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The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT), the ministry charged with spearheading SA’s ICT agenda, is currently operating at a vacancy rate of 18%.
This is “well above” the vacancy target rate of 9% set by the Department of Public Service and Administration, says new communications minister Solly Malatsi.
Malatsi delivered his maiden budget vote in Parliament today. He took over the reins as communications minister as part of the Government of National Unity, with predecessor Mondli Gungubele serving as deputy ministerof the department.
The new minister addressed the lack of leadership stability that’s plagued his department and some of its entities, sayingconstant changes in the political and administrative leadership often make efficient progress towards goals impossible.
“Since 1994, the department has had 16 ministers (19 if you count acting ministers) and 14 DGs,” he said. “Furthermore, several terms of boards are coming to an end between now and November. To this end, we will move quickly to initiate processes to fill these vacancies.
“It is critical that we work together with the Portfolio Committee and Parliament to ensure these processes don’t cause delays, which may leave these entities leaderless for prolonged periods.”
The DCDT is no stranger to leadership and operational changes, as it was previously split to form two separate departments: the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services and a “reconfigured” Department of Communications. The departments were consolidated in 2018, resulting in the now-DCDT.
Its entities comprise of: Broadband Infraco, Film and Publications Board, Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA), NEMISA, Postbank, SABC, SA Post Office (SAPO), Sentech, State IT Agency, Universal Service and Access Agency of SA and .ZA Domain Name Authority.
Unlike other portfolios whose mandate is more public-facing, the DCDT has an instrumental role to play in enabling interconnectivity towards government’s ability to provide services to the public, as well as a regulatory environment, among others, Malatsi said on Morning Live on Friday.
Money matters
The minister noted the fiscal constraints, saying the budget takes place in a context that requires government to stabilise public finances, while ensuring it promotes economic growth and supports the most vulnerable members of society.
For the 2024/25 financial year, he said the total budget for the DCDT is R3.9 billion.
Compensation of employees, totalling R315.3 million, accounts for 8% of the budget, which he described as a slight improvement compared to 8.6% in the 2023/2024 financial year.
Furthermore, a total of R1.6 billion has been allocated for transfers and subsidies for ICT enterprise development and state-owned enterprise oversight.
This, according to Malatsi, is to ensure effective monitoring of initiatives such as the SAPO business rescue plan, SABC strategy and ICASA’s regulatory compliance operations.
“We must take care to ensure entities under this department are not contributors to the country’s financial woes. Given the reality that budget allocations are unlikely to increase in the future, the SABC’s new turnaround plan and the business rescue currently under way at the post office will need to ensure the financial stability of these entities.”
The minister revealed that approximately 53% (R4.9 billion) of the department’s budget over the medium-term expenditure framework period is allocated to transfers to entities for their operations and project-specific funding.
Of this amount, R1.7 billion is allocated to the SAPO for its universal service obligations to provide postal services. Meanwhile, R1.5 billion is allocated to ICASA and R672.4 million is allocated to the SABC for various activities.
Digital inclusion
The department still has its hopes set on SA Connect, the national broadband programme initiated by government to ensure universal access to broadband services for all South Africans, initially prioritising rural and underserviced areas.
Malatsi stated the department has a responsibility to ensure the move into an increasingly digitised economy leaves nobody behind.
In part, it plans to fulfil this responsibility by widening access to broadband connectivity via SA Connect. To achieve this, the budget allocates R1.8 billion to SA Connect phase one and phase two.
“During the 2023/24 budget vote speech, my predecessor announced a plan to install almost 32 000 WiFi hotspots in 16 districts across the country over three years. I am pleased to report that over 860 000 households have coverage from 5 400 hotspots.
The programme’s target this year is to establish an additional 5 986 WiFi hotspots covering over one million households, and leading to nearly two million connections by the end of this financial year.
“Over the 36 months, we will be in a position to connect 21 878 government sites, namely 4 232 health facilities, 16 139 schools, 937 traditional authorities and 570 libraries.
On digital skills and upskilling, the department plans to co-ordinate training for 90 000 beneficiaries in digital and future skills in the 2024/25 financial year.
“These include courses such as cellphone repairs, broadband digital installations and aftercare, cloud knowledge and skills, etc. The aim is to create an environment conducive to developing innovative digital solutions that can be commercialised, thereby supporting livelihoods.”
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