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'Infighting' mars Cwele's first 100 days

Johannesburg, 25 Aug 2014
Former spy boss Siyabonga Cwele's three-month tenure has been marred by what is being called a "turf war" around jurisdiction issues.
Former spy boss Siyabonga Cwele's three-month tenure has been marred by what is being called a "turf war" around jurisdiction issues.

Three months to the day after Siyabonga Cwele took up his post as minister of the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS) - effectively stepping into Yunus Carrim's shoes - the country is no closer to realising its aims of moving off analogue, or freeing up more much-needed spectrum.

The milestone of Cwele's first period in office has been marred by a turf war between him and the now minister of communications, Faith Muthambi, over which department deals with what entity. Industry observers say this battle has thrown a spanner in the works when it comes to continuing the momentum the sector saw under Carrim.

Ovum analyst Richard Hurst says the "infighting" has confused and distracted the new ministers, leaving the sector with the impression that ICT is not taken seriously enough by government. "This type of turf war just muddies the waters for participants in the sector, including network operators and ICT integrators, among others. Confusion and lack of clarity is the last thing this type of market needs right now - especially when there are crucial goals that need to be met."

In Cwele's mid-July budget speech, he made several promises. These included directing the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) to develop regulations on pricing transparency, and developing regulations in respect of premium content, which aims to regulate how different broadcasters will access premium content for their services.

However, when president Jacob Zuma split the ministries on 25 May, he placed ICASA under the new Department of Communications (DOC) - a department primarily tasked with ensuring the distribution of government news and promoting SA internationally. This move - although seen as inexplicable by many industry observers - was confirmed in a gazette signed off by Zuma, just four days before Cwele's speech.

Digital disaster

Another vital issue that seems to have failed to find a home post in the split is digital television, a situation that is problematic as the mid-July 2015 deadline looms. Both Cwele and Muthambi have vowed to take digital television forward, although the final broadcast digital migration policy, meant to have been gazetted at the end of the month, is still with Cabinet awaiting finalisation, after Cwele submitted it to that body.

Cwele's promises

* A more focused attention on infrastructure rollout, the creation and acceleration of the expansion of e-government services, the coordination and streamlining of public entities in the sector as a well as a reconfigured department which will ensure policy and regulatory certainty within the ICT sector.
* Focus on closing infrastructure gaps with respect to the urban and rural divide, and access networks which will facilitate fibre to the home.
* Finalising the business case for funding to connect 580 clinics, 4 444 schools, 182 police stations, and 572 other government offices in the medium term.
* Engage industry to avoid public/private sector duplication.
* Focus on local production of content and manufacturing, research and innovation, content and applications development, ICT skills and human resources development, funding for the rollout of broadband infrastructure, coordination across governments and the private sector as well as broadcasting digital migration.
* By October this year, complete a study on the Open Access Network to inform how critical resources can be used to ensure a competitive and open market that will unleash competition to drive down the cost to communicate in SA.
* Undertake a national roaming study to determine cost implications, including discriminatory behaviour particularly for new entrants and smaller operators this financial year.
* In September 2014, direct ICASA to develop regulations on pricing transparency, to insist companies transform their pricing structure to enable consumers to have a clear understanding of the true costs for the services they pay for. In this manner, the true rate for a service will be disclosed upfront to enable the consumers to exercise their choice.
* Direct ICASA to develop regulations in respect of the premium content.
* By the end of July, the final Broadcasting Digital Migration policy to be gazetted.
* Designate the start of digital switch-on by end-October.
* Establish a Cybersecurity Hub by year-end.

This comes after Muthambi, a month after being slotted into her new role, said she had issued a directive that "a programme of action to bring us up to speed be ready for pronouncement before the end of the 100 days period," a timeframe that comes to an end now. The new communications minister was set to consult through focused meetings with "key" industry players to see how this process can be set on a faster course of implementation.

ICT veteran Adrian Schofield says he does not see much promise in resolving issues like digital migration and spectrum allocation since the ICT ministry split - a division he says has stunted the decision-making process that was under way before 25 May. At the same time, says Schofield, these issues are becoming ever more critical.

"We all know we won't achieve the June 2015 deadline for digital migration ... but we also need to start making better use of the spectrum that is going to become available. The departments don't have their hands around these urgent issues, despite the fact that they inherited a number of people from the old ministries."

Government officials have denied the existence of a turf war between the split communications ministries. However, the Democratic Alliance's shadow minister of telecoms and postal services, Marian Shinn, says digital television is entangled in a "tug-of-war" brought about by the unnecessary split of the former department. She notes, if the split was aimed at improving efficiency of delivery in line with the National Development Plan, "it has backfired".

"It's basically the president's decision to create two ministries out of one that is the root cause of the inaction and squabbles. And it was totally unnecessary." However, Cwele has said government's goal to stimulate the local ICT industry and bring broadband to the masses is the reason state-owned entities - including Broadband Infraco, the Universal Service Access Agency of SA, Sentech and the State IT Agency - were pulled together under DTPS.

Shinn says it is difficult to comment on what progress the department has actually made, as the only insight she has into his, and the department's activities, is through media reports. Cwele will only provide an update on departmental reorganisation, mandates and programme of action on 19 September following an inadequate briefing during the budget approval process on the reasons for the split of the department, Shinn notes. "Until then we are in the dark."

Shinn believes Cwele's promise of digital switch-on - which will free up much-needed spectrum - by the end of October is unlikely, "making it almost impossible to meet the mid-2015 deadline for analogue TV switch-off".

Getting to grips

Dominic Cull, regulatory advisor to the Internet Services Providers' Association, says it is too early to tell what progress Cwele has made, but adds the "realignment of the political structure has undoubtedly aggravated the normal delays occasioned with a change in minister". He adds these issues cannot definitively be laid at the door of either the department or the minister, as Cwele has set out his intentions around forthcoming policy directions and areas of focus.

Both communications minister Faith Muthambi and DTPS minister Siyabonga Cwele have vowed to take digital television forward.
Both communications minister Faith Muthambi and DTPS minister Siyabonga Cwele have vowed to take digital television forward.

"In a sense, key progress is being made by emphasising continuity. While the reasons for the realignment of departments remain unclear, it may turn out to be progress of a sort in the sense that the minister responsible for communications in general will not - unlike his predecessors - be required to spend most of his time dealing with the South African Broadcasting Corporation."

Cull notes it seems Cwele has largely kept to the trajectory set by Carrim, which is to be welcomed.

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