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Good morning, colleagues, members of the media, stakeholders and fellow South Africans watching and listening at home.
The Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies held a two-day strategic planning workshop on 2–3 September 2025. The purpose was to assess the state of the ICT sector and to chart our strategic plan for the remainder of this parliamentary term to 2029, in line with Parliament’s mandate of law-making, oversight and public participation.
On the state of the sector, we acknowledge the encouraging signs of increasing connectivity, especially 5G coverage as reported by ICASA. However, we are deeply concerned about the 12.3% decline in employment across telecommunications, broadcasting and postal sectors. This trend reflects broader economic pressures but also highlights structural weaknesses in the sector. It is against this backdrop that today’s media engagement, under the theme “Opening New Economic Opportunities”, is both urgent and necessary.
The ICT sector is a vital enabler of economic growth. Globally, it continues to disrupt industries and redefine how societies live and work. South Africa cannot afford to lag behind in this digital revolution. We must act with urgency, agility and determination to ensure that technology benefits all our people and that no one is left behind. We expect government to lead boldly, decisively and innovatively to unlock the full potential of the digital economy.
As we start this term of Parliament therefore, the committee will concentrate, amongst others, on six critical areas being:
- Urgent legislative reform
- Affordable and reliable connectivity for all
- Urgent action on the financial and operational challenges at the SABC
- Completion of the business rescue process at the Post Office and a viable plan in place to realise the Post Office of the future
- Strengthening of the Post Bank and realising the vision of a state-owned bank
- Completion of the broadcasting digital migration process
- On outdated legislation and the urgent need for reform
One of the most pressing barriers to progress in the sector is outdated legislation. Our communications laws were largely designed for an analogue era and are not fit for purpose in a fast-changing digital environment characterised by artificial intelligence, e-commerce, internet of things, blockchain and many other technologies. This outdated framework hampers innovation, delays transformation, and constrains the ability of entities such as the SABC, Sentech, SAPO and the Postbank to adapt to new realities.
The committee will prioritise and fast-track law-making to modernise this legislative environment for an inclusive, agile and secured society. We will be adopting in the next few weeks the committee’s legislative agenda, which will be committee-initiated bills. Amongst the priorities will be legislation for the preservation and protection of the media, amendments where necessary to the Electronic Communications Act and the overarching legislation to govern the so-called over-the-top services for platform accountability, should government not move with the requisite speed. Ours is to ensure that our legal framework keeps pace with global technological advancements.
- Affordable, reliable and universal connectivity for all
We have welcomed the progress made under SA Connect, particularly the rollout of over 3,000 public wifi hotspots serving four million South Africans to date. Young people and people in rural areas are beginning to access the opportunities the digital world offers. However much more remains to be done. Meaningful school connectivity remains a pipe dream for many learners. We call on the departments of Communications and Digital Technologies and Basic Education to prioritise this urgently. Infrastructure expansion is non-negotiable if we are to achieve a truly connected society in line with the Digital Transformation Roadmap as launched by the Presidency, which includes the digital ID, digital payments and data exchange.
Government must end silo-based approaches that waste resources and delay progress. In this regard, Parliament will continue to play an active role, as we did in accelerating the full implementation of the Broadband Infraco (BBI) Act and supporting the establishment of the State Digital Infrastructure Company. The BBI Act was enacted to facilitate the expansion of affordable, wholesale broadband access, especially to underserved and rural areas, through coordinated use of the state’s digital access. However, it is not adequately implemented.
Central to this is the consolidation of excess access fibre currently held by non-ICT state-owned enterprises – including Eskom, Transnet, SANRAL and PRASA – under the stewardship of BBI. Earlier this year, the portfolio committee invited these institutions to appear before it for engagements on how their infrastructure assets would be made available to BBI in support of a broader national mandate to deliver affordable open access wholesale broadband services aligned to developmental priorities. The consolidation of excess fibre assets from state-owned enterprises under BBI is crucial to reduce duplication, lower costs and achieve universal broadband access. Since then and encouragingly, both Minister Malatsi and Minister Ramokgopa have begun taking concrete steps in this regard, steps we appreciate and will hold them accountable to deliver.
It is practical, actionable solutions such as these that government must focus on.
- Urgent action on the financial and operational challenges at the SABC and the finalisation of the SABC Bill
The SABC is at risk of collapse, burdened by unsustainable debt, outdated infrastructure, and a broken funding model. Sentech, in turn, is bleeding more than R70 million per month subsidising the broadcaster’s signal costs. Yet the SABC Bill – essential to ensuring sustainability – remains stalled in Parliament. As the SABC is teetering on the brink of collapse, jobs livelihoods and the sustainability of the public and community broadcasting sector is threatened.
The committee is deeply concerned by the prolonged and unnecessary delay in processing this bill, which is not only long overdue but urgent for the continued sustainability of the SABC. We wrote to the Minister on this matter two weeks ago, calling for urgent action on his part to resolve the financial and operational challenges at the SABC. More than six months since the committee agreed to stand down on dealing with this matter and ensure the speedy processing of the Bill, not much if anything has been done.
We urge the Minister to finalise this process without hiding behind bureaucratic red tape. We also call for the department to engage with the National Treasury around investment into the SABC. The public broadcaster has not had a technology or infrastructure refresh in more than a decade. The SABC is not looking for a bailout. Government has a responsibility to invest in this strategic asset and recapitalise it where necessary. The time for decisive action is now; otherwise, South Africa risks losing its public broadcaster altogether.
These delays and inaction are not helpful.
- Completion of the business rescue process at the Post Office and a viable plan in place to realise the Post Office of the future
Two years into business rescue, progress at SAPO has been slow and costly, with almost R250 million spent on business rescue practitioner fees and thousands of jobs lost. While we welcome signs of stabilisation, a sustainable turnaround plan remains elusive. SAPO must diversify its revenue streams and leverage its infrastructure for broader service delivery. The Post Office of the future must be realised and not just spoken of endlessly. In the house, Minister Malatsi committed to issue a public call for strategic partnerships for the SAPO; this has still not been done. Despite its challenges, the Post Office remains a strategic state institution which is a lifeline who many underserved communities. We must leverage its strengths.
- Strengthening of the Post Bank and realising the vision of a state-owned bank
The committee has noted media reports and the unilateral declaration by SASSA of its intention to terminate the Master Services Agreement between SASSA and the Post Bank. The committee has further noted Post Bank’s fierce opposition to the termination of the MSA as well as the legal action the bank has imitated against SASSA in this regard.
The committee is yet to engage with the two state organs on the termination of the MSA, however it is worth noting that in our last engagement in a joint portfolio committee with the PC on Social Development there was no mention of the termination of this agreement and its resultant effect. The Post Bank has made tremendous progress over the last three years and its transformation story is one of resilience and readiness. It has new and credible leadership in place, has emerged from years of audit disclaimed to an unqualified opinion, returned to solvency and even declared back to the fiscus a dividend of R760m in the last financial year.
Now is the time for the Post Bank to be supported and strengthened. We call on the Ministers to resolve this impasse and on all parties to exhaust all stipulated dispute resolution mechanisms outlined in the agreement. We must strengthen and not erode the capacity of the state to deliver on the developmental aspirations of the South African people.
- Completion of the broadcasting digital migration process
The digital migration process remains a national embarrassment. Since missing the ITU deadline in 2015, government has repeatedly postponed analogue switch-off. Ten years later, South Africa continues to squander the economic and technological benefits of digital migration. Digital content creators are calling for space on the channels promised to them as part of the benefits on migration. We call on the department and the Minister to bring this matter to finality. Endless delays are unacceptable. Parliament’s 7th administration is determined to ensure this programme is concluded and does not remain a pipe dream.
Six months after the analogue switch off was interdicted by court, government is still consulting legal counsel according to a report we have received. No agreement has been reached with the broadcasters in line with the court judgment despite the Minister’s assurance to reach a non-litigious settlement. It is worrying to note however that the department is approaching the National Treasury with a request of more than R800m to continue to roll out this disastrous programme. This is a matter we will be engaging on with the department when we meet them tomorrow.
Mr Mothapo, fellow South Africans, when we speak of opening new economic opportunities our position is that time is not on our side. Too many people are without work, too many young people are not being equipped with the necessary digital skills. Data is expensive and the cyber space is not yet secured. Online harms are not being mitigated, government and society in general seem unclear how to address misinformation and disinformation, which pose serious threat to our democracy.
The digital start-up ecosystem is undefined yet it should be the heartbeat of our economy. The ICT sector holds the key to opening new economic opportunities, creating jobs and transforming our society. But we will only succeed if government acts decisively, implements practical solutions and embraces innovation. The committee will exercise our constitutional mandate with urgency and determination, ensuring that laws, policies and programmes deliver real benefits for the people of South Africa.
I thank you.
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