Former MK chief fails to connect in telecoms sector

A distinguished career as commander of Umkhonto weSizwe and later as chief of staff of the SANDF seemed to have prepared Siphiwe Nyanda for any role in the post-Polokwane cabinet.

Yet, President Jacob Zuma's appointment of Nyanda as minister of communications (and later of Mamodupi Mohlala as his director-general) elicited an outcry in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector.

His military career seemed insufficient to head a ministry beset by policy malfunctions and under-performance.

And he had done little to endear himself to a recession-weary public with his taste for the finer things in life at taxpayers' expense.

Cosatu became his most dogged critic, secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi publicly accusing him of corruption - which he denied .

Under the Mbeki administration, the ministry failed in most of its commitments. Almost everything Nyanda inherited needed repair - from the SABC to Telkom, including the government's promises of universal service and access.

The priorities of the new minister and his director-general were to improve the telecommunications infrastructure, especially in previously disadvantaged areas, and reduce some of the highest telecommunications costs in the world.

For a while, it appeared that they were on track to deliver policies and legislation to create an environment conducive to economic growth, strengthen the regulator, enhance the capacity of state-owned enterprises in its ambit and fulfil SA's international ICT obligations. They were expected to ease the burden of SA's excessively high telecommunications costs, which impeded economic growth and competitiveness.

Within months of her appointment, Mohlala cracked the whip on recalcitrant mobile network operators. The industry welcomed a drastic slashing of interconnect fees and the announcement of plans for annual cuts.

Gone were the days when operators ran rings around the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa), as its teeth seemed to have been sharpened.

However, with their latest missteps, Nyanda and Mohlala seem hell-bent on reversing any public support they had enjoyed. Their public discord on digital migration, followed by allegations of tender interference by the minister, set the two on a collision course.

The ruction would have been funny had it not been for its consequences for an ICT sector bereft of courageous leadership, especially within parastatals.

• The ICT charter is long overdue;
• Benefits arising out of lowered interconnect fees are still to reach consumers;
• Telkom is in pursuit of new BEE suitors and has failed SA on its international obligations regarding the UN's millennium development goals;
• Universal service and access are still a pipe dream;
• The Icasa bill has still to be finalised; and
• Harmony between the SABC board and its senior management remains elusive.

To his credit, Nyanda has so far displayed restraint in the face of public pressure for him to act in haste.

This will surely allow for sanity to prevail and pent-up emotions to dissipate.

He needs to be guided by fairness and selflessness as he tries to solve this conundrum. Otherwise the entire ICT sector may be thrust deeper into a state of disarray.

• Khaas is executive chairman of Corporate SA, an independent telecommunications consultancy