Mnr die Voorsitter, die Departement van Kommunikasie het baie uitdagings gehad en het nog baie wat in die toekoms voorl. Soos Minister Nyanda tereg ges het, die skep van volhoubare geleenthede en die daarstel van 'n platvorm om die ekonomie te laat groei, hang onder meer grootliks van di departement af. Sonder kommunikasiemiddele is gemeenskappe gestrand en afgesonder in 'n wreld wat vandag bekend staan as die globale netwerkgemeenskap.
Die VF Plus se siening was nog altyd dat gekonnekteerde gemeenskappe makliker uit armoede gelig kan word, en daarvoor is daar genoegsame getuienis.
Wat die positiewe betref, wil ons die Minister geluk wens met sy hantering van die kwessies van selfoonkoste. Sy politieke leierskap om selfoonkostes af te bring is noemenswaardig. Dit is inderdaad ligjare verwyder van die willoosheid en geploeter van die Mbeki-adminisistrasie. Trouens, ek kan onthou toe ek as regshoof by Dimension Data vele hofgevegte aangeknoop het met Telkom weens die monopolie wat di instansie beklee. Dit is verblydend om te sien dat die selfoonnetwerke eerder saam werk om billike tariewe daar te stel, alhoewel dit onder dwang geskied. Die Minister sal egter ook moet kyk na die steeds dominante posisie van Telkom, nieteenstaande die feit dat die regering steeds die meerderheidsaandeelhouer is.
Wat die negatiewe betref, wil die VF Plus vervolgens 'n paar kwessies aanspreek waaroor die Minister hopelik duidelikheid kan verskaf. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Adv A D ALBERTS: Mr Chairperson, the Department of Communications has had many challenges in the past and will face more in the future. As Minister Nyanda rightly said, the creation of sustainable opportunities and the establishment of a platform to promote economic growth depend mostly on this department. Communities are stranded and isolated without communication in a world that is currently being referred to as the global community network.
The position of the FF Plus has always been that poverty can be alleviated more easily in communities that are connected, and sufficient evidence exists for this. With regard to the positive: We want to congratulate the Minister with his handling of the issues of cellphone costs. His political leadership to reduce cellphone costs is worth mentioning. It is indeed light-years away from the passivity and slog of the Mbeki administration. Truth be told, I remember when I, as legal head of Dimension Data, was involved in many lawsuits against Telkom due to the monopoly of this institution. It is gladdening to see that the cellphone networks are rather working together to establish fair costs, even though they are acting under duress. The Minister will also have to look at the still dominating position of Telkom, notwithstanding the fact that the government is still the majority shareholder.
With regard to the negative, the FF Plus subsequently wants to address a couple of issues on which the Minister can hopefully provide some clarity.]
The Minister has set a goal to create an ICT Act. This seems quite impressive, but certain questions need to be asked: Will it be based on the South Korean, Malaysian or Indian models? What exactly is the purpose of this Act - in other words, will it fold all the existing legislation into one? Will government try to find loopholes to regulate that which cannot or should not be regulated, like internet content? [Interjections.]
Mr Chair, can I have your protection, please?
Concerning the SABC, we commend the Minister, the department and the new board for its turnaround strategy and the implementation thereof thus far. You must not relent until the public's trust has been fully reinstated. However, we do have a few further concerns.
The Public Service Broadcasting Act allows for the Minister to get too close to the management of the SABC by way of imposing general regulations. This must be frowned upon and one must ask: for what purpose? In no other parastatal do Ministers involve themselves too closely in board or management affairs. This looks sinister and one wonders further what this will mean for equitable party-political coverage during the coming elections.
Secondly, the Act's funding model, whereby citizens are given an additional taxation burden, is unconscionable. How can citizens - some who might not even own a television set - be taxed for this service? Further international models of best practice must be investigated.
The current board seems qualified. However, there is one glaring deficiency: there is no proper Afrikaans representation. One can only hope that the board will still act equitably with regard to all indigenous languages, including Afrikaans, but this is doubtful in light of the absence of a champion in that regard.
The same question arises in regard to the appointment of the Local Content Advisory Council. It is our view that, in all future appointments, more sensitivity should be had towards the diversity of the South African community.
Sterkte met die werk, Minister. Daar is 'n steil pad voor, maar ons hoop u pluk die vrugte van harde en regverdige werk. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[All the best with your work, Minister. There is a steep road ahead, but we hope that you will enjoy the fruit of your hard and equitable work.]
Thank you.