Ismail Vadi, chairman of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications, blasted state signal distributor Sentech yesterday for signing a deal with Baharicom Development Company, while reneging on a deal to be part of an east African submarine cable.
During the debate about communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda's budget vote speech, Vadi, a member of the ruling African National Congress, made a strong point of hammering the company for pulling out of the East African Submarine Cable System (Eassy), for which it had received R21 million in funding to invest.
“Sentech has acted outside its political mandate by not concluding an agreement with... Eassy, which was approved by government and, instead, entered into a landing rights agreement with Baharicom Development Company,” he said.
Vadi was referring to decisions taken by the previous communications minister, the late Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri and her director-general, Lyndall Shope-Mafole (now a member of opposition party Cope).
He also said there are several examples of Sentech's staff recruitment practices that were driven by considerations that might not be publicly justifiable.
“However, in the absence of the ministerial task team's report being made available to the committee, it is not possible to state conclusively that there is or is not a case of unethical conduct or practices that promote conflict of interest in the company,” he said.
Vadi also said: “But the committee has a gut feeling that the situation is not entirely satisfactory. Hence we shall be calling the newly-appointed board to appear before the committee shortly.”
In his budget vote speech, Nyanda said he believes his action to appoint a new Sentech chairman and board would bring about greater purpose to the organisation and allow it to focus on the delivery of its mandate. The process to fill the position of the CEO is currently under way, after Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane vacated the position in March.
Later in his speech, Vadi praised the Department of Communications for having become more responsive under Nyanda and director-general Mamodupi Mohlala's leadership.
He cited the mobile termination rate issue being resolved as an outstanding success and described the role of the committee, in holding the public hearings coupled with the directives issued by Nyanda, as a “pincer movement” that resulted in the lowering of costs.
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