Subscribe

ICT progress marred by rift?

Bonnie Tubbs
By Bonnie Tubbs, ITWeb telecoms editor.
Johannesburg, 18 Nov 2014
Telecoms and postal services minister Siyabonga Cwele has released three public documents in the past two weeks.
Telecoms and postal services minister Siyabonga Cwele has released three public documents in the past two weeks.

The release of SA's ICT policy review discussion paper last week has been welcomed as a sign the energy former communications minister Yunus Carrim injected into the process has not dissipated.

True progress in the sector in general, however, will require a lot more than political will as the new riven ICT ministry - comprising Siyabonga Cwele's Department of Telecoms and Postal Services (DTPS) and Faith Muthambi's Department of Communications (DOC) - have yet to get to grips with their respective functions in a sector increasingly characterised by convergence.

The ICT policy review discussion paper, published for comment on Friday, is the third public step the DTPS has taken towards the development of the ICT sector this month, with Cwele issuing a notice for ICT charter council applications on 4 November and the International Mobile Telephony (IMT) roadmap also being gazetted on Friday.

Cautious optimism

ICT expert Adrian Schofield, who will be compiling a response to the 300-odd page ICT policy discussion paper on behalf of the Institute of IT Professionals SA, says he hopes the recent action is indicative of Cwele's will to progress the sector, but a lot will also depend on the ability of the department to support that will.

"Both the charter council and the ICT policy review have been delayed and derailed so often that it will take strong leadership with clear vision to get them back on track." He points out the IMT roadmap under the DTPS came from the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA), which now falls under the DOC.

Democratic Alliance shadow minister of telecoms and postal services Marian Shinn sees the moves by Cwele merely as "low-hanging fruit that Muthambi's not interested in grabbing and that has been on the department's to-do list for some time".

But she has faith the management of the DTPS will not repeat the inaction the then DOC saw under minister Dina Pule (October 2011 to July 2013). "I get the impression that the management of the department is keen to move on issues and are frustrated by the impediments minister Muthambi is putting on their path."

Tug-of-war

In a recent meeting of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Communications, it emerged Cwele and Muthambi's respective departments still did not see eye to eye, despite government officials in August denying the existence of a turf war between the two ministers.

Shinn says an official told her last week it appeared Muthambi "wanted to grab everything". She says, until the president steps in and puts an end to the "tug-of-war" over digital migration and the bits of broadcasting legislation in the Electronic Communications Act and ICASA, the departments - and ICT sector - will continue to falter.

"Cwele seems unfazed by all this delay, saying things are taking their natural course and relations are collegial - so he either doesn't understand the time-critical challenges facing the sector or he's being disingenuous."

Silo mentality

Schofield says, while the separation of roles between DOC and DTPS does not help matters any, the fundamental question is whether the transition from silo thinking about technologies, to understanding the full implications of convergence, can take place within the government's framework. "A fully connected society will expect to receive fully connected services, which will require a major overhaul of how government uses technology to deliver those services."

In the introduction to the ICT policy review discussion paper, the DTPS cites government's National Development Plan (2012): a "new policy framework will be needed to realise the vision of a fully connected society". The department goes on to say the policy review process will be to the end of a holistic policy, with two key tech trends changing the way people communicate - convergence and the transition to digital TV.

Schofield says, while a holistic policy is essential, it must be seen in the context of a technology-enabled society that can compete with similar economies around the world. "That's not a technology issue, it's a fundamental political issue, to inculcate the culture that (for example) transformed the South Korean economy in only 15 years. The digital migration issue is a relatively minor red herring in the whole scenario."

DOC responds

Acting DOC director-general Donald Liphoko says the two departments "are working earnestly to establish a rapport and to provide a stable policy environment conducive to corporate planning".

He says the digital broadcasting policy arena is only one area of collaboration in which potential must be unlocked to accelerate economic growth. "Both departments and their entities have embarked on an extensive change management process to align their work to the mandate given to the new ministers in the six-month-old administration."

Liphoko concedes the process of organisational change can be unsettling for all parties concerned - including industry - but says the leadership of the departments is "keenly aware of the ramifications of further delays" and is working to resolve outstanding matters.

"We are mindful of the history of missed deadlines on several fronts and are determined not to repeat past shortcomings. It is in our national interest for government to act in concert with the ICT sector to unlock the digital dividend for all our citizens."

The DTPS had not responded by the time of publication.

Structure of the DTPS' ICT policy discussion paper

The DTPS recognises convergence and technological changes (including the migration to DTT) "require a completely new approach to that of the silo regulation of the past", the notion the ICT policy discussion paper's structure is based on.

Chapter one: Introduction.

Chapter Two: Policy Options - Key Principles and Approaches identifies key principles and issues that affect all ICT-related sectors, including core regulatory principles, green ICT policies and approaches to reinforcing the open Internet.

Chapter Three: Policy Options - Infrastructure and Services focuses on the infrastructure and services necessary to ensure universal access and affordability goals are met.

Chapter Four: Policy Options - The Digital Society considers how to develop and implement a national e-strategy to build the envisaged digital society, incorporating e-government, e-services and e-commerce strategies, as well as the policies necessary to ensure trust and confidence in new services. Internet governance is also dealt with in this chapter.

Chapter Five: Policy Options - Audio and Audio-visual Content Services focuses on the new multichannel, multiscreen and multiplatform environment, where audiences will be able to access broadcasting and broadcasting-like content "anywhere, anytime and anyhow" - and more easily share content they have created.

Chapter Six: Policy Options - Industry Growth addresses the strategies necessary to promote growth in the industry. It presents policy options on transformation of the sector, investments, expanding the national system of ICT research, development and innovation, electronics manufacturing, and skills development.

Chapter Seven: Policy Options - Institutional Frameworks assesses which institutions and institutional frameworks are necessary to achieve the policy objectives identified in previous chapters, and how the institutional arrangements can be strengthened to support these.

Share