Since taking the reins at the new Department of Communications (DOC) in May, neither minister Faith Muthambi, nor her department, seem able to gather enough momentum to silence critics.
The current DOC was created when president Jacob Zuma split the former DOC into two entities - the new DOC and the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS) - soon after this year's general elections. The split was not welcomed by the industry, with pundits describing the creation of the DTPS as a reversion to the pre-digital era and a deliberate move to separate broadcasting content from service provision.
Meanwhile, the DOC's role continued to be shrouded in mystery, with Zuma announcing it would focus on "improved communication and marketing [which] will promote an informed citizenry and also assist the country to promote investments, economic growth and job creation". Most industry observers concluded the new DOC would mostly be concerned with disseminating "good news" about government's achievements, and act primarily as the state's "Propaganda Ministry".
However, in addition to finessing government's public image, the DOC is in charge of the National Electronic Media Institute of SA, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the Universal Access Agency of SA and the Universal Services Access Fund.
In recent weeks, Muthambi has taken control of the country's stalled broadcast digital migration process and has vowed to "revive" the project - an initiative that has, until recently, been the subject of a turf war between the DOC and the DTPS.
Despite talking up digital migration, Muthambi's tenure has been marred by several "missteps", such as appointing controversial Hlaudi Motsoeneng as the SABC's permanent chief operating officer - in defiance of a recommendation by the public protector. Equally controversial was her appointment of former government spokesperson Jimmy Manyi as a special advisor.
What targets?
Considering these contentious moves and a lack of any significant progress from the DOC, market watchers are finding it difficult to rate Muthambi's performance. ICT veteran Adrian Schofield says that almost immediately after the DOC's "new" responsibilities were announced, there was a general feeling that it was to put the government's propaganda operations into one department.
"Of course, the word 'propaganda' is contentious, but any way you choose to describe it, the process of putting out messages that paint a positive picture of government activities is propaganda," he notes.
"Every government does it, with varying degrees of success. Using government control of the platforms that carry the messages to limit dissension is censorship - a word not yet applied here, but there is a fine line."
Schofield points out the challenge with deciding if the DOC has met its targets is that the industry does not know what these are. "There is ongoing confusion about which of the 'old' DOC responsibilities remain and which move to DTPS, and it is not easy to point to any decisive action taken by the minister or the department to achieve any of the perceived goals."
These perceived goals, says Schofield, include meeting the digital migration deadline, reallocating spectrum to meet broadband needs, sorting out the mess that is the SABC, or even putting out an effective "good news" message.
"My mark would have to be an F for failing to step up to the mark with clarity of purpose, failing to resolve differences with the DTPS, and not getting some real action on key issues that are holding SA back."
Still waiting
Similarly, independent analyst Spiwe Chireka says it is difficult to rate the DOC's performance, but notes she is generally unimpressed with the department and Muthambi. "There hasn't been much coming out of the DOC; there have been no significant achievements."
Chireka argues, so far, little has resulted from the DOC's digital migration talk. "By August/September, we expected to have a clear plan or strategy, but there has been nothing. We need to know what happened to the plan that was devised under [former ministers Yunis] Carrim and [Dina] Pule."
At the time that Muthambi took office, says Chireka, the minister acknowledged that one of the country's biggest challenges is digital migration. "Could [the lack of action] imply that there was no plan and that she has to start over? Or does it imply the plan that was there was really bad? She needs to tell us."
As the country's digital migration process seems to be going nowhere, Chireka says it is certain SA will not make the international switchover deadline of June 2015. "Unless they are planning to do a hard switchover, but there would be serious implications to that."
Thus, says Chireka, it is difficult to gauge the DOC's performance. "There is nothing to put a tick against. We simply haven't heard anything."
Bottom of the pile
The Democratic Alliance (DA), in a Cabinet scorecard released this week, gave Muthambi a score of 1/10, where she joins economic development minister Ebrahim Patel, energy minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson, and Zuma - right at the bottom of the heap.
According to DA shadow minister of communications Gavin Davis, Muthambi has managed to make a real name for herself - for all the wrong reasons. "Muthambi's first blunder as minister of this department was to announce a state communications task team stacked with Zuma loyalists, such as Jimmy Manyi, Vusi Mona and Hlaudi Motsoeneng. This did nothing to dispel the perception that she was creating a propaganda machine for the embattled president."
Furthermore, Davis says Muthambi's performance appears to have already upset many in her own party. "It is known that Luthuli House was furious when she appointed Motsoeneng without consulting them. Her turf war with telecommunications minister Siyabonga Cwele, over who gets to control digital terrestrial television, is also unlikely to have helped her cause."
Davis also notes Muthambi was unceremoniously dumped as the spokesperson for Cabinet, after only three months in the job. "This was after being sent on media training courses - at a cool R12 000 a session."
It was reported in September that Muthambi's poor public speaking ability and nervousness in interviews was not sitting well with her ANC colleagues. This reportedly prompted minister in the presidency Jeff Radebe to move in on some of Muthambi's turf, and leading weekly press conferences on Cabinet meetings - a function previously fulfilled by Muthambi.
"Perhaps Muthambi's ineptitude might be the one thing that stands in the way of the ANC effectively controlling government's communication apparatus," says Davis.
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