National Assembly : 23rd June 2009

Chairperson

The mandate of the Department of Communications is crucial for the improvement of the quality of life of all the citizens of our country and, in particular, in narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor through empowering the underprivileged communities with the necessary ICT skills.

In the interest of time I will confine my contribution to this debate to three critical areas that affect the poorest of the poor who live in the rural areas of our country, such as the district of Nkandla where I come from.  These are matters connected to our beleaguered public broadcaster, the SABC; the South African Post Office and poor ICT infrastructure in the rural areas.

With or without the problems currently besetting the SABC, the people of most rural areas which are not lucky enough to be located near major urban areas do not enjoy equitable access to and service from SABC TV.  This will no doubt leave them out of the loop for the enjoyment of the 2010 World Cup matches.  I urge the Department to take steps to live up to the parameters of its mandate.

The second issue relates to the poor service provided by the South African Post Office.  I am aware that its mandate has been expanded to include a role that it can play in the ICT and in expanding the banking services to the rural areas in particular.  Even it's very basic function of delivering letters is far from satisfactory and we know how crucial this service is, especially in the rural areas of our country.

The third issue is that of poor servicing of rural areas when it comes to telecommunications and in particular, telephony.  Telkom, which is a State Owned Enterprise, has almost abandoned its mandate to provide this service throughout the country and, in particular, in the rural areas.  Even cellular phone companies do not prioritise installing masts in these areas to improve connectivity.  When I am at home in Nkandla I still cannot use my cellular phone unless I walk a distance of three to five kilometres to climb the nearest hill, even then to access a very erratic network to download messages and to make a quick phone call.  This also applies to schools and clinics in the area.

As long as the people of the rural areas are left out of basic services of telephony and access to the TV, they will not be able to benefit from the democracy dividend and participate effectively in the furtherance and entrenchment of our democracy.

I thank you.