Communications problems: Budget vote confusion and a DA walk-out

On Tuesday, 1 July 2014, the Communications Portfolio Committee joined with the Telecommunications and Postal Services Portfolio Committee to hear the Department of Communications’ (DoC) and GCIS’ Strategic Plans, budgets and Annual Performance Plans for 2014. The mood in the committee room was tense with opposition MPs complaining that they were confused about whether the budget vote for the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DoTPS) should be discussed if the two departments were not properly separated yet. The tension worsened as the day progressed, with DA MPs walking out of the meeting in protest.

The DA’s Marion Shinn kicked off the meeting saying that the budget approval was a legal process, and there was still some confusion about which department entities such as the SABC, ICASA, Sentech and others were going to fall under. “The money is divided legally between the two debates… how can we debate on these things if we don’t know what the entities are?” asked Shinn.

Chairperson of the Communications Committee, Joyce Moloi-Moropa, and Chairperson of the Telecommunications and Postal Services Committee, Mmamoloko Kubayi, tried to reassure MPs that the programme was in line with the process the Committees had to follow, saying that even though the proclamation splitting the DoC and allowing the DoTPS to have separate legal standing was yet to be signed, the committees would sit together because there would be one budget for both as the budget would be allocated to the DoC under which the DoTPS still falls.

As the day progressed, the mood only seemed to sour more, with the Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Siyabonga Cwele, urging MPs to be patient with his department, which was still in transition. He said that the “urgent task” was to continue with the work done by the previous committees and ministries and collaborate with the Communications Ministry until the reconfiguration is completed.

However, during the GCIS’ presentation, when EFF MP, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, directed questions at the Ministers regarding oversight over the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), and the problems and controversies with the SABC raised in the Public Protector’s report, the Chairpersons seemed to jump to the Ministers defense, commenting that the last committee gave more than enough time to the SABC’s affairs.

The DA came to Mr Ndlozi’s defense saying that problems with the SABC were ongoing and would continue to take up time, specifically issues regarding the removal of SABC staff members from posts, and problems with senior management lacking appropriate skills. Additionally, the SABC “lacked credibility” with its viewers, especially in relation to its news.

The conversation once again turned to the division of the DoC and the DoTPS, following Ms Shinn’s question whether MPs were going to be given the opportunity to interact with the Minister, despite Chairperson Kubayi’s urging that MPs to steer clear of the topic, which had already been covered that morning.

Mr Ndlozi bit back at the Chairperson saying that the “burning issue” is the “precise division between the two departments, which makes the work of oversight more difficult”. He added that the public opinion is that the division is a “joke”, and he was also very concerned about the integrity of the SABC, prompting the Chairperson to say the EFF MP was “seriously out of order”.

Tensions came to a head when the DA’s proposal to postpone the DoC’s presentation on its Strategic Plan was rejected by Chairperson Kubayi. DA MPs, led by Ms Shinn walked of the meeting in protest, as the Committee had only received the 100-page plan that morning and did not have sufficient time to read it in order to be able to interrogate it properly.

Comments

Keep comments free of racism, sexism, homophobia and abusive language. People's Assembly reserves the right to delete and edit comments

(For newest comments first please choose 'Newest' from the 'Sort by' dropdown below.)