Business chamber blasts DOC

The Cape Chamber of Commerce has slammed the performance of the department of communications and of minister Dina Pule, saying President Jacob Zuma needs to intervene as a “matter of urgency”.

Added by Duncan McLeod on 5 March 2013.
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Under fire ... communications minister Dina Pule

Under fire … communications minister Dina Pule

The Cape Chamber of Commerce has lashed out at the department of communications (DOC), saying business is becoming “increasingly frustrated” by its “lack of governance and delivery”.

It says allegations of misconduct within the DOC are compounding concerns in business about a lack of direction and leadership in the department.

Roderick Lim Banda, chairman of the information and communications technology (ICT) portfolio committee at the Cape Chamber of Commerce, says the chamber’s ICT members have voiced concerns about recent media reports surrounding the minister, Dina Pule.

“It is creating a level of uncertainty and impacts the confidence of business in the local ICT sector,” Lim Banda says.

The Cape Chamber of Commerce represents 3 000 businesses, including more than 150 that operate in the technology space.

“Over the past year, there have been repeated calls for [Pule’s] resignation amid allegations of nepotism and corruption, the decline of institutions such as Telkom and the SABC, the lack of progress in meeting targets, and lack of governance in ICT tenders,” the chamber says in a statement.

“To be fair, the minister has inherited the legacy of a problematic image when it comes to government’s ICT leadership and delivery. It has affected the confidence of the business sector and industry for some time,” the statement reads. “Tender corruption, continued delays in spectrum allocation, a lack of any clear policy for many years, and grand promises with no concrete evidence of supporting tactics are just some of the irritations chamber members have voiced concern over.”

Roderick Lim Banda (photo: Wouter du Toit)

Roderick Lim Banda (photo: Wouter du Toit)

“Broadband has been successfully achieved in other parts of the world through a partnership between business, government and civil society,” says Lim Banda. “There is no reason why South Africa cannot achieve this success, but we are astonished that the president [Jacob Zuma] can speak confidently about meeting the target of 100% broadband penetration by 2020 in his state-of-the-nation address when his minister has yet to deliver on her current targets and is failing to gain the confidence and trust of the business community.

“Let’s be clear: government is there to create an enabling environment in which the private sector can deliver. It is time that the lack of delivery from the department of communications is dealt with by the president as a matter of urgency.”

Paul Esselaar, vice-chairman of the chamber’s ICT committee, says most innovation and development that has happened has been in spite of the work of the national government, rather than being supported by it.

“When one considers that an increase in broadband penetration is clearly linked to an increase in the GDP of a country, it is amazing that more attention is not placed on increasing broadband penetration now and more pressure is not placed on the minister to deliver come hell or high water,” Esselaar says. “There can be little doubt that the minister has failed to reduce corruption and facilitate ICT development and we believe that South Africa deserves better.”

Pule’s spokesman, Siya Qoza, could not immediately be reached for comment.  — (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media

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  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=527737873 Vusi Sibiya

    “To be fair, the minister has inherited the legacy of a problematic image when it comes to government’s ICT leadership and delivery. It has affected the confidence of the business sector and industry for some time,” the statement reads. “Tender corruption, continued delays in spectrum allocation, a lack of any clear policy for many years, and grand promises with no concrete evidence of supporting tactics are just some of the irritations chamber members have voiced concern over.”

    Well now, wouldn’t the same people be raising concerns if the minister were to now be removed and a knee-jerk replacement deployment were to be made given that there’s a looming deadline and there’s so much at stake? I’m guessing they do have a list of candidates, ready and willing with the necessary skills to take up the position of heading the DoC and also have a well considered plan that will take us forward and not have the opposition questioning the due processes in making the new appointment.

  • Greg Mahlknecht

    >I’m guessing they do have a list of candidates, ready and willing with the necessary skills to take up the position of heading the DoC

    I’d love to be proven wrong, but going by their track record, there is no evidence to support they will deploy anyone with the necessary skills to this post. I take no pleasure in seeing the DoC fail, I don’t care who’s in power, they need to get this department right. Unfortunately the only minister I can remember being qualified for the role, Roy Padayachie, isn’t available for the post anymore :(

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=527737873 Vusi Sibiya

    Precisely… and when it seems that we are at the verge of moving forward where there’s now cooperation with such stakeholders as Etv then some attention seeking chamber of business from the WC, takes the opportunity to shoot holes at progress being made whilst offering absolutely nothing as a solution to take things foward. Typical DA modus operandi.

  • Kolakidd

    I’m sorry, but where does it even mention the DA in this article?

    Dina Pule has basically spent her entire tenure playing catch-up with her portfolio and the issues at hand, bungling and mis-managing pretty every issue that she has come into contact with. I have a sense of dread regarding her version of moving forward.

    The point is this article is actually not opportunistic, it is an honest statement about the state of the local ICT industry.

    Regardless of whatever side of the political fence you’re on, anyone with a vague understanding of this sector should be able to recognise the opportunity loss in terms of business and GDP growth caused by the consistent bungling by almost every head of this portfolio.

  • Greg Mahlknecht

    > bungling and mis-managing pretty every issue that she has come into contact with
    I disagree. She has managed her boyfriend’s financial portfolio very well.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=527737873 Vusi Sibiya

    Nice one lol.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=527737873 Vusi Sibiya

    It doesn’t have to mention the DA… there’s still no contribution made as to what should be done given the looming deadline, so same modus operandi.

  • Kolakidd

    Uh yeah, that doesn’t make any sense. It’s the DA’s fault because they didn’t comment in this article? You do realise that the Cape Chamber of Commerce is not the DA?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=527737873 Vusi Sibiya

    Come on… do I really have to go into what modus operandi means, give me a break and Google it… or just go back to High School.

  • http://www.techcentral.co.za/ Duncan McLeod

    The department of communications belatedly provided a response to the chamber’s criticism. I have pasted the entire response below:

    The Department of Communications (DoC) has noted the comments made by the Cape Chamber of Commerce, a lobby group that, when convenient, cooperates with the Department.
    It is curious that the Chamber opted to go to the media instead of raising its members’ concerns through the channels of engagement it knows and has used in the past.
    The Department has acknowledged for a while now that, on its own, it would not be able to address all the challenges faced by the country in harnessing the use of technology to unlock the development potential of South Africa and its people.
    For the benefit of its members, we would like to remind them that on Monday, 04 March 2013, Minister Dina Pule met with the ICT Policy Review Panel set up by the Minister. This panel has representatives from across all sectors of society, including a member the Cape Chamber of Commerce lobbied for successfully.
    The Panel’s reason for existence is to channel input from all South Africans about policy proposals that will put South Africa on a hi-tec and high economic growth trajectory towards sustainable development and advancement.
    The ICT Policy Review Panel has committed itself to working around the clock to ensure that the country will have a robust ICT Policy by 2014.
    The meeting with the ICT Policy Review Panel follows numerous other engagements the Department has had with business and other sectors.
    These include the Broadband Policy workshop in October and the ICT Policy Colloquium and the quarterly meetings Minister Pule holds with the leaders of telecommunication network operators and other ICT companies. No business people have ever raised concerns about uncertainty and business confidence, precisely because they are party or are aware of the developments within the sector.
    Another platform that solicits input from business is the Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) 15 of the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission. This platform focuses on access to broadband and digital broadcasting migration projects. Business continues to share its plans and ideas around broadband with government through this SIP 15 engagement. Part of the SIP process is to have regular engagements with business, especially small and medium businesses. SIP 15, which is chaired by Minister Pule, has scheduled to engage small and medium size businesses in April.
    President Jacob Zuma’s comments about broadband were informed by the outcomes of engagements that were facilitated through the SIP 15 process.
    The Department is actively increasing access to broadband through a schools connectivity project and the implementation of community ICT labs throughout the country. There are 900 schools that have been connected to the internet this financial year. Most of these schools are in rural districts areas that members of the Cape Chamber of Commerce do not have any intension of reaching with telecommunications infrastructure or otherwise.
    The new Broadband Policy was approved by the Infrastructure cluster for consideration by Cabinet on 14th February 2013.
    As we speak, Telkom has a fully constituted board that is working very hard to balance the interests of all its shareholders. The government’s interest is for Telkom to be profitable and sustainable while leading the efforts to connect all South Africans to accessible and affordable broadband.
    One of the key areas Minister Pule focused on when she took office was bringing stability to the State-Owned Companies that report to the Department. She appointed the new boards of the SA Post Office (SAPO) and the Universal Service And Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA). The board of SAPO has since appointed a chief executive and a chief financial officer. The board of USAASA is currently engaged in the process of appointing executives for the agency. Minister Pule is also working hard to bring stability and unity at the SABC, as evidenced by the meeting she held with the SABC on 05 March 2013.
    These are just some of the developments that have been happening over the past year that are aimed at delivering services to all South Africans, especially those residing in rural and poor areas.
    Let the DoC be clear, ICT in SA is flourishing because of the current policies in place in SA. However, the DoC understands that technology, environmental, industry and individual needs are a constantly changing factor in the ICT field and as such the DoC is continually revising and revisiting policies to introduce policies which create the enabling environment required by businesses.
    The DoC continues to welcome open and genuine engagements with all South Africans through the various platforms.

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