Dr Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, National Assembly
24 May 2007
Madam Speaker
Honourable members
I would like to start by recognising our special guest from the Uganda
Communications Commission. I would also like to take this opportunity to
recognise the special relationship that I had with my previous and current
counterpart ministers in Uganda.
In addition I wish to acknowledge presence of:
* the principals, educators and learners of the six New Partnership for
Africa's Development (Nepad) e-schools
* representatives of the e-co-operatives from each of our nine provinces
* girls from the "take a girl child to work"
* Professor Mphahlele of the Tshwane University of Technology
Chairperson,
This budget speech is given during the mid-term of the current government.
As always, it is delivered against the background of the President's State of
the Nation address this year.
The President in his State of the Nation Address this year asked us, as
South Africans, a soul-searching question, what has happened to the South
African mind in the last 13 years? And he suggests perhaps we are reluctant to
honestly answer this because we would shatter the beautiful image of a rainbow
nation.
The sector over which we preside and report on today, is indeed a stark
reminder of the social contradictions of our democratic experience and the
conditions under which our transition occurs. What the Italian political
theorist Gramsci says viz. "the old is dying but the new cannot be born" seems
to be very relevant to our situation.
Chairperson, Honourable members, I am convinced that what I said at the
opening of International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Telecom Africa 2001
Forum is as relevant today as it was then.
And this is what I said, "Had President Mbeki addressed us last night, he
would not have failed to point out the economic divide that still exists in our
country. He would have invited us to take a walk just around the corner from
the world class complex of Gallagher Estate where we are, to see the other side
of our beautiful South Africa."
Now, six years later, I was made painfully aware of this divide when I was
reminded by an interviewer that, in Sandton, a business man or housewife
complains about not being able to get 64 kilobits/second of broadband speed at
home when, down the road in Alexandra township, the majority of its residents
donât even have a telephone to call for medical help or police assistance.
Equally, the Minister of Finance, in his budget speech this year reminded us
that we should remember to do whatever is necessary to ensure that "human life
has equal worth".
The new South African society where "human life has equal worth" is still
struggling to be born.
Chairperson, honourable members
This year started on a high note for the development of the information
society in our country and continent. The Cabinet made a number of major and
historic decisions that are bound to put our country on a new trajectory and
connect us to the future.
The Cabinet approved as the country's vision "the establishment of South
Africa as an advanced Information Society in which information and Information
and Communication Technology tools are key drivers of economic and societal
development."
The approval of the Information Society and Development (ISAD) Plan by the
Cabinet provided the country with a comprehensive framework for the development
of an inclusive Information Society.
The Cabinet also approved the establishment of the Ministerial ISAD
Committee and its corresponding Forum of South African Directors-General
(Fosad) Information Society and Development (ISAD) Cluster. The ISAD
Inter-governmental Relations Forum (IGRF), which was launched in December last
year, was also approved as one of the national Institutional Mechanisms for
building an inclusive Information Society in South Africa.
Chairperson and honourable members
Government has accepted our strategic focus of building a robust, reliable
and affordable information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure so
as to increase access, uptake and usage of ICTs.
In this regard, last month the Cabinet approved the establishment of a
broadband infrastructure company (Infraco). I intend to make representation
aimed at regarding Infraco as a deemed holder of an individual electronic
communication network services licence. I intend to implement this through the
parliamentary hearings on the Infraco Bill. The Cabinet also affirmed the
strategic role of Sentech as the core wireless broadband provider, especially
to government institutions.
International connectivity is critical to supporting our investment
objectives. It is government policy that the cost of access to international
connectivity is affordable and that all arrangements regarding access or use of
international cables and/or facilities do not unfairly exclude others from use
of or access to the cables.
Honourable members, in a few days time we expect to bring the Protocol for
Nepad ICT Broadband Network for ratification by Parliament. This network, which
is planned to be operational by mid 2009, represents the spirit of
self-determination of Africa represented by President Kwame Nkrumah and the
fiftieth anniversary of Ghana that we celebrate this year. It is for this
reason that I am happy to inform the house that all our telecommunications
companies and others have committed to participate in this project.
I have therefore directed the Independent Communications Authority of South
Africa (Icasa), to prioritise and urgently prescribe a list of essential
facilities as envisaged in section 43(8) (b) of the Environment Conservation
Act (ECA), ensuring that the electronic communications facilities connected to
the SAT-3 submarine cable can be accessed soon. Taking into account the balance
of forces in international submarine connectivity and the objectives of this
Act, the Authority should pay particular attention to section 43(5)(b).
I have also taken the policy decision that, given the complexity of local
loop unbundling process on the one hand and the urgency for South Africa to
enable all operators appropriately licensed to have access to the local loop on
the other, the unbundling process in South Africa should be urgently
implemented.
The experience learned from other countries in the implementation of the LLU
is that most issues were resolved through bilateral negotiations between the
regulator, incumbent and the new entrants.
In addition, the Authority should, as appropriate, take advantage of the
report of the Local loop unbundling committee and its recommendations on the
proposed unbundling models. The unbundling process should be completed by 1
November 2011.
I wish to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to Professor
Marwala and the Local Loop Unbundling Committee for their hard work and
commitment.
Icasa has commenced with the conversion of existing licences to be in line
with the ECA. The authority informs me that it has mapped out the licence
conversion process and issued a gazette which sets out the licensing framework
as well as terms and conditions for individual and class licences. This will
bring about an increase in the number of operators that can have direct access
to international connectivity and have a major impact on lowering costs to
communicate.
I have therefore directed Icasa, to urgently consider whether none, or only
certain, of the existing vans licences can be authorised to provide services as
well as to provide and operate electronic communications facilities or networks
to ensure that such licencees are issued electronic communications network
service licences in addition to other licences specified in the relevant
section of the ECA, if applicable.
With regard to the Digital Migration process, I am happy to say that the
Cabinet has approved that the digital signal be switched on 1 November 2008.
The analogue signal should be switched off on the same date in 2011. The
Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy will be gazetted on the 1st of June
2007.
I am pleased to inform the honourable members that Sentech is on schedule to
meet government's commitment by providing about 80% Digital Terrestrial
Television (DTT) coverage by 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. Further, Sentech
intends to launch at least one high definition television (HDTV) satellite
channel, in time for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Sentech will also build a
second teleport to provide additional capacity needed for the 2010 satellite
uplink requirement.
On the other hand, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) plans
to have six more High Definition units in place by end of 2009, in line with
the technology plan for 2010.
The implementation of this strategy will meet a number of Accelerated and
Shared Growth Initiative (AsgiSA) objectives as well as delivery of service to
under serviced second economy areas. We have established a body to oversee the
roll-out of digital migration in South Africa and we have called it the Digital
Dzonga (South). I am pleased to announce that I have decided to appoint Ms Lara
Kantor as the chairperson of Digital Dzonga.
There will be Set Top Boxes in order to give all people access to digital
signals using their analogue television. South Africa will begin growing Set
Top Box manufacturing capability, and create jobs also in the installation,
maintenance and repair of these. It would also allow for the expansion of job
creation through call centres.
New television channels that will be available as a result of Broadcasting
Digital Migration will require us to develop local content that is relevant to
and appropriate to our needs and national identity and social cohesion.
Therefore the development of creative industries, is most likely to be seen
burgeoning. New industries such as animation will flourish. Already our own
Magic Cellar children's program has found resonance in the United State of
America (USA) where HBO has already indicated interest.
In 2007, as part of its new vision and deliverables, National Electronic
Media Institute of South Africa (Nemisa) will utilise its state of the art
production facilities at ISSA to establish a digital content hub with a view to
producing animated and e-learning products and services.
The project on will spawn a great deal of local content production and South
Africa will become the digital repository of its own historical and cultural
content. The future of youth in this is brighter and we will, through them and
their work, connect to the future.
The social appropriation of ICTs by the majority of the marginalised in our
society is now nearer than before. The Universal Service and Access Agency of
South Africa (Usaasa) has been restructured and repositioned to assist in this
work.
Many of the citizens of South Africa are disconnected from their telephone
service for non-payment. As part of our universal service agenda, the
government aims to minimise disconnections due to non-payment by reducing the
cost of communications. The government further aims to ensure continued access
to emergency services during the period of disconnection.
I have therefore directed Icasa, in terms of Section 2(c) and (o) and
Section 3(2)
* To prescribe for immediate implementation, a list of emergency numbers to
which the public would have continued access even during a period of
disconnection.
Early this year the President wrote to the five South African
telecommunications operators as well as Sentech. He informed them that he had
been contacted by a young South African who had an idea. She proposed a toll
free number through which citizens could contact government using any phone to
raise issues of service delivery. I am happy to announce that all the operators
have committed to making this idea a reality by the end of June. In this way we
can assist in creating a sense of all being of equal worth in accessing
government.
Mme Chairperson, as the honourable members would know, one of the areas
where we have faced challenges has been with the Under Serviced Area Licences
(USALs). In an effort to address this, the structure of ownership and control
of Under Serviced Area Licences will be reviewed.
I have therefore accordingly directed Icasa, that (a) where there is more
than one licence in a province, the Authority should merge these and issue one
Provincial Under-Serviced Area Network Operator (Pusano) licence. Each Pusano
would be licensed for individual electronic communications networks and
services.
* Ensure that the percentage of equity ownership and control to be held by
persons from historically disadvantaged groups residing in the designated
licence area, must not be less than 51%, or such higher percentage as may be
authorised by the Minister.
* Further ensure that ownership and control by persons or companies
interested in investing in the licensed entity shall be restricted to 49% or
less.
All of the above-mentioned steps will assist us in addressing not only the
need to reduce costs to communicate but also to focus on the needs of the most
vulnerable groups in our society so we can achieve the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) while at the same time improving service delivery across all
government departments especially Education, Health, Home Affairs, Social
Development, Public Service and Administration and e-Government.
I have taken the policy decision to prioritise access to educational and
health institutions, the Post Office, government offices and the Thusong
centres -previously known as Multi-Purpose Community Centres - in the roll-out
of Sentech's electronic communications networks and services for the provision
of wireless broadband communication.
I have also taken the policy decision that, South African Post Office (SAPO)
post offices will be transformed into Thusong Post offices, providing access to
a variety of government and other services, especially faster, secure and
easier access to enabling documents, grants and unemployment insurance.
Chairperson and honourable members, I am happy to inform the house that
yesterday the Departments of Social Development and Communications together
with their agencies South African Social Security agency (SASSA) and SAPO (Post
Bank) signed a memorandum of understanding which will allow delivering of
social grants to beneficiaries on any working day, at their own convenience,
with dignity. SAPO will soon sign similar agreements with the Department of
Housing's National Housing Finance Corporation and the Department of Trade and
Industry's Micro Finance Apex Fund to address the needs of the lower income
groups and the poor.
I have taken the policy decision, which mobile broadcasting services will be
provided on a single network with national coverage, using the digital video
broadcasting-handheld (DVB-H) standard. The network, which will form an
integral part of the national ICT backbone infrastructure, will accordingly be
operated on the basis of open and non-discriminatory access principles.
Accordingly, I have directed Icasa to allocate spectrum for a single network
with possibility for national coverage for the provision of digital mobile
broadcasting services.
We are also envisaging the provision of services like digital mobile
broadcasting (DMB) in vehicles whether buses, cars, etc. Icasa will also
publish the frequency spectrum bands and make spectrum available for advanced
mobile services and disaster management. All of this creates opportunities for
content development and access to content, including government related
content. This will indeed connect us to the future. The policy directives will
be gazetted tomorrow, 25 May which is Africa Day and launch Africa into the
future.
As you will recall, in his State of the Nation address, the President
announced that Telkom would provide a special rate for ten development call
centres. These centres, to be located at economically-depressed areas, would be
identified by government. Each one of them should have a capacity of at least 1
000 seats. Work in this regard is underway. A working group of the operators
has been established. Co-ordinated by my department, it is finalising the
communications cost-related incentive. This is in support of the government
objective of developing South Africa into a major and globally competitive
Business Process Outsourcing and Off-shoring (BPO&O) destination.
Recommendations on this will be submitted to me by the end of June.
Chairperson, honourable members
You may remember that World Space was started in 1990 by Noah Samara, a son
of Africa, to promote information affluence by using a new satellite based
infrastructure. The objective of World space is to ensure programming to the
portion of the world's population that lacks adequate radio reception and
programme choice and that want high quality news, knowledge and entertainment
at an affordable cost.
I have taken the policy decision that, in recognition of the innovative and
unique service provided by this initiative, it is in the interest of our
country and continent that the services of world space, provided from South
African soil should not be discontinued. Accordingly, Icasa is requested to
consider the continuation of this service under the current arrangement until a
long-term solution has been found.
Chairperson and honourable members, the .za Domain Name Authority,
established in terms of the Electronic Communications Transactions (ECT) Act
has over a period focused its efforts on developing suitable policies and
procedures for an improved management of the .za domain space. Consultation,
including a public discussion document that took into account stability and
growth of the Domain Name System (DNS), adoption of best global practises,
promotion of new entrants as users and entrepreneurs has informed the
Authority's proposal to my department.
I have accordingly taken a policy decision that a single registry model be
adopted for South Africa and that role players be invited to apply for licences
as registry operators and registrars. Whilst many of our citizens may be
considered to be nobody@nowhere, the
Authority is confident that not only will the proposed DNS model promote
economic and electronic growth, more South Africans will become somebody@somewhere !
I wish to use this opportunity to confirm that my department continues to
contribute to the government's international and African agenda. In this regard
I wish mention that the SABC has embarked on an ambitious programme to expand
its news gathering network by establishing the bureaus in various parts of
Africa and the world. As part of the SABC's contribution to the government's
African agenda, the SABC has concluded a number of important co-operation
agreements with strategic broadcast partners including Algeria and Nigeria.
Furthermore, Icasa has granted the Pan African Parliament licence. In
addition Icasa will host a workshop of communications regulators from Southern
and Eastern Africa in June 2007, to deliberate on regulatory challenges
emanating from technological convergence, as part of efforts to harmonise
regional policies. This opportunity will allow Icasa to share our recent
experiences since the advent of the ECA, while also drawing lessons from the
experiences of other regulators in the region. This engagement is expected to
go a long way in creating a stable, predictable regulatory environment in the
region, thus consolidating the role of ICT as a facilitator of social and
economic development in Southern Africa.
Icasa is also involved in other regional and continental ICT policy
processes such as its current position as the Chairperson of the Southern
Africa Postal Regulators Association and as the Chairperson of a Special
Committee charged with reviewing the strategic direction and sustainability of
the Communications Regulators Association of Southern Africa, an organisation
which continues to play an important role in the development of regional ICT
policy. The Authority is also gearing itself to actively participate in the
development of the Nepad ICT Broadband initiative through a forum of regulators
from the participating countries in East and Southern Africa.
Chairperson I wish to make special mention of the role played by the Nepad
e-Africa Commission in advancing the Nepad agenda.
I would also like to take this opportunity to commend Icasa for the work it
is doing, particularly in implementing the ECA. I trust that the honourable
members will find some time in their busy schedule to be briefed about this
work. On our part, we remain committed to finding ways of strengthening the
capacity of this important institution of our democracy.
Furthermore, I wish to express my appreciation for the support and
contribution of my Deputy Minister Roy Padayachie. I would also like to thank
the Portfolio Committee of Communications for their support and their special
attention to the matter of USALS.
A word of thanks as well to the department's Audit Committee under the
leadership of Ms Faith Moja.
In conclusion, Chairperson and honourable members
In my budget speech of 2002, I observed in closing that "Tsela e telele,
empa re tla fihla (The road is long but we will arrive)". The road has indeed
been long, and, although we have not yet arrived, there is light at the end of
the tunnel.
The birth of a new South Africa, where all are of equal worth is closer. In
terms of our theme last year, the streams are beginning to fill the river. The
young people in the e-co-operatives and those involved in the Nepad e-schools
are indeed those streams that will fill our river.
I am therefore confident that, in accordance with the theme of the
Information Society day this year of connecting the young, we are ready to
connect to the future.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Communications
24 May 2007
