Ministers must account to Parliament on digital TV migration fiasco
24 March 2015
The unfolding fiasco that is engulfing the digital TV migration process since Cabinet's approval of the Broadcast Digital Migration policy on March 4 has serious repercussions for a credible set-top-box (STB) production and delivery process and our nation's desperate need to bridge the digital divide.
The apparent hostility between the government entities responsible for delivering on the project and the Minister of Communications, Faith Muthambi, whom the President has charged with managing it, is a direct result of the ill-formed decision to split the former Department of Communications with the resultant legislative nightmare and confusing reporting lines.
Together with my colleague, DA Shadow Minister on Communications, Gavin Davis MP, I wrote to the Chairpersons of Parliament's Portfolio Committees of Communications and Telecommunications and Postal Services requesting an urgent meeting at which the Minister Muthambi and the Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Siyabonga Cwele, must explain the reasons for the significant changes to the policy, their impact on the digital migration process and the difficulties that have led to a public spat between government role-players.
A March 10 joint meeting of the Committees on the progress of the migration to Digital Terrestrial Television (DDT) was unsatisfactory and there was insufficient time to properly interrogate the officials. It was agreed that a follow-up meeting would be held in the second term.
When the draft programme for the Committee of Telecommunications and Postal Services was circulated to members two weeks ago there was no slot allocated to a follow-up meeting. A request was made to the Chairperson of the Committee that one be included but the programme circulated today omits a follow up meeting on DTT.
This is concerning as it indicates an unwillingness by the Committee leadership to grasp the gravity of the issue and have the Ministers and their officials properly account to Parliament.
Statement issued by Marian Shinn MP, DA Shadow Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, March 24 2015
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