Sentech wants more money
Sentech has long blamed a lack of funding for its lackluster performance and at a recent Parliamentary Communications Committee presentation on its 2008/09 strategy and budget, the parastatal tried to drive the idea home again.
Sentech CEO Dr Sebeletso Mokone-Matabane said that the organisation needed more government funding across the board so as to reach its Digital Terrestrial Television migration, 2010 FIFA World Cup and broadband goals.
Looking at Broadcasting Signal Distribution, Mokone-Matabane said that funding shortfalls by government and the big changes in the exchange rate were the chief challenges facing Sentech.
She explained that phase one and phase two of the migration to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) had been successfully completed. However, phase three, which started on 1 April 2008, had a funding allocation of only R150 million out of the R262.7 million required.
She said the planned DTT roll out, giving 56% population coverage by 31 March 2009, would not be achieved due to the reduced funding allocation. Only 18 sites (40%) as opposed to 36 (56%) would be live.
Mokone-Matabane said that Sentech would meet their 2010 World Cup obligations for which R300 million had been allocated.
On Sentech’s telecommunications and broadband projects, Mokone-Matabane said that no final decision had been reached between the communications department and the treasury about the business plan and funding model for the National Wholesale Broadband Network project.
According to Sentech, only R500 million of a R3.1 billion funding requirement had been allocated by government.
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