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DOC moves amid controversy

Bonnie Tubbs
By Bonnie Tubbs, ITWeb telecoms editor.
Johannesburg, 15 Jul 2014
Newly appointed communications minister Faith Muthambi has set up an advisory committee to help her integrate the new ministry's functions.
Newly appointed communications minister Faith Muthambi has set up an advisory committee to help her integrate the new ministry's functions.

Despite sparse details around government's reconfigured ICT ministry and a bout of early-day controversy surrounding the head of one of the two new departments, the Department of Communications (DOC) is quietly forging ahead with its strategy.

On Friday, communications minister Faith Muthambi convened the inaugural meeting of the National Communications Task Team (NCTT) - an advisory body established to help the former Makhado municipal manager integrate the functions assigned to her ministry.

The DOC, as it has existed since 25 May, now has under its wing the Independent Communications Authority of SA, the SABC, Government Communication and Information Systems (GCIS), Brand SA, and the Media Development and Diversity Agency. Government communication refers to the department as GCIS.

Three weeks ago, during a media briefing, Muthambi alluded to the establishment of a task team, but did not provide any hard-and-fast detail. At the time, the minister said she would establish the NCTT to "advise me on the most effective way to integrate the functions that have been assigned to this ministry, help refine the national communications strategy of government, and help steer the process towards legal alignment of the work that we have to do".

This, she said, would probably be through a white paper that would pronounce on government's overarching communications policy.

Muthambi has made headlines of late, for her role in the controversial appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng as permanent SABC chief operating officer. This, despite allegations that Motsoeneng lied about his qualifications and a recommendation by the public protector that the position goes to a more suitable candidate.

Sunday papers this weekend reported that Muthambi underhandedly pushed the appointment through.

Team tactic

Government's public relations arm, the GCIS, had not responded to requests for more information on Muthambi's NCTT by the time of publication.

However, a source - and one of the individuals invited to form part of what is believed to be a 40-odd member task team - says tight deadlines have been given to the team. "The deadline for the report [from the inaugural meeting] and the lead to the recommendations for the white paper is very short and tight - end of July." He says the team is made up of individuals who are "very influential in the communications, telecoms, marketing and branding industries".

Accenture CEO William Mzimba, journalist and TV presenter Jeremy Maggs, controversial former GCIS head Jimmy Manyi, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) professor of journalism Anton Harber, and deputy vice-chancellor of finance at Wits Tawana Kupe are among the names of individuals invited to form part of the team, according to the source.

As far as the task team's mandate goes, the source points out its focus is "very wide" as the ultimate aim is to solve the country's communications problems to the end of socio-economic upliftment.

"Digital migration and the ICT landscape in SA" featured on Friday's afternoon agenda, although no details have been forthcoming. According to the agenda outline, the minister was set to discuss the "challenges causing delays" with digital migration - and what needs to be done going forward - with the NCTT.

Meanwhile, the ICT industry is still in the dark as to how president Jacob Zuma's reconfigured ministries will function, given that crucial ICT entities have been split between the DOC and Department of Telecoms and Postal Services. Expectations are that the budget votes this week will yield some clarity.

Muthambi will present the GCIS budget vote to government tonight.

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