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Cwele: More cash needed for SA Connect

Martin Czernowalow
By Martin Czernowalow, Contributor.
Johannesburg, 19 Jun 2015
Telecoms and postal services minister Siyabonga Cwele called on the NCOP to work with the DTPS to monitor the provinces in the reprioritisation of resources.
Telecoms and postal services minister Siyabonga Cwele called on the NCOP to work with the DTPS to monitor the provinces in the reprioritisation of resources.

The R720 million allocated to the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Service (DTPS) for the SA Connect initiative will not be enough to deliver on broadband services, minister Siyabonga Cwele stated yesterday.

Speaking during the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) policy debate yesterday, Cwele said the figure was allocated to connect all schools, health facilities, government offices, Thusong Centres and post offices to broadband service in eight municipal districts.

"There is a need for the eradication of all duplications and the use of all available resources to deliver on our collective goals through the shifting of resources to enable e-government and ensure the training of staff.

"As an example, the money that was used for textbooks needs to be reallocated as we will now have e-books, tablets and Internet connectivity. We hope the NCOP will work with us and monitor the provinces in terms of this reprioritisation of resources," said Cwele.

"The roll-out of South Africa Connect, the country's broadband plan, is aimed at rolling out ICT infrastructure, services and skills to ensure we can use technology to improve the quality of services delivery. The largest broadband infrastructure gaps are in rural areas."

The first phase of the project focuses on connecting eight rural district municipalities to fast, secure and always-available Internet, which is scalable for future demand over three years until 2017.

Persistent challenges

According to Cwele, government has identified access to broadband infrastructure and services as one of the key tools towards achieving the "radical socio-economic transformation necessary to deal with the persistent triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment".

Cwele noted in this first year of implementation of SA Connect, R200 million has been allocated for the DTPS to work with Telkom in the eight districts to connect 1 295 government facilities, including 315 government offices, 197 health facilities, 38 police stations, 64 post offices, 681 schools and one Thusong Centre.

He pointed out president Jacob Zuma announced the designation of Telkom as the lead agency for the broadband rollout, adding the Constitution requires the acquisition of the company's services to be done in a transparent manner. "We have been outspoken in this transparency and the reasons why Telkom with [its] current extensive broadband infrastructure must be the lead agency.

"We are in the process to establish the governance structure on the rules of engagement between the department and Telkom, and how the delivery of these services is monitored, so that we can demonstrate value for money. This is a project of national importance which we cannot afford to delay," said Cwele.

Defending Telkom

Last month, Cwele defended the government's controversial decision to designate Telkom as the lead agency for the SA Connect initiative, stressing the operator has been "designated", but not "appointed".

He did not, however, clarify whether a process would eventually be announced to formally appoint a lead partner for the project, but noted government is satisfied with choosing Telkom on the basis of its extensive fibre network.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Cwele pointed out Telkom's role as a lead entity will be to coordinate the broadband efforts of the Universal Service and Access Agency of SA, the State IT Agency, Broadband Infraco, Sentech and the private sector to eliminate unnecessary duplication of infrastructure.

Broadband Infraco, he noted, will spend R319 million in the coming two years to expand its broadband infrastructure by 1 000km and establish 41 new points of presence. He added the entity has been advised to scale down on some projects to continue as a going concern given its challenges.

Cwele said international studies and benchmarks show SA ranks favourably in terms of inclusive ICT policies, but the country does poorly in terms of access and costs.

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