None of the 11 state-owned enterprises in the ICT sector was profitable in the 2024 financial year, with most making losses for at least five years.

This is according to a document tabled in parliament by communications minister Solly Malatsi in response to a question from fellow Democratic Alliance MP Patrick Atkinson, who asked him about the amount of financial assistance that has been given to sector SOEs in the past five years.

Atkinson also wanted to know how many of the entities were profitable and whether any of the CEOs of loss-making entities were paid performance bonuses.

Malatsi revealed that National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (Nemisa) CEO Trevor Rammitlwa received bonuses in the 2022 and 2023 financial years despite it reporting a loss in both reporting periods.

“The 2021/2022 performance bonus for the CEO was paid out during the 2022/2023 financial year [and the] 2022/2023 bonus paid in the 2023/2024 reporting period,” according to Malatsi’s document. “The payments were due to the organisation’s overall achievement, with a clean audit and final performance of 95%.”

The document also showed that the state spent more than R3.3-billion in “capital injections” for failing entities in the communications portfolio over the past five years, with most of this money (some R2.5-billion) going to the embattled South African Post Office. A further R787-million was allocated to signal distribution company Sentech to support the long-delayed move to digital television.

Post Office zombie

The Post Office has been the subject of attention after it was placed into business rescue in July 2023. TechCentral reported in May this year that the company had cost South African taxpayers nearly R10-billion over last decade. Even so, business rescue practitioners Anoosh Rooplal and Juanita Damons insist that a further R3.8-billion is need if the ailing entity is to be saved. There have been several calls for the entity to be closed down.

Money is tight all around. Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, communications department director-general Nonkqubela Jordan-Dyani said budgetary constraints have made it difficult for the department to deliver on its mandate and has held “numerous engagements” with national treasury to try to secure additional funding.

“We have been asking for funding for the Post Office and the Post Bank, and we have also been asking for funding for the SABC in terms of its unfunded mandate. All of those, unfortunately, as we sit right now, have not been allocated,” said Jordan-Dyani.

Six of the entities in the communications portfolio, including Sentech, Broadband Infraco and the SABC, furnished details of their finances. However, the other five – the State IT Agency (Sita), ICT development agency Usaasa, domain name authority Zadna, communications regulator Icasa and the Film and Publication Board (FPB) – provided no information regarding past performance, according to the document.

Read: DA communications minister to bring policy shake-up

Sita’s woes are public knowledge. In May 2025, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a proclamation authorising the Special Investigating Unit to launch a probe into the agency. Meanwhile, Malatsi later the same month gazetted regulations that make room for government departments to procure IT services from entities other than Sita. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media

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