Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      World Bank set to back South Africa’s big energy grid roll-out

      20 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Sita hits back at critics, promises faster, automated procurement

      20 June 2025

      The transatlantic race to create the first television

      20 June 2025

      Listed: All the MVNOs in South Africa – 2025 edition

      19 June 2025
    • World

      Watch | Starship rocket explodes in setback to Musk’s Mars mission

      19 June 2025

      Trump Mobile dials into politics, profit and patriarchy

      17 June 2025

      Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

      17 June 2025

      Beijing’s chip champions blacklisted by Taiwan

      16 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | AfriGIS’s Helen Hulett on how tech can help resolve South Africa’s water crisis

      18 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E2: South Africa’s digital battlefield

      16 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025
    • Opinion

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Leon Louw » Cwele mangles truth on ICT white paper

    Cwele mangles truth on ICT white paper

    By Leon Louw27 February 2017
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    On 17 February, telecommunications & postal services minister Siyabonga Cwele held his second engagement with the information and communications technology sector on the national integrated ICT policy white paper.

    He released a statement, afterwards, saying that the department had won widespread industry support for its wholesale open-access network (Woan) proposal and that emphasis had shifted from the proposals to implementation.

    The statement implied across-the-board consensus and backing for the introduction of a Woan from the six mobile network operators and 300-plus industry representatives who had been in attendance.

    But the minister’s disingenuousness does not reflect the truth.

    The industry is reeling from shock after discovering that the four-year process, from initial discussions to white paper, has resulted in a policy that would radically reorganise a successful private industry and damage mobile users’ experience and access to the latest technologies.

    At the previous industry engagement, held in December 2016, Cwele stated that there would be no further consultation, that the details were a done deal, and that, going forward, only implementation was on the table for discussion. In effect, “put up, shut up and get on with it”. But it appears that the department has no implementation plan and is looking for proposals from the industry. For the big mobile operators, this is like asking turkeys to plan Christmas.

    Making consultation a high priority now comes very late in the day. Between 20 March 2015 and 3 October 2016, three critical policies that had not been seen or discussed by the industry were inserted into the white paper and presented as a fait accompli. The three policies that have caused alarm and consternation are:

    1. The proposal to implement a Woan;
    2. That access must be offered at cost-based pricing;
    3. The taking back of spectrum already allocated to operators who have invested heavily in infrastructure.

    These proposals are not only radical – their introduction after the fact runs contrary to both the spirit and the requirements of the constitution regarding public participation. In addition, a cabinet-mandated socioeconomic impact assessment has not been conducted, which means that costs and benefits have not been determined.

    Telecoms minister Siyabonga Cwele

    Industry insiders believe that this policy is headed for the courts, which would tie up the industry in many years of litigation. This is not good news for South African consumers of mobile Internet services.

    South Africa’s Internet success story is one of few post-1994, with coverage, quality and access to mobile devices that outperform many developing country peers. It does not need fixing.

    The national integrated ICT policy white paper is bad policy. It:

    • Places government in control of a critical economic sector;
    • Effectively nationalises a private industry;
    • Creates a government monopoly;
    • Proposes to expropriate private property;
    • Introduces a new fund raised from private companies to put into government hands;
    • Scraps independent regulator Icasa;
    • Introduces regulatory complexity and new government-controlled institutional bodies;
    • Lacks clarity and essential detail;
    • Failed to consult properly on key proposals;
    • Lacks a mandated socioeconomic impact assessment; and
    • Opens the door to more corruption and patronage.

    Despite the minister’s assertions to the contrary, the Woan model has not been proven to work anywhere in the world so far.

    Data prices are likely to rise, not fall.

    • Leon Louw is executive director of the Free Market Foundation


    Free Market Foundation Leon Louw Siyabonga Cwele
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleMoonlight wins best-picture Oscar
    Next Article Reasons to worry about the AI revolution

    Related Posts

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Apeing Brussels is no way to unlock South Africa’s AI potential

    14 May 2025

    How to put load shedding behind us – forever

    3 March 2025
    Company News

    Making IT happen: how Trade Link gears up to enable SA retail strategies

    20 June 2025

    Why parents choose CambriLearn for online education

    19 June 2025

    Disrupt first, ask questions later – the uncomfortable truth about incident response

    18 June 2025
    Opinion

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    AI and the future of ICT distribution

    16 June 2025

    Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

    13 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.