The Universal Services and Access Agency of SA (USAASA) claims there are private sector companies that are determined to derail government's delivery service programme, including the issuing of tenders related to set-top boxes and broadcast digital migration.
"There are some who don't want us to issue these tenders, specifically those who are already manufacturing set-top boxes, or those in a position to start manufacturing, and they would like to see the market flooded with their own products," says USAASA spokesperson Khulekani Ntshangase.
While he did not want to name specific companies, he explains several private sector manufacturers have been requesting continuous extensions to the tender process, as they are "looking after their own interests".
"Why must we wait? Why should we be held to ransom?" asks Ntshangase, pointing out that the agency had already granted an extension to the four digital television-related tenders that closed yesterday.
In November last year, USAASA put out requests for proposals for the supply of set-top boxes (STBs) for both satellite and terrestrial coverage, as well as for satellite dishes and terrestrial antennas. The boxes are needed to convert the new signal for viewing on older TVs.
USAASA falls under the Department of Communications which - led by minister Faith Muthambi - has successfully sought to take control of digital migration process that has stalled several times. Industry observers mostly concur that SA will not meet the mid-2015 deadline for when the International Telecommunications Union stops protecting analogue signal.
A briefing held in December attracted attendance from 145 companies, but Ntshangase could not immediately say how many submitted bids in response to the requests for proposals.
Validity questioned
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) says it is taking legal advice on the validity of the R4.3 billion tender for the supply and delivery of five million government-subsidised set-top boxes (STBs) that will be supplied by government.
DA shadow minister of telecommunications and postal services Marian Shinn says the DA is concerned that, in a rushed attempt to partially meet the digital migration deadline of 17 June 2015 by delivering some STBs this year, proper processes and evaluation may be "circumvented and side-lined, rendering the tender process unlawful".
The opposition explains it is questioning the validity of the process for the following reasons:
* The broadcast digital migration policy has not yet been approved by Cabinet;
* The digital terrestrial television (DTT) STB tender document calls for two prices - for boxes with set-top box control and for those without. This indicates that at the time the tenders invitation was printed there was still no certainty about whether the subsidised STBs would have controlled access;
* The direct-to-home standards have not been approved - the draft of these was first sent for public comment on 12 December 2014;
* The low-key manner in which the tender process was conducted, which side-lined many companies that would have submitted bids, casts doubt over whether the process will be fairly adjudicated. Most of the 145 companies that attended the bidders' briefing meeting on 2 December 2014 were invited.
Shinn further claims the financing for subsidised STBs has not been secured. "At a presentation to the parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Telecommunications and Postal Services last September, USAASA stated that of the R4.3 billion required, only R2.39 billion had been approved by National Treasury for payment through the Universal Service Access Fund."
'Just rubbish'
However, Ntshangase says that the DA is "just talking rubbish", adding USAASA is dismayed at the "unfortunate and sensational" statement issued by the opposition.
"For the record, on 19 September 2014, USAASA presented its state of readiness on the implementation of the broadcasting digital migration project before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Telecommunications and Postal Services," says Ntshangase.
This presentation, he adds, included subsidy qualifying criteria, the number of people to be subsidised, the distribution model, the tendering process, and available funds.
"USAASA informed committee members that, because of the magnitude of project and the interest that a bid of this nature would attract, it resolved to source the services of a four-tier consulting company to evaluate the tender so to avoid unfounded innuendos as demonstrated by the DA's allegations."
Ntshangase points out the agency also informed the committee that in the interest of time it thought it was prudent to initiate the tender process, calling for quotations for both encryption and non-encryption STB systems. "USAASA was mindful of the fact that a policy decision had not been concluded, but was concerned about its ability to meet the deadline of 17 June 2015, as set by the International Telecommunications Union."
He explains, in accordance with clause 16 A.6.3 [c] of the National Treasury Regulations, issued in terms of the Public Finance Management Act 1 of 1999, as amended, USAASA gazetted the bid on 21 November 2014 to close on the 19th of December 2014. The bid was also advertised in the Sunday Times of 30 November 2014, and was available on the USAASA Web site.
"As the closing date of 19 December 2014 was approaching, requests for extension were made by prospective bidders. The closing date was extended to 6 January 2015. Even on the extended closing date, USAASA was still receiving requests for further extensions from people who claimed to have had been closed by the time the extension was granted. This statement is probably commissioned by these disorganised business people."
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