Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi
SCORE: C
Malatsi moved into the communications and digital technologies portfolio with a reputation for discipline, clarity and political steadiness, qualities it desperately needed after years of turbulence, leadership churn and stalled reforms. His first year has largely been about restoring credibility, stabilising entities and nudging long-delayed policy shifts forward.
On the positive side, Malatsi has brought a far more predictable, technocratic tone to a department that has historically been reactive and crisis-driven. Under his watch, engagements with industry, regulators and state-owned entities have been calmer and more structured, and government messaging around spectrum, digital migration and cybersecurity has regained a degree of coherence.
His measured and factual communication style has also been a breath of fresh air in a portfolio often dominated by political noise. Still, the deeper structural issues remain unresolved. Digital migration is far from complete. SOEs like the SABC and SAPO continue to face existential pressures, and while Malatsi has stabilised the atmospherics, the hard policy decisions such as funding models, turnaround strategies and regulatory overhauls are still pending.
Progress has been steady, but not transformative.