Newly appointed communications minister Solly Malatsi has promised policy stability and certainty as a cornerstone of his tenure.
Speaking in parliament on Monday on the department of communications & digital technologies’ budget vote – and his first presentation as minister to parliament – Malatsi, a Democratic Alliance MP, said instability in the ministry since 1994 has led to instability in policy formulation. He vowed to fix this.
He said that over the past 30 years, there have been 16 communications ministers and 14 directors-general. There is also a staff vacancy rate in the department of 18%, which Malatsi described as too high.
Although “politics is very volatile”, Malatsi, who is the first non-ANC politician in the democratic era to be appointed as communications minister, said striving for stability and certainty in policy is paramount.
“Every ministry and department and industry and household must understand what our goals are, the progress we have made and what remains to be done,” he said.
“This is not the moment for excuses or justifications. We cannot afford for timelines to become meaningless,” he added. “It is of great importance that policy certainty becomes a cornerstone [of policy development].”
Creating soundness and predictability in policy, Malatsi said, will unlock enormous investment in the ICT sector.
GNU’s potential
“We must become obsessive about developing evidence-based policies and policies that don’t change arbitrarily.”
Turning to some of the entities in the purview of his ministry, Malatsi said:
- The State IT Agency must “establish itself as the leading expert on ICT matters in government, rather than just being an IT procurement shop”. There is an urgent need, he said, to integrate core government systems to “facilitate the seamless flow of data across departments”. This must lead to fully digitalised and efficient integrated government online platforms that are “a pleasurable experience” for citizens to use.
- The SABC must “fulfil its mandate in a manner that is financially sustainable in a highly competitive broadcasting environment, while guarding its editorial independence”. He suggested the primary focus areas for the public broadcaster should be developing compelling content and ensuring good governance. He praised the SABC’s coverage of the recent general election, describing it as “excellent”.
- The fight between the SABC and Sentech over signal transmission fees must be resolved “in-house” – meaning by the department, working with the two companies. A mediator will be appointed within the next few weeks, he said. The SABC, which has objected strongly to Sentech’s “monopoly” pricing, owes the signal distributor more than R1-billion in historical debt.
- The Post Office can be saved, but it will need to reinvent itself as a “competitive e-commerce and logistics platform”.
Malatsi made a point, more than once, of thanking his predecessor, the ANC’s Mondli Gungubele – who now serves as deputy minister – for the constructive nature of their relationship.
“It’s a synergy that shows the potential that the GNU has,” he said, referring to the government of national unity. “Deputy minister, you can be assured from my side that you have a loyal team player [in me], and I know from your side that I have one [in you], too.” — © 2024 NewsCentral Media
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