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DTPS must shape up, speed up

Simnikiwe Mzekandaba
By Simnikiwe Mzekandaba, IT in government editor
Johannesburg, 26 Nov 2015
Deputy minister Hlengiwe Mkhize says private sector stakeholders have called on her department to be at the centre of SA's digital revolution.
Deputy minister Hlengiwe Mkhize says private sector stakeholders have called on her department to be at the centre of SA's digital revolution.

The Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS) has come under fire yet again, this time for the lack of permanent heads occupying important positions within the department.

According to a News24 report, chair of parliament's committee on telecoms, Ellen Prins, said the department needs to be made accountable. She criticised the move to appoint acting deputy-director generals (DDGs) instead of having permanent heads in the positions.

"I think no one is taking responsibility actually because it's acting, acting, acting," News24 quoted Prins.

The criticism comes on the back of comments made at the eStrategies Africa conference, which took place this week in Cape Town, where industry players noted the slow implementation of policies by a department that should be leading the country's digital revolution.

"There was a strong panel expressing their concerns about policies that are not implemented," says DTPS deputy minister Hlengiwe Mkhize.

Power struggles

Over the past year, the DTPS has been plagued by a leadership crisis which has led to the exit and suspension of some of the top heads in the department.

The ministry currently has no permanent director-general (DG) following the suspension of Rosey Sekese, who also faces internal disciplinary charges.

The Sekese situation was prompted by an independent inquiry into the management affairs of the department conducted by the Public Service Commission.

In August, department minister Siyabonga Cwele approached the commission to investigate the ongoing leadership challenges and the role played by senior management, including Sekese, in the dysfunction of the department.

During her time as DG, Sekese dismissed three deputy DGs: Themba Phiri, Sam Vilakazi, and Gift Buthelezi (who was fired via SMS).

An ITWeb investigation revealed Sekese dismissed Buthelezi while he was on leave, reportedly informing the senior official his employment had been terminated with immediate effect, due to a failure to carry out his duties and/or gross insubordination, among other charges.

Department spokesperson Siyabulela Qoza confirmed to ITWeb that the DTPS only has one permanent DDG.

"The recruitment process is ongoing and interviews to fill three DDG positions have been concluded," he states.

Joe Mjwara continues to be acting DG in the interim.

Slow policies

Yesterday, Mkhize told ITWeb that private sector stakeholders have criticised the department for its slow policy implementation.

Mkhize noted the comments were made during the eStrategies Africa conference, where industry players expressed concerns surrounding plans that have not moved fast enough and how regulation is slowing down decision-making for the private sector.

As a global initiative, the eStrategies conference is designed to bring the public and private sectors together to discuss technology challenges and opportunities, and develop partnerships. Concentrating on African countries, the conference aims to examine development opportunity and the need for the implementation of new technologies.

According to Mkhize, the main priority expressed by the panel was that the department needs to ensure there are concrete examples of policies the DTPS have put forward. "When we make policies, they don't want to experience us as people who are taking them 10 steps back."

She added: "We need to have quarterly forums where there are discussions between policy-makers and the industry players, because in some instances they [the industry players] are much stronger and are ahead of us."

Mkhize said the private sector has called on the DTPS to aggressively and visibly be the centre of the digital revolution.

"This really showed us that early next year there needs to be follow-up in terms of specific questions around the way forward so that people show whether they have made progress between now and March."

The department felt it is fair to constantly engage, especially in the area of the digital revolution because the private sector tends to be ahead in all countries, not only in South Africa, noted Mkhize.

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