buy 20% of the shares so that they could push down share prices to nationalise Telkom again, only to bring it back and to sell off or to hand out some shares to other politically connected people going forward. Is that the new strategy of the ANC? I thank you.
Hon Deputy Speaker, the utterances Minister Gigaba and I made were informed by the fact that we were working together in assisting Telkom to implement its turnaround strategy. Secondly, there is no talk at all between Minister Gigaba and me or any utterance that speculated or even hinted at anything to the extent of making people believe that we want to nationalise Telkom. We have never said that. Actually, we have said we are assisting Telkom to implement its turnaround strategy so that we can then roll out the infrastructure that is needed in the country. All these other issues that the hon member is raising are new to me. I thank you.
Deputy Speaker, can the Minister kindly inform us how she intends to ensure that Telkom plays its strategic role in implementing ICT infrastructure? Can you just elaborate on that? Thank you.
Hon Deputy Speaker, let me start by saying that studies that were conducted, including the due diligence study that was done on Telkom, by us and other companies that were interested in Telkom, show that Telkom has the best and most expensive infrastructure in the world, something that other countries do not have. As a result, Cabinet took a decision that we will not sell the 20% stake; however, we will make sure that we help Telkom to roll out broadband in the country. This is why we are deliberating and engaging with Minister Gigaba, because he sits with Broadband Infraco in his department. I thank you.
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