The Democratic Alliance has called on deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa, in his capacity as leader of government business, to provide clarity around the awarding of tenders to produce and supply 5m set-top boxes for digital terrestrial television.
The process has become increasingly murky after a report last Friday that the Universal Service & Access Agency of South Africa (Usaasa) had decided to award the tender to 20 bidders interested in supplying set-top boxes and aerials.
Usaasa has made no official communication on the issue and its officials have not been available for comment.
DA MP Marian Shinn said on Tuesday she has written to Ramaphosa asking him to issue a statement urgently clarifying the process, status and reasons for delays in issuing the tenders.
Shinn is concerned that there is meddling in the process after a report by ITWeb on Monday suggested that the tenders had not been awarded and that Usaasa is repeating an analysis of the bidders’ production and support capabilities, a process already concluded by auditing firm Ernst & Young.
“This meddling in the much-delayed process must stop. I call on Ramaphosa to act with speed, impartiality and transparency to clarify the situation and ensure that it proceeds with integrity,” Shinn said.
She added that she chose not to seek clarity from communications minister Faith Muthambi. “I have reservations that she is acting impartially and in the best interests of a competitive broadcasting and manufacturing environment. She seems to be hell-bent on meddling in issues her department clearly doesn’t properly understand in order to protect vested interests.”
E.tv, meanwhile, revealed on Tuesday that it is taking government’s final digital migration policy on review at the high court.
The broadcaster is strongly in favour of the use of an encryption system in the set-top boxes, arguing that such a system is needed to prevent the “ghettoisation” of free-to-air television in South Africa.
It has argued previously that encryption is necessary to ensure free-to-air broadcasters can get access to the latest and best international content. Government’s final policy on digital migration rejects the use of encryption in government-subsidised set-top boxes. — © 2015 NewsCentral Media