Communications minister Roy Padaychie will embark on the mammoth task of salvaging the “dysfunctional” Department of Communications (DOC), having outlined a recovery plan, at a press briefing, in Pretoria today.
Only 11 days into his tenure, the new minister has outlined his top priorities, which include the restructuring of the DOC, a rescue plan for state-owned entities, and relationship-building with the private sector.
The communications ministry went from bad to worse under the leadership of former minister Siphiwe Nyanda, a retired general and former head of the South African National Defence Force. This resulted in Nyanda's axing by president Jacob Zuma and Padayachie's subsequent appointment.
Now the new minister and his deputy, Obed Bapela, have sketched their turnaround strategy for the department and, by extension, the telecommunications industry, expected to be implemented over the next 12 months.
Padayachie stated the first priority of the roadmap involves an intervention in the reconstruction and development of the DOC. The new minister has committed to more efficient and effective leadership, planning and budgeting.
The first point of action will be the appointment of a new director-general (DG) - as the previous DG, Mamodupi Mohlala, was fired by Nyanda - and senior management member, which Padayachie hopes to conclude within the next three months.
Cleaning up SOEs
The second thrust of Padayachie's intervention is to stabilise the state-owned entities within the communications portfolio: the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), Sentech, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA), and the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA).
Padayachie explained that this would involve the finalisation of a turnaround strategy and the creation of stability at the SABC.
Regarding state-owned signal distributor Sentech, the minister committed to working with the board to ensure senior management positions are filled within the next three months.
Padayachie underlined his intentions of maintaining the independent nature of ICASA. “For the effective functioning of the ICT sector, the regulator must be strengthened and at all times function with confidence and independence.”
During the first half of 2011, the ICASA Amendment Bill will be finalised and submitted to Cabinet for approval for introduction to Parliament, said Padayachie.
Universal service and access to ICT is also a priority for the minister. The DOC, as part of its amendment to the Electronic Communications Act, will strengthen the roles, powers and functions within USAASA.
Appeal to private sector
The last leg of Padayachie's short-term turnaround strategy involves forging partnerships with the private sector, academia, civil society organisations and labour.
“These sectors provide enormous potential for the mobilisation of intellectual capital and investment partnership. We will extend an open invitation to enter into a development partnership with different sectors to reconstruct and develop the ICT sector.”
Padayachie explained that, in the coming weeks, the DOC will initiate a series of roundtable discussions with different sectors. Following that, the department will host roundtables with the CEOs and chairpersons of the top 30 ICT companies in the country.
“We may not achieve every goal that we have outlined here today, but how will we achieve anything if we do not set out a goal?” concluded Padayachie.
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