South African ICT analysts have urged newly-appointed communications minister Mondli Gungubele to quickly get up to speed with the immediate needs of the industry.
This will be urgently required if he is to make meaningful contributions to the sector before the upcoming general election.
The analysts were responding to president Cyril Ramaphosa’s much-anticipated Cabinet reshuffle last night. This saw Gungubele, who previously served as minister in the Presidency, being appointed minister in the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT).
Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, who served as communications minister since August 2021, has been reshuffled to take the post vacated by Gungubele.
Ramaphosa will later today officiate at the swearing-in ceremony of the new members of the National Executive appointed on Monday. The ceremony will take place from 18:00 at Tuynhuys in Cape Town.
The DCDT is charged with driving SA’s ICT agenda and development of the digital economy.
Analysts believe Ntshavheni was not given adequate time to complete several crucial ICT-related projects, which would have immensely contributed to the economy, such as the long-delayed digital broadcasting migration project.
Minister churn in the communications department has frequently been cited as one of the biggest reasons the country’s ICT projects have failed to bear fruit.
Some of the ministers that led the department over past years include Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, Faith Muthambi, Ayanda Dlodlo, Mmamoloko Kubayi, Siphiwe Nyanda, Dina Pule, Yunus Carrim and the late Roy Padayachee.
The ministry was also previously split to form two separate departments: the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services and a “reconfigured” Department of Communications.
Constant lack of know-how
“The real problem with appointing a new communications minister every time there is a Cabinet reshuffle is that there is no continuity whatsoever; there is no ability for a minister to build the needed body of experience and expertise, and there is no commitment to a clear and structured ministerial programme of action,” comments Arthur Goldstuck, MD of local research firm World Wide Worx.
“By shuffling ministers of communication like cards in a deck, government is saying it is a low-priority department, and it is treating it as a forum for favours.”
According to Goldstuck, government has never appeared to appreciate either the importance of the communications portfolio, or the need for both a technical and strategic understanding of the sector.
“Not since [the late] Roy Padayachee have we had a minister with a clear understanding of the sector, and not since Yunus Carrim have we had a minister with full appreciation of the steps that need to be taken.”
Goldstuck points out that to her credit, Ntshaveni presided over both spectrum auctions and digital migration − milestones that eluded her predecessors.
However, he notes the failure to appoint a new SABC board has been nothing short of spectacular.
“While it was up to the president to rubber-stamp a board that had already been approved by Parliament, the SABC falls under the ambit of the minister, and has fallen to the same kind of ‘Eskomification’ as most state-owned enterprises.”
Tight timeframe
Mark Walker, associate VP for Sub-Saharan Africa at IDC MEA, says Ntshaveni did not really have a long enough period to make a significant impact, “so it’s very difficult to assess the real value added”.
Speaking of Gungubele, Walker says: “His background at Gauteng would indicate he is very familiar with the economics of the job and his recent time as minister in the Presidency would indicate he has insights into the strategy and direction planned going forward.
“His time in social development is also a positive, as he will, hopefully, bring technology forward as a possible enabler to solve social issues in the country.”
However, he adds: “His familiarity of the issues specific to the communication and technology sector are less clear, and would suggest there will be work to be done to get up to speed.”
Asked how Gungubele can do this, Walker urges: “Availability of communication infrastructure both on a physical and regulatory level, plus ensuring SA rapidly addresses skills and labour gaps to regain its position as the premier ICT destination on the continent.
“Currently, SA is falling behind East and West Africa due to poor focus on the ICT sector and restrictive regulation and limited incentives for investment.
“With 10 months to go to the elections, it will be difficult for him to make real impact – hopefully, substantial impacts are made, and not only those that will appeal from a populist or security perspective.”
Titanic-level shuffle
ICT veteran Adrian Schofield also observes that leadership changes at the DCDT seem to have little impact on the overall achievement of the department’s objectives.
“Minister Ntshavheni was in her third ministerial post since 2019, and is now returning to minister in the Presidency, where she was in 2021. Minister Gungubele has done the rounds of ANC political appointments at municipal, provincial and national levels.
“While that gives him broad experience of government, he has not been exposed to the technology and infrastructure practicalities that underpin the mission of DCDT to hasten digital transformation. His effectiveness will depend on his ability to grasp the concepts quickly and to motivate progress.”
Schofield points out Ntshavheni’s major achievements should have been the final shutdown of analogue TV and the implementation of phase two of SA Connect. “Enough said,” he says.
He urges Gungubele to resolve the two objectives left incomplete by his predecessor.
“More importantly, he needs to put pressure on his colleagues to address the issues that are holding SA back from capitalising on the benefits of 4IR and the use of digital tools to create economic value.”
These include education (getting STEM embedded in the curriculum); crime (reducing theft of cables, batteries and digital equipment); home affairs (quickly approving visas for people bringing skills and investment to SA); and electricity (no power = no communication = no economy), says Schofield.
Speaking broadly about last night’s Cabinet reshuffle, Schofield says the well-known phrase about rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic comes to mind.
“The president has gone one (or two, or three) better – he has added some sun loungers to the deck chairs so that the surviving citizens can watch the sinking of their ship in comfort. Whatever credibility the president might have had in leading the ANC to the 2024 election, this ‘shuffle’ will shred it.”
He points out that creating “ministers in the Presidency” has not proven to be effective in improving service delivery, while the plethora of deputy ministers has not improved service delivery.
“Retaining the die-hard kingpins of intransigent failed policies has not improved service delivery. Having the largest Cabinet structure in the world has not improved service delivery.
“Every aspect of our economy, ofour society, that is dependent on government performance is failing. Crime and corruption are so entrenched that every one of us waits to be a victim, if we have not already suffered,” he concludes.
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