The Democratic Alliance (DA) has lambasted government's investment in competing undersea cables through two separate state-owned businesses.
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 Department of Communications' (DOC's) problem child, Sentech, announced last year it had committed an investment to the Africa Coast to Europe cable, a project being headed by France Telecom. Infraco, which falls under the mandate of the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), has a stake in the more popular West African Undersea Cable.
Shinn says it seems there is no communication between the departments, which has led to a duplication of investments. “There is no need to invest in two separate projects,” she explains.
The DA says that, while the country can never have enough broadband capacity, government needs to check what it can afford before it makes commitments like these. “The question that needs to be asked is: where is Sentech getting the funding?”
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 state-owned company has not elaborated on where it will receive additional funding for another large project.
The DOC is responsible for allocating the funding to the business, and has not yet responded to ITWeb's request for comment on the issue. 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 the sympathy, DOC director-general Mamodupi Mohlala has promised to clamp down on the business. Media reports indicate the department may be looking to replace the company's current CEO, Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane.
Broadband Infraco has essentially been left to its own devices since former minister of public enterprises Alec Erwin left government. However, the company has had its wings clipped by the DOC, through a policy change allowing it to provide networks rather than services.
When the DPE was questioned on whether Infraco should be brought under the same banner as Sentech, to avoid duplicate investments like the undersea cables, the department referred ITWeb's query to the DOC. The DPE said it can only answer technical questions on Broadband Infraco, and cannot provide answers on policy decisions.
Dave Smith, CEO of Infraco, declined to comment on the matter.
Neither Sentech nor the DOC had responded to queries by the time of publication. ITWeb will update this story as comment is supplied.
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