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'Dysfunctional' comms departments paralyse industry

Johannesburg, 25 Mar 2015
SA's communication departments are solidifying communication lines, says deputy telecommunications and postal services minister Hlengiwe Mkhize.
SA's communication departments are solidifying communication lines, says deputy telecommunications and postal services minister Hlengiwe Mkhize.

Almost a year after SA's communications department was inexplicably split into two, government is still trying to sort out lines of communication, leaving the sector in a state of paralysis.

The dilemma is especially acute when it comes to laws that fall both under the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS) and the Department of Communications (DOC), such as the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) Act.

Towards the end of last year, the state decreed the DOC would have oversight of some parts of that law, and the DTPS over other aspects, a move that followed president Jacob Zuma's unexpected creation of two communications departments in May.

However, splitting of functions led to dysfunctional departments, and caused paralysis among staff members, with some operations being duplicated, to the detriment of the ICT sector, say commentators.

Work in progress

Deputy telecommunications and postal services minister Hlengiwe Mkhize hinted at some of the challenges the departments face in a recent interview with ITWeb. While explaining the split was a "strategic" move because the sector is so broad, she acknowledges the two departments are "working on strengthening our ongoing communication lines" so thinking between DTPS and DOC is "in line".

Mkhize also noted, with the changes to the ICASA Act, there are now sections under which councillors will be guided by DTPS policy, and others where they will be guided by the DOC.

"Although we may have different functions, it all comes back to communication technology ... responsibilities are therefore shared between the two with a very clear line of thinking and cooperation kept between the departments."

Costing SA

However, say commentators, it is clear the departments are not functioning together effectively, and should never have been split. Ovum analyst Richard Hurst says the duplication of efforts and infighting that marred digital migration, for example, is symptomatic of the splintered entities.

South Africa's split communications departments are set to cost the country as much as R735 million more over the next two years, ITWeb revealed in February. Hurst says, apart from this cost, there is also the additional burden for businesses of more red tape because there is no clarity as to which department deals with which aspect of doing business. "This flies in the face of what government should be doing; it should be an enabler, not a disabler."

The Democratic Alliance's shadow minister of telecommunications and postal services, Marian Shinn, adds it is clear neither of the departments know what they are doing, nine months after the split. She notes no targets of substance have been met, and SA should have been much further down the telecoms line than it is now.

Shinn adds splitting of oversight of laws such as the ICASA Act between the departments has left the authority "paralysed" as staff do not know how to deal with the split. "It's crazy; it's so damaging."

ICASA did not respond to requests for comment.

Going the wrong way

"Very little has changed from the confusion of last year. It is still so unclear," says Hurst. "Important sectors are being ignored because everyone is fighting for a slice of the pie, but it's still the same piece of the pie."

In addition, says Hurst, the splitting of the departments has created policy and regulatory uncertainty. "In essence, they [government] are actually punishing the sector." He notes there is a global trend towards convergence, and splitting the departments makes it feel "like we are doing a total 180 turn away from the global trends".

ICT commentator Adrian Schofield adds splitting the departments "makes no more sense than it did at the outset". He says "it's easier to ask which have not derailed" when asked about what projects have fallen by the wayside since the reorganisation. "How can two departments controlled by the same majority party government not have their thinking in line?"

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