The DA has called on communications minister Faith Muthambi to lift the veil of secrecy around the placing of orders for 1.5 million set-top boxes (STBs) from three suppliers.<\/p>\n
This is the first phase of providing\u00a05 million free STBs and antennas to poor households as part of South Africa\u2019s migration to digital broadcasting.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy call last week to Muthambi, to clarify the status of these orders has gone unheeded,\u201d said Marian Shinn, DA Shadow Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy request to Zami Nkosi, CEO of the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (Usaasa) which is managing the STB project, to confirm three names industry sources have provided me has also gone unanswered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nkosi told ITWeb that 1.5 million STBs have been ordered and that production began at the end of August, but would not name who was producing them.<\/p>\n
One of the assumed winning bidders, BUA Africa, declined to confirm receipt of an order from Usaasa.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is taxpayers\u2019 money, so there must be full transparency on how it is being spent and who is securing the orders for each component of the free STB project.\u201d<\/p>\n
SA joins list of losers who missed digital migration deadline<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Government\u2019s incompetence with spectrum is costing SA billions a year<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n