General Siphiwe Nyanda, the minister of communications, started his term boldly. He earned the nickname "General Surprise" because nobody in the media had tipped him for the post in president Jacob Zuma's new cabinet, but the sobriquet has become increasingly apt. Within weeks, he launched an attack on the telcos, berating them about their high prices, and leading the charge to reduce interconnect fees.
His prompt splurge on luxury cars - two of them, worth more than a million each - did not instil confidence in his prudence.
Ivo Vegter, ITWeb contributor
It is true that interconnect is merely one component of consumer prices, and there's no guarantee that reducing them will be reflected in the cost of telecommunications. If they do, the telcos have plainly said they'll "cut costs", which can only mean even shoddier service for consumers. More importantly, lower interconnect will improve the ability of smaller, younger operators such as Cell C and Neotel to compete with the established incumbents.
Nyanda has also vowed to use whatever regulatory tools he can find to effect changes that he recognises are long overdue. He swept in like a new broom, and appeared to be clearing the cobwebs in the Department of Communications. (Sorry. Wrong metaphor.)
Even if one does not support the notion that broken regulation can be fixed by more regulation, this determination on the part of the new minister was a welcome relief.
In war, however, little goes as planned.
It had been reported when he took office that he had distanced himself from his private involvement in business, and that anyway, none of those businesses fell into the sector of which he was to take command.
His prompt splurge on luxury cars - two of them, worth more than a million each - did not instil confidence in his prudence, however.
It wasn't long before the Mail & Guardian, with its customary nose for corruption, levelled serious allegations against Nyanda over his half-ownership of a security services company that carries his name, and which had been lining up lucrative government tenders. Not only does his beneficial ownership pose a conflict of interest, but the propriety of a number of the contracts are being questioned.
While this flare-up on the flank was developing, he has also had to retreat in his main offensive against the telcos. He had negotiated, with much fanfare, an agreement for a small phased reduction in interconnect fees with the major telcos. Problem is, this kind of direct intervention by the minister isn't quite legal. The regulator, ICASA, is supposed to execute tariff-related regulation.
Though his sally laid him open to legal counter-attack from the telcos themselves, the offer was more generous than they were likely to get from the regulator, so the enemy quickly submitted.
The regulator, however, did not. It challenged Nyanda's authority. It pointed out that the first term in "Independent Communications Authority of South Africa" still means something, even if Nyanda's predecessor, Poison Ivy, had been rather contemptuous of the idea. It promptly rejected the deal between the minister and the telcos, claiming - correctly - that it would unreasonably hamstring the regulator for several years. It is now preparing its own determinations on interconnect rates.
Nyanda, to his credit, immediately acknowledged ICASA's legal rights in this matter.
One can't help but feel that for all the bellicose bravery of the general's charge into battle, the attack appears to be faltering on rough terrain and well-entrenched adversaries.
He has some reserves left, of course. There are many areas beyond interconnect where he can hope to make a breakthrough. Among them is dealing with the farce that is Sentech, which has done nothing except lose money under the "leadership" of the late Poison Ivy's close friend, Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane. Another is reviewing spectrum policy, which is due for a major shake-up, especially as a result of the switch from analogue to digital television.
Having been repulsed in his opening salvos, however, and with his public image already tarnished by corruption allegations, it would be surprising if a pugnacious, activist policy will meet with more reward in future.
Which brings us to the alternative. Instead of failing on the attack, the general could earn plaudits for a strategic withdrawal. Reject the failed strategy of "managed liberalisation", which has resulted in too little liberalisation too late, and was badly managed from the start.
My column in February's issue of ITWeb Brainstorm magazine, which was written well before Christmas, but survived the long lead-time surprisingly well, ended with the following words: "Usually, legal impotence on the part of the executive or regulator is a good thing. It protects liberty. But when a rapacious cartel has been created by the government, citizens need protection from its depredations.
"It is time for a bold stroke, starting with repeal of the existing telecommunications laws. What to replace it with is where General Surprise will have a chance to prove his mettle."
The intervening time has brought only charges of corruption and a display of impotence. The need for a bold stroke has only become more urgent.
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