Roy Padayachie will have a tough job ahead of him to fix the dysfunctional mess that the Department of Communications became under Siphiwe Nyanda's tenure, say industry commentators.
Padayachie was redeployed into the hot seat yesterday evening, after President Jacob Zuma shuffled his Cabinet, and axed Nyanda. Padayachie is well known to the ICT sector, having served as deputy communications minister from 2004 until 2009, when he took up the position of deputy minister of public service and administration.
His appointment as minister of communications has been broadly welcomed by industry as Padayachie is seen as being easier to talk to, and having a clear grasp on SA's communications needs.
No easy task
However, cleaning up the department of communications and sorting out several state-owned entities, such as the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), Sentech and the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA), will not be an easy task, warn market commentators.
Denis Smit, MD of BMI-TechKnowledge, says the department has been wracked by politics for more than a year and is “in a bad way”.
Smit says many positions, including the key post of director-general, are open and must be filled. The DG post is being filled by Harold Wesso in an acting capacity, after Mamodupi Mohlala was axed earlier this year.
Smit adds that Padayachie needs to prioritise a broadband strategy. He explains that the current policy only provides a general direction, but does not detail how the country will achieve its aim.
Urgent tasks
Black IT Forum secretary general Motse Mfuleni says Padayachie's appointment is a “welcome relief” as the minister has previous experience within the department. He says there are several issues that Padayachie will have to tackle as a matter of urgency.
The minister will also have to deal with Sentech, which was recently in the spotlight for wasted spending last year. The utility needs a strong management team to complement its new CEO, ex-Telkom man Setumo Mohapi, says Mfuleni.
Mfuleni adds Padayachie needs to make sure there is a focus on skills development to make sure “the feeder system is not blocked”.
In addition, says Mfuleni, Padayachie should take over the State IT Agency (SITA) from the Department of Public Service and Administration. SITA was recently slammed by the auditor-general for incurring R215 million worth of irregular expenditure last year, on top of R19 million in the 2008/9 financial year.
Independent industry analyst Paul Booth says Padayachie is “one of the best appointments we've had for ages... let's try and take advantage of it”.
Booth says the new minister needs to create a platform through which industry can communicate with the department as one voice. He adds that SA has lost its position as a telecoms leader on the continent, and needs to get the edge back.
Back to basics
Adrian Schofield, Computer Society of SA president, says Padayachie has an opportunity to pick up where he left off. The new minister was instrumental in drafting the September 2004 liberalisation announcement as the department's deputy, which opened the door for self-provisioning.
Schofield hopes Padayachie can quickly catch up the wasted efforts of the last two years that were the result of Nyanda's reign. “The department has gone nowhere and done nothing under Nyanda.”
It is vital that a new plan of action is put on the table as soon as possible, says Schofield. He says movement must happen now, before the holiday slump, or any real action will only come out in the first quarter of next year.
Padayachie must also get the ball rolling towards digital TV migration, and set a realistic deadline. He needs to sort out both the SABC and Sentech. While Sentech is making progress, it's too early to tell whether it is out of the woods, says Schofield.
“He is taking over what is, by their own admission, a failed department,” says Schofield. He adds it will not be easy to turn it around quickly, but if Padayachie shows strong leadership, he will inspire his staff.
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