House Chairperson, Minister of Communications, Deputy Minister of Communications, colleagues and distinguished guests, allow me, as the Minister did, to apologise. It seems we share this particular frog. If my voice doesn't sound as it normally does, it's the remnants of Cape Town flu.
It is a great pleasure for me to be here today to address you on this Budget Vote of Communications. It also gives me great pleasure to report on a much improved Communications department, as well as improvements in the department's entities.
As we know, strategic plans of the Department of Communications and its entities take into account the following six key areas: define concepts, market analysis, workforce, risk and opportunities, investment and innovation, and monitoring and evaluation of the department.
It was refreshing to note that generally the department and its entities presented to the portfolio committee reports with information that was necessary and relevant and, in instances where the information was substandard, the portfolio committee did not hesitate to send them away to correct these problems. The relationship between the portfolio committee and the Department of Communications and its entities is a good and productive one.
In a growing economy the development of the information and communications technology, ICT, policy is of the utmost importance. It is essential to support an ICT sector which creates and accelerates conditions for the growth of the economy. We must, and I repeat, we must bridge the digital divide. We have just gone through local government elections and one of the most important election points for almost all political parties was job creation.
In this day and age it is virtually impossible to run a business, however small, without access to the Internet. I think I share a common dream with 99,9% of my fellow South Africans of universal access to the Information Highway. While I'm pleased that we are well on our way to equipping and providing structures for this universal access, I think I share in the frustration at the length of time it is taking, as well as the horrendously high costs involved in accessing this Information Highway.
Access to the Internet, access to this Information Highway, remains in the hands of very few South Africans. The opportunities that are possible in terms of education, social upliftment and economic growth are boundless. We, as South Africans, must not be complacent about ensuring this universal access to information, and we must ensure that it becomes the right of every single South African.
A great success story this year is the SA Post Office. Their strategic programme includes the development of customer intelligence, organisational realignment around the customer, customer experience improvement, and solution development per customer segment. What you will note from what I have just said are the key words, "the customer". This is what we want to see. We want to see an entity catering for the public with one objective, that is, to make customers' experience as easy, pleasurable and successful as possible.
When the SA Post Office presented its annual plan, etc, to our portfolio committee, I congratulated them on a job well done and I would like to do so again today. Let me say that these congratulations are conditional. If you let us down by not implementing all the good that you have indicated that you are going to do, beware! We are watching! The turnaround in Sentech can also not be ignored. From being a nightmare entity with no direction and on the threshold of a financial meltdown, this entity is now on the road to recovery, thanks largely to the dedication, hard work and perseverance of its new management. There is a very long way to go, but the signs are good, and much hope and anticipation rests on your success. Your success, Sentech, ensures social upliftment, economic growth and sustainability of successful businesses.
Great excitement now exists regarding the Digital Terrestrial Television network. We have a deadline set for December 2013. We must ensure that this date is adhered to. We simply cannot fall behind the international community, as we are already far behind and it is our responsibility to all South Africans that we deliver the service to them.
We now finally have a complete South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC, board. I don't think in the history of any organisation have so many curricula vitae been read, interviews conducted, appointments made and resignations received. May I take this opportunity to thank members of the board, who started in hard times? You ensured that the ship did not sink completely and you did not jump ship; you stayed on board even when the water was high and cold. You helped maintain a semblance of order for the SABC, and we thank you for your dedication. [Applause.] In fact they do deserve a round of applause. However, we must always remember, that the SABC is a public broadcaster, and not a state broadcaster. It remains fundamentally important that information that is broadcast by the SABC remains free, fair and politically neutral. All editing policies must be highly scrutinised to ensure that we maintain absolute media freedom.
At present the SABC boat is stable and it is my sincerest wish that it remains stable and successful, as this benefits all South Africans. However, I would like to point out that access for the disabled remains a huge problem with regard to the SABC. People that are deaf or blind suffer because they do not have the access that fully able South Africans have with regard to the SABC. All South Africans deserve the right to access all that the SABC has to offer. Let us not let this group of South Africans suffer unnecessarily. Access for the disabled is an absolute essential.
Allow me to congratulate Ms Rosey Sekese on her appointment as Director- General for the Department of Communications. Minister, you did give us a bit of a surprise in your announcing it today in your speech, but may I thank you for making this long overdue appointment?
I would also like to thank Dr Harold Wesso. I applaud you for doing an incredibly difficult job in your acting role, and I thank you for your dedication. I'm sorry that you are sitting behind me and I can't turn around, but what you did to turn the Department of Communications around was really a marvellous achievement. [Applause.]
In conclusion, allow me to thank my colleague, the hon Niekie van den Berg, for his assistance during my time on the committee, his dedication to the cause, and his understanding that we work for the betterment of all South Africans.
A big thank you also to the portfolio committee. Besides a few disagreements that we have here and there, which I think are only normal, we genuinely enjoy a very pleasant experience and as a committee as a whole we understand that we work for South Africa. We have one task as public representatives. We have to improve the lives of all South Africans. May we, as the Communications Department and all the entities execute all our decisions with only that in mind. I thank you.