Speaking at his first press conference since being appointed to the post on October 31, Padayachie, who outlined the challenges facing his ministry, said that resolving the leadership problems in the national broadcaster as well as addressing its financial woes was critical.<\/p>\n
“What we need is a public broadcaster that functions competently,” he said.<\/p>\n
He hoped in the near future to finalise a turnaround strategy, including filling all vacancies within his department<\/p>\n
His ministry also aimed to see a repeal of the 1999 Broadcasting Act and have it replaced with the Public Service Broadcasting Bill. He expected the bill, which also deals with corporate governance issues, to be presented to Cabinet in the first quarter of 2011.<\/p>\n
SABC boss Solly Mokoetle has been in a stand off with the broadcaster’s board since September when he was suspended for failing to deliver on a turn-around strategy.<\/p>\n
Mokoetle, who was appointed in mid-January on a five year contract, has argued that he has had insufficient time.<\/p>\n
Padayachie, who replaced Siphiwe Nyanda, said he would like to see the department of communications stabilised and its staffing issues resolved.<\/p>\n
One of his priorities was to ensure all senior management positions, including the post of director general, were filled within the next three months. He said that overall he would attempt to address the department’s staff vacancy rate of 30 percent within the next six months.<\/p>\n
“We want to do things differently, working harder, faster and smarter,” he said.<\/p>\n
He said that he and his newly appointed deputy minister Obed Bapela had received a positive response to their appointment from within the department as well as from the public, including the technology sector.<\/p>\n
He would also seek to have all senior positions at Sentech, the national signals distributor, filled within the next three months.<\/p>\n
He said the functioning of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) would need to be strengthened and that an Icasa amendment bill could be finalised and submitted to Cabinet in the first half of 2011.<\/p>\n
He said that his department would also seek to ensure that rural areas were not left behind when it came to information technology by finalising an ICT Rural development Strategy by next March.<\/p>\n
The department hoped to finalise an e-commerce portal for smale scale farmers, giving them the opportunity to market their products online.<\/p>\n
A major project would be the provision of the necessary skilled workforce in Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) sectors.<\/p>\n
Plans were afoot to establish an “e-Skills Institute” as a legal entity and an accredited institution of higher learning.<\/p>\n
Asked how certain he was of achieving his goals, Padayachie said: “We may not achieve everything we have set down today, but how can you achieve anything if you do not set any goals.”<\/p>\n