Column | Minister Ntshavheni is at risk of stumbling and falling, by Duncan McLeod mcleodd
notched up one or two successes on her watch – most notably the licensing of spectrum and the decision, in effect, to shelve the government’s planned wholesale open-access network, or Woan. But the communications minister now risks making a hash of things in several key areas.
To be certain, South Africa needs to get a move on with digital migration. It was meant to happen a decade ago – if the original deadline agreed to by the Thabo Mbeki administration had been met . That we’re seven years past the date government agreed to with the International Telecommunication Union to get the project done is disgraceful and says a lot about this government’s ability to project-manage complex national undertakings.
The fault for this mess lies with government, and Ntshavheni’s many predecessors who failed to deliver the millions of set-top boxes originally promised. The poorest of the poor will be hit hard. And if broadcasts are switched off unilaterally, free-to-air broadcasters, including the SABC and e.tv, will take big pain.
A delay – six months, or maybe even a year – to sort out the set-top box debacle to the satisfaction of the broadcasters probably could have avoided the crisis that is now threatening to envelop the minister. Instead, she appears to be ignoring the problem, hoping that by charging forward regardless, it will somehow go away. Perhaps it will eventually, the high court willing, but it doesn’t demonstrate good political leadership.
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