The Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Mr Solly Malatsi, told a mini plenary of the National Assembly (NA) that R3.9 billion is needed to implement the department’s annual performance plan for the 2024/25 financial year.
Delivering his budget vote speech in the mini plenary, Minister Malatsi said that R1.6 billion of this budget will be allocated for transfers and subsidies to information and communication technology enterprises development and state-owned enterprise oversight.
This will ensure effective monitoring of initiatives, including business rescue of the South African Post Office (SAPO), as well as implementation of the turnaround strategy of the South African Broadcasting Corporation and regulatory compliance operations of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, the Minister said.
Furthermore, R1.8 billion is allocated to phases one and two of the SA Connect programme, which is implemented by two of the department’s entities, namely the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa and Broadband Infraco.
“The SA Connect programme’s target for this year is to establish an additional 5,900 Wi-Fi hotspots covering over one million households and leading to nearly two million connections by the end of this financial year,” said Minister Malatsi. The department aims to connect approximately 21 000 government sites in the next three years, including health facilities, schools, traditional authorities and libraries.
The mini plenary also heard that R351 million, which constitutes 8% of the total budget, is allocated to the compensation of employees.
In support of the budget proposal, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, Ms Khusela Sangoni, said that the committee will be duty bound to help quicken implementation of departmental programmes, rather than questioning the pace of progress.
“We are not here to dream about possibilities, but to manifest them. This is the generation that must not just witness, but actively participate in the dawn of a new era. So, our time is not in the future, but our time is now,” said Ms Sangoni. She further said that South Africa must continue to be positioned as a hub for technological excellence and global competitiveness.
However, another Member of Parliament presenting Umkhonto weSizwe Party, Mr Nhlamulo Ndhlela, opposed the budget proposal, suggesting that it perpetuates economic inequality and fails to address the needs of the majority of South Africans, particularly disadvantaged communities in the rural areas.
Mr Ndhlela asked why it is that Telkom, which he said is partly owned by foreign entities, and Broadband Infraco have not able to roll out telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas, when they were established on the basis of the SAPO licence to ensure affordable connectivity to all South Africans, regardless of wealth.
A full sitting of the National Assembly will still be convened to either pass Budget Vote 30 as proposed by Minister Malatsi or reject it. If passed, the National Treasury will pass the funds to the department.
Parliament, through appropriate committees of the NA and National Council of Provinces, will then be left to conduct oversight to ensure that the same budget is spent in line with the department’s approved annual performance plan for the current financial year.
Justice Molafo
18 July 2024
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