SA's much delayed move to digital television is set to cost the country at least another R1.9 billion to subsidise set-top boxes.
Even more expenses are on the horizon over the next three years, and there is no clear figure from government as to how much this move has cost so far.
The move from analogue TV - on the cards since 2008 - is stalled while Cabinet finalises the Broadband Digital Migration policy. This was supposed to have been wrapped up at the end of July, with telecommunications and postal services minister Siyabonga Cwele meant to announce a turn-on date this month.
While it is clear SA will not migrate in time to meet the international deadline of mid-2015, the process has already cost the country dearly.
More to come
During a recent portfolio committee meeting, Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA) manager Thabo Makenete said there was a R1.9 billion shortfall that needed to be found to subsidise set-top boxes and installation costs for those earning less than R3 200 a month.
There are 12.8 million TV-owning households in South Africa and - of these - 5.2 million will receive subsidised boxes. However, USAASA has revised the subsidy criteria, increasing the amount to be paid out, and its R2.4 billion is no longer sufficient.
Additional costs will come from the post office's role in getting the boxes delivered. The post office, which is currently on strike, noted in its presentation that it needed to hire 5 778 installers a day.
However, the presentation notes these installers will only service one house each day, and installation of all 5.2 million boxes will take three years to complete. It is unclear how many hours will be worked by each installer a day, but should they each work one hour, at R13 an hour, the cost to the country comes to about R82 million.
Should the installers work eight hours a day, at the R13/hour minimum wage, this cost spirals to R658 million.
The Democratic Alliance's shadow minister of telecommunications and postal services, Marian Shinn, adds there are many more costs that need to be taken into account. "The costs are spiralling out of control and the numbers don't make sense."
Problematic
Other aspects Shinn says need to be considered include expenses related to marketing, the call centre, Sentech's needed funding for multiple transmitters for community broadcasters, the cost of training installers, and USAASA's payment to an external service provider to evaluate bids.
USAASA is also set to spend R500 000 on a SAP system and a service provider to manage the implementation of the subsidy process, adds Shinn. "There is no apparent comprehensive picture of the costs of the entire project, excluding what's already been spent and refocusing on what still needs to be done."
Independent broadcast analyst Kate Skinner adds it is a "massive problem" that no one is able to pin down how much has been spent so far. She says government should be much more transparent about past and future costs, especially as Sentech will incur addition expenses for dual illumination. "This is a massively expensive project."
Neither the department nor USAASA responded to a request for comment around where additional funding would come from, or the cost of the project so far.
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