At one stage during last year's processes, the Minister got so excited that he almost usurped the role of the regulator. Cope commends Icasa for having stood their ground by not bowing to ministerial pressure. The net result is that South Africans will soon benefit from an interconnection rate that is significantly lower than the one negotiated by the hon Minister.
Only when Icasa regulates the markets efficiently will telecom costs for consumers drop. Government needs to drive policy, and Icasa needs to regulate decisively to break the stranglehold of dominant players on the telecommunications sector. We need to fully liberalise the market in South Africa to create an opportunity for smaller operators - those who can work with innovation - so that they can compete on a level playing field.
Research has shown that countries with fully liberalised financial and telecommunications sectors grew, on average, by about a 1,5 percentage point faster than other countries. Therefore, broadband access needs to be processed, and processed soon. It's good that we have a policy in place now, as the Minister has indicated, but we need to ensure that we move fast.
The Minister needs to give visionary leadership. How should he do that? He should encourage investment and infrastructure for ICT by mitigating the risks for such investors. South Korea saw a 30% growth in internet usage within a single year, because they did just that. He should also oversee effective competition and drive public-private partnerships through Icasa, through policy directives.
The Minister has a window of opportunity to make a clean start and to give direction, but time is running out. At this stage, this ANC government and Telkom are turning access to broadband into a service for the select few who can afford it. That is unacceptable. [Time expired.]