Politicians and business people say they were disappointed by President Thabo Mbeki`s non-committal comments about sorting out the second national operator (SNO).
Mbeki said in his State of the Nation address in Parliament on Friday: "The final decisions on the second national telecommunications operator will be taken without undue delay to ensure more development and competition in this sector."
Vincent Gore, a member of the Independent Democrats and the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications, says the comments were "distressing" as they showed no real commitment by government to introducing development and competition to the ICT sector.
"One has to ask the question: Does government really want to see telecommunications competition?"
An independent telecommunications consultant says the complexity of the shareholders` relationships within the SNO has led to a situation where it is becoming increasingly difficult to get a Telkom rival off the ground.
"The president`s simple sentence indicates either a misunderstanding of the situation or it means that vested interests are being protected. However, with the SNO running some two years behind schedule, the country does not look good in the eyes of the international investment community," he says.
Scientific research spending to increase
Other parts of the State of the Nation address elicited a more enthusiastic response.
Mbeki said scientific research and development spending will be increased, and mentioned the country`s bid to build the largest optical infrared telescope in the Southern Hemisphere at Sutherland.
"Winning the bid for the Square Kilometre Array Radio Telescope is the academic equivalent of winning the Soccer World Cup bid," Gore says.
The Department of Communications has been earmarked to help provide modern information and communications technology to 21 identified urban and rural nodes for community development workers, which will be deployed by the end of this calendar year, Mbeki said.
Black economic empowerment (BEE) received special mention, with the president saying R1 billion will be allocated for BEE initiatives this year and this will be increased to R10 billion over the next five years.
A BEE charter for the ICT industry is in the process of being finalised.
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