The day the DOC died

This time last week, SA's ICT sector woke up in a bit of a daze, with many industry observers dumbfounded, some downright riled and some apathetically accepting - but by and large, utterly puzzled.

President Jacob Zuma announced last Sunday what some say spells a major setback for ICT in the country - a reorganised communications ministry (the Department of Communications or DOC, as it was up until then known) split in two.

Fork number one is a newly established telecoms and postal department, while the second is a communications department that essentially gives the very term "communications" a different slant - that of marketing, public relations (PR), even propaganda.

Regarded as an already beleaguered industry now torn asunder, one of the opposition party's MPs reacted with a call for a moment of silence for telecoms. At the risk of sounding dramatic, a DOC flag flying at half-mast comes to mind.

Ironically, Zuma chose Africa Day (25 May) - a day steeped in the concept of unity since 1963 - to spring the news of the new riven ministry on SA. "I am pleased to join you on Africa Day, as we conclude our transition to a new administration following the fifth national general elections," he began his speech to the nation.

But, pleased as our president - now serving his second term as head of state - may have been, it was clear right off the bat that many more held less than delighted sentiments - at least as far as the new administration for our industry went.

Also bearing in mind that the largely unforeseen move included the shelving of the erstwhile DOC's fiery minister of 10 months - former journalist, activist and academic Yunus Carrim - and his replacement by two ministers, both with questionable histories, Zuma's bombshell broadcast went down about as well as the advent of e-tolls.

Alas, just when it seemed SA's crucial ICT sector was headed down the right road, with Carrim starting to secure many of the dowels his predecessors had neglected - the country's fifth democratic election took place and, like a milestone birthday followed by an almost inevitable anti-climax, ended in a Cabinet shuffle with ICT drawing the short straw.

Whatever redeeming qualities the sector's new ministers may have, they are likely to be remembered primarily for their past "iniquities".

And, whatever redeeming qualities the sector's new ministers may have, they are likely to be remembered primarily for their past "iniquities". As human nature goes.

Former spy boss Siyabonga Cwele - who now heads the new telecoms and postal subdivision - is apt to be remembered for once being married, apparently obliviously, to a drug trafficker. That, and his fervent backing of the controversial Protection of State Information Bill.

Cwele's PR counterpart Faith Muthambi may not equal him in terms of tabloid fodder, but the mere mention of her name is likely to immediately conjure memories of the fraud and nepotism scandals that surrounded her while serving as Makhado municipal manager.

A quick run-through of some of the remarks made in the wake of Zuma's 25 May oration evidences the sour taste it has left in the mouths of industry pundits.

"A blow to the right to communicate", "Government is not serious about leveraging ICT", "The move brings to a crashing, grinding, mind-numbing halt the progress made under Carrim", "Reversion to a pre-digital era", "Split ministries a bad idea", "Incredibly disheartening", "Why would this be necessary?" and "Absolutely daft" are just some of these.

A communications MP called the ministry split illogical and, saying the disruption and turf wars it would cause would set back SA's attempts to claw its way up the international ICT rankings.

Another concern is the fact that SA's communications ministers have been like hot potatoes - a scenario that cannot bode well for any crucial entity requiring continuity and productivity. After Dina Pule - another infamously controversial character - was shown the door last July, Carrim became the fourth minister to wear the communications crown under Zuma's relatively short regime.

One of the industry's top analysts says SA has only seen two competent communication ministers in 15 years, noting neither of them served in the post for more than 12 months.

And, while news of the new structure has been a bitter pill to swallow in itself, a dose of uncertainty around what it actually means for the bodies it encompasses - including our communications regulator, instrumental in the success or failure of the crucial industry - has just exacerbated ill feelings.

At this stage it is very unclear what the whole jumble means. All the industry can say for now is that it is anyone's guess what the future holds in store for ICT in SA. Cwele and Muthambi have yet to spell out their strategies and intentions - and this may not explicitly happen any time soon, if at all.

I wish I could say, after having spoken to some insiders, that there was a fog-free path ahead for SA's ICT industry amid all the changes, but all I am hearing right now - to paraphrase euphemistically - is "haven't the foggiest".