Parliament's Communications Committee wants assurances that the country's migration from analogue to digital broadcasting is on track.
It also wants to know if the money earmarked for the set-top box (STB) subsidy is legally allocated.
This emerged late yesterday in discussions during the presentation of the Universal Service and Access Agency of SA's (Usaasa's) budget presentation. The agency is responsible for managing the subsidy that would enable poor households to buy STBs that will allow digital signals to be viewed on analogue TV sets.
In early 2008, Cabinet approved the three-year period for the country to convert its aging TV broadcast system to the new digital format that is due to end on 1 November 2011.
“We are beginning to run out of time,” said Eric Kholwane (ANC). “We, as Parliament, have a duty to ensure the poor are able to receive their TV signals and are not left behind.”
According to Usaasa, there are an estimated nine million households in SA with TV sets. Of that total, five million would be eligible to receive a subsidy of R495 that would cover most of the cost of the R700 bill for an STB.
For the 2010/11 financial year, the agency has been allocated R180 million, meaning it will supply subsidies for 367 446 households. National Treasury has earmarked a similar amount for the next financial year.
This money has been allocated from the Universal Service and Access Fund (USAF), which was set up in terms of the defunct Telecommunications Act to build universal access for the poor and indigent. It consists of contributions paid by the telecommunications operators, amounting to 0.2% of their annual revenue.
Juli Killian (Cope) asked whether this was a legal use of the fund, as it seemed it was now being used to develop a broadcasting system when it was originally set up for telecommunications purposes. She also asked if communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda had issued a policy directive that would allow the fund to be used in such a manner.
Usaasa's head of legal and regulatory affairs, Phineas Moleele, acknowledged the use of the fund for broadcasting purposes was a grey area. However, he added that convergence, as envisaged by the Electronic Communications Act (which replaced the Telecoms Act) stated telecommunications and broadcasting would use similar technologies to supply various services.
Department of Communications chief director Sibongile Makopi told the committee that no policy directive had been issued. He added that it did not view the use of the USAF to rollout a broadcasting system as inconsistent with the aims of the above Act.
“This is being done within the spirit of convergence,” he told the committee.
Communications committee chairman Ismail Vadi said he wanted to ensure Usaasa had the capacity to rollout the subsidy, and that the money was being used in a procedurally and legally sound manner.
Moleele said the system for disbursing the subsidies was not yet finalised, but that it seemed the South African Post Office's facilities would be used, and it would take the form of a voucher system.
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