DOC defends Sentech

The Department of Communications (DOC) has defended Sentech's investment in the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) cable.

Earlier this week, opposition party the Democratic Alliance (DA) lambasted government for allowing two separate state-owned businesses to invest in two different undersea cable projects. The slow starter of the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), Broadband Infraco, has a stake in the West African Cable System.

DA shadow deputy minister of science and technology Marian Shinn says there is no valid reason both Broadband Infraco and Sentech should have financial obligations to two separate cable systems.

The DOC says it sees little wrong with the additional investment made by Sentech. “If there's any substance to this claim, the cluster responsible for infrastructure development would be willing to look into this and apply corrective measures,” explains the DOC.

The department says the cluster would have advised both the DPE and the DOC on what should be done if government had a problem with the duplicate investment.

ACE was initially planned to stretch from France to Gabon; however, the France Telecom-led and Nepad-backed cable extended its reach in June last year. The cable joins the rush of international capacity to hit African shores, adding its 1.92Tb of bandwidth to a growing figure.

As the troubled business's main stakeholder, the DOC is responsible for Sentech's budget. However, the department did not respond to ITWeb's question as to how Sentech planned to fund its investment in the incoming cable. Sentech has also not indicated where it will find the money to land the cable in Cape Town.

Sentech has been in financial dire straits for several years and has battled to source funding for some of its major projects. These include the roll-out of digital migration across SA, expected to be completed by 2011; and its involvement as a backup service to Telkom for the Fifa 2010 Soccer World Cup this year.

The department has been sympathetic to Sentech's troubles, saying that, before the new administration, it had battled to receive the money it needed to function properly. Despite that, the department implemented a task team, which was expected to take a deeper look into Sentech's operations.

According to the department, the report has not yet arrived. While some speculation surfaced around the stability of the employment of Sentech's CEO, Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane, the DOC has rubbished this claim.

Meanwhile, Broadband Infraco has essentially been left to its own devices since former minister of public enterprises Alec Erwin left government. However, the company had its wings clipped by the DOC last year, through a policy change allowing it to provide networks rather than services.

This caused speculation around whether the department intended to pull Broadband Infraco under its umbrella. However, the department says it does not have the authority to decide which departments state-owned enterprises fall under. “The issue of the location of Infraco cannot be a decision of the DOC,” it concluded.