Chairperson, I am following on hon Ndlozi. We are both in navy, and he is not in red today!
I would briefly like to acknowledge our hon Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, hon Dr Siyabonga Cwele, all other Ministers and Deputy Ministers in attendance, and our Members of Parliament. I would especially like to mention the chairpersons of both our committees, who have been able to lead us in a very capable and enlightened way. This is in contrast to what I have heard here, where people are still worried about the transformation process and seeing it as an ANC process. It is a normal process of evolution as we begin to strategise and see how best to meet the urgent needs. Finally, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome all of you as well.
The ruling party has mandated its government to embark on radical economic transformation so as to tackle the triple challenge, namely, inequity, poverty and high levels of unemployment. I think it is important to emphasise this statement because, if we do not understand the meaning and the dynamics of these, we will face the temptation to query each and every strategic move on the part of government, asking why they are making it. In fact, we are facing the elephant in the room - an abnormal situation where the wealth of the country is in the hands of the minority.
Our people have called upon us to initiate programmes and activities that support the acceleration of the new economic growth path. Our strategic focus must therefore be to guarantee that information and communications technologies make their substantive contribution as an enabler of and a leader in economic growth, and also positively influence job creation and transform South Africa into one of the most inclusive developing countries.
We acknowledge with pride that the number of people employed in the sector has increased significantly. The ICT sector now employs thousands in its networks, services, IT companies, call centres - you name it - and contributes about 8% to the GDP of the country.
The Industrial Policy Action Plan has identified the ICT sector as key to promoting industrialisation and growth. I think that is what the hon Ndlozi was struggling with, with a limited understanding of the policies of the governing party. A lot has been done to establish industrial development zones. We have two industrial development zones specifically earmarked for ICT manufacturing. So, he has come here and confused the House by saying that as long as we do not manufacture here, we do not know what we are doing. It shows that some hon members do not take the time to learn about the policies of the ruling party. [Applause.]
The National Development Plan is another important vehicle that we should all be trying to understand, and we should recognise the significant role that it is meant to play. The ICT sector can also play an important role in ensuring that we have the set targets we need.
The National Development Plan identifies a number of factors slowing down the development of the ICT sector. An example is policy constraints, and I think hon members have spoken to areas where there are limitations. There are also weaknesses in institutional arrangements, and I think that is exactly what the presidential proclamation is aimed at addressing. There are also regulatory failure and limited competition, as well as the inability of the regulator to open the market sometimes.
The NDP further notes that the work of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa has been hampered by legal bottlenecks, and limited capacity and expertise. These challenges have weakened market growth, making it difficult for the sector to deliver in regard to information and communications technologies for development.
These constraining factors or limitations are addressed in the strategic thrusts of our programme, which relate to, firstly, creating appropriate conditions for the managed liberalisation of the sector - I underline "managed" - Then there are also transforming and democratising the sector, and ensuring universality and affordability of ICT services to the people. I think the Minister said a lot about that. The message is clear and unambiguous: The government and the department have resolved to move with speed in ensuring that this becomes an affordable service to all the people.
The Icasa 2014-18 strategic plan articulates the vision of the regulator in dealing with the promotion of competition; protecting consumers to ensure universal service and access to all communication services at affordable rates, and we are emphasising that because it is a co-mandate; promoting the efficient use of spectrum and numbering resources; and facilitating nationwide broadband penetration by 2020.
Within the International Telecommunication Union and the World Radiocommunication Conference, which is coming up next year, we hope to position our country as a leader in ensuring that this natural and scarce resource is used to develop our people holistically, while growing the business and ensuring universality and affordability of ICT services to the people.
During the 53rd National Conference of the ANC delegates pronounced:
ICT is a critical enabler of economic activity in an increasingly networked world. It is critical for South Africa to remain globally competitive. The sector needs long-term policy certainty to be in a position to take the country into the next trajectory.
I think the Minister has just given that. He has assured us that there is a resolve to stop the "stop-and-go", and to take the country forward.
The ruling party in its manifesto then assigned this Ministry to focus on investment in a comprehensive plan to expand broadband access throughout the country and substantially reduce the cost of communication and promote economic growth.
The South Africa Connect broadband policy of the department has to be implemented. When we started, we spoke about radical economic transformation. In this instance, we have come into the department and made it clear that the policy has to be implemented with speed. This will go a long way toward ensuring that universal access is achieved, as outlined in the NDP. But mostly it is a huge investment in attracting foreign direct investment and the optimal use of the undersea cables that we in South Africa have installed.
The often unco-ordinated and fragmented infrastructure initiatives are a key weakness that results in unwarranted duplication of resources, which ultimately leads to a higher cost of services and inhibits further roll-out of networks.
The department will continuously improve guidelines for operators on sharing operator-specific infrastructure to avoid duplicating infrastructure in an area. This will result in the country's saving costs. Likewise, harmonising related infrastructure development by relevant Ministries, such as Transport and Energy, to ensure provision of cable ducts in the design of roads, pipelines, railways and power lines, will go a long way toward alleviating the cost burden of establishing fibre networks.
The department will ensure a close relationship with all the affected entities in order to ensure co-ordinated efforts towards the roll-out of services which share passive infrastructures.
The policy directive in this regard was issued to the regulator long ago. All we need is action; hence the Ministry of Telecommunications and Postal Services has been formed.
The department will also foster partnerships with other government entities to ensure the speedy and effective establishment of services. This refers particularly to the Department of Public Works, where there are regular excavations of roads infrastructure.
The persistent duplication of resources by operators installing core cabling infrastructure in the same place at different times is a challenge to development, especially when it comes to access for rural communities. Furthermore, the loss of opportunity in building communication infrastructure during the establishment of roads, power, water and other utility networks needs to be minimised.
In December 2012, the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission launched Strategic Integrated Project 15, which is about expanding access to communications technology.
It is important that the configuration of some of the state-owned companies be reviewed in order to achieve the objectives of SIP 15. The department is on track in positioning our agencies like Postbank, Telkom and Sentech, and also our Post Office services, amongst others, in the infrastructure roll- out and possible spectrum reallocation, so as to ensure penetration in rural communities.
Let me reiterate that the need for financial inclusion and access for the unbanked is crucial; hence Postbank is under way. You know we are talking about postal services today, and there has definitely been a resolve that we will have Postbank as soon as possible.
The department will encourage a multipronged partnership strategy. The strategy is to ensure that various government partners, such as the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa, partner with a number of sector entities. These will bring a range of unique public access solutions that will assist the agency in fulfilling its mandate, further the goals of an inclusive information society, and encourage entrepreneurship in underserviced communities.
The department has also been playing an influential role in championing the interests of the continent. One of the key partnerships is the one that we are working towards with the government of Lesotho. The project is to connect Lesotho to the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System. Once complete, the connection will open numerous economic opportunities, for the youth of Lesotho in particular.
South Africa has been honoured to be awarded a seat on the International Telecommunication Union council. We look forward to ensuring that South Africa remains committed to the world and builds strong partnerships for policy development with the United Nations Development Programme, the Universal Postal Union, Unesco, WHO and the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development.