Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri has criticised the Treasury for failing to finance state-owned signal carrier Sentech, putting its future as a going concern in doubt, Business Day reported on Tuesday.
Treasury officials ”just don’t understand” the vital role Sentech could play in lowering South Africa’s exorbitant cost of communications, and taking voice and data services to rural areas, the newspaper quoted the minister as saying.
Matsepe-Casaburri spoke out after Sentech issued a statement highlighting its precarious financial position after a refusal by the government to fund its workload.
Its executives finally lost patience with being expected to deliver services with barely any cash, Business Day said.
The depth of their discontent was evident in comments by chairperson Colin Hickling, who listed a catalogue of financial and policy flip-flops by the government, which have left Sentech reeling.
”Funding uncertainties” could endanger Sentech’s role as a going concern, Hickling said.
Sentech’s reliance on state funding had to be ended so that it could raise private loans before it was too late.
Matsepe-Casaburri said she would not shoulder the blame for Sentech’s woes as the Treasury was preventing it from succeeding by failing to support it.
”We can’t leave it to the private sector to deliver to the disadvantaged communities,” she said. ”Officials in the Treasury don’t understand the business, or when to leave it to the private sector. [Public Enterprises Minister Alec] Erwin is frustrated … Sentech is frustrated and I am frustrated, but we are not going to give up.”
Sentech carries the national TV broadcast signals, and needs R955-million to upgrade the network to handle digital instead of analogue signals, which is vital for the success of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, Business Day said. — Sapa