The Department of Communications (DOC) wants to put its turbulent recent past behind it and focus on the future, especially where it and the country want to be in 10 years, says acting director-general Harold Wesso.
Yesterday, the DOC came under severe criticism by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications. This led to MPs of all parties questioning its ability to guide the ICT sector, to fulfil its mandate and manage the state-owned entities, such as Sentech and the SABC, that fall within its portfolio.
Some MPs even queried why the DOC should continue to exist considering it is in such severe straights, with only two of its top management having been permanently appointed, with the rest in an acting capacity.
Among the issues that raised the politicians' hackles was the fact that R24 million worth of irregular expenditure had been cited by the auditor-general. However, DOC officials were quick to point out that only R920 000 of that amount had occurred in the past year, with the rest having happened since 2004.
“One has to ask just what kind of audits was done then when the department received a clean bill of health from the auditor-general?” asked Sam Vilakazi, the DOC's acting deputy director-general for finance.
However, the MPs continued to insist they wanted more information concerning what was being done about the irregular expenditure. They also demanded to know what steps were being taken against those who had been found to transgress supply chain management rules and the Public Finance Management Act.
The irregular expenditure issues resulted in one out of court settlement with the DOC's ex-CFO Harry Matabate. Several other top-ranking officials, such as COO Gerda Grabe, are still on suspension as they wait for their disciplinary hearings to proceed.
The politicians were also scathing in their criticism of what the DOC had continually said it would do and what it had actually delivered.
“For years, the DOC's strategic plans have said the department is moving in one direction only for us to find out it is moving in a totally opposite direction,” said Eric Kholwane (ANC).
The opposition Democratic Alliance and Congress of the People, which were equally harsh in their criticism, supported his sentiments.
Wesso said in reply: “One must not just focus on what is happening today or in the immediate future, but we must also focus on where we [the DOC] and the country need to be in 10 years' time. I estimate that we lag other countries by 10 to 15 years.”
DOC officials said a colloquium on the future of the DOC would be held; however, when pressed they presented only sketchy details.
Wesso said the colloquium would probably occur sometime in late November or early December, and it would include representatives of the public and private sectors. This would encompass those who are represented on communication minister Siphiwe Nyanda's advisory forum.
The politicians' concern was expressed by communications committee chairperson Ismail Vadi, who read a statement on behalf of all the members at the end of the meeting.
The statement said the committee was “gravely concerned that for the better part of the current financial year, the Department of Communications was in a state of virtual disarray, if not wholly dysfunctional”.
It gave a list of resolutions that the DOC should complete before year-end, including a process of redefining its strategic priorities so that they are consistent with the communication minister's performance. It also declared that a delivery contract must be signed with the Presidency and vacant posts must be urgently filled.
The contract with the consultancy that was appointed to undertake an institutional review must come under scrutiny, and the level of spending on core operational programmes should be prudently increased, it added.
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