The Department of Communications` shortage of senior management - 40% less than the full complement - severely hampered its ability to deliver on its mandate, department director-general Lyndall Shope-Mafole said today.
She made the statement while presenting the department`s strategic plan for 2005-2008 to the parliamentary portfolio committee on communications.
However, Shope-Mafole said major strides have been made in restructuring and reorganising the department, the granting of the second national operator licence, policy announcements removing Telkom`s monopoly, submission of the Convergence Bill, reviewing of the funding strategy for the public broadcaster, finalisation of the universal service postal addresses roll-out and issuing of six underserviced area licences.
The department`s medium-term strategy themes were formed by President Thabo Mbeki`s 2005 state of the nation address. The strategy takes into account ICT environment developments, namely the need for a liberalised industry characterised by convergence and rapid technological developments, and the need to lower ICT input costs and increased investment in the economy. She said the challenges the department will face in the next three years are:
* Development of a broadband strategy.
* Digitisation of the electronic communications network.
* Repositioning of the post office and post bank.
* Review of universal service provision in telecommunication, broadcasting and postal services.
* Finalisation of the black empowerment charter.
She says the department`s strategies will focus on the following broad themes:
* Achievement of higher rates of investment in the South African economy through reducing the cost of doing business.
* Increased competitiveness of the economy through contributing to its modernisation.
* Broad-based participation in the economy through facilitating small and medium enterprise/black empowerment participation in the ICT industry.
* State delivery capacity improvement through e-government.
* Contributing to a better world through ICT-based second economy interventions.
The department`s key performance areas will be policy development, innovative applications and research, strategic policy co-ordination and integration, financial management, organisational excellence and operations.
In terms of the medium-term expenditure framework, Shope-Mafole said the department`s budget is expected to fall from R1.7 billion in 2004/05 to R1 billion in 2005/06. It is then expected to rise slowly to R1.2 billion in 2007/08.
Expenditure trends show that a once-off allocation of R54 million was made in 2002/03 to settle an outstanding loan from the SABC and to accommodate start-up costs.
There was also an allocation of R36.7 million in that year to purchase infrastructure for the new 112 emergency call centre. In 2003/04, R40 million was allocated to the SABC to fund the closure of the Bophuthatswana Broadcasting Corporation.
The department`s 2005 budget has set out additional allocations of R103 million for 2005/06, R158 million for 2006/07 and R163 million for 2007/08 to fund the new deputy ministry, the re-capitalisation of the SABC and the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA).
The department received R186.8 million in dividends from Telkom in 2003/04 and R228.3 million in 2004/05. It expects dividends from Telkom to increase steadily over the next three years. Similarly, the department expects licence fee revenue collected by ICASA to increase steadily over the next three years.
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