Honorouble Chair, Honourable Minister, Members of Parliament and guests.

During this year's State of the Nation address, President Zuma made a
fleeting reference to our ICT sector. He mentioned fibre optic cables and
the plan to achieve full broadband penetration by 2020.

But that was all. Gone was the kind of bold statement our President made in
2009, when he promised that Government will reduce the cost of
communication.

This newfound reticence is not surprising. This Department has become, as
one newspaper put it, a poisoned chalice.

The Department is now under scrutiny by Parliament, and others. Serious
damage is being done by the persistent allegations of corruption, nepotism,
and cadre deployment, which allegedly saw politically connected individuals
land jobs within DoC's entities.

The now infamous ICT Indaba, which cost the DoC just over a hundred million
Rand, has left us with more questions than answers. To put this figure in
context - with R100 million we could have provided some 1 000 schools with
the necessary equipment for at least 20 computer laboratories. That would
have been a fitting use of taxpayers' money.

Instead, R100 million was spent on an Indaba, looking at ways to boost the
development of the ICT sector. With this noble goal, the IFP has no qualms.
But did the Indaba amount to anything more than an expensive talk-shop,
aimed at benefiting a few politically connected individuals? We might never
know.

It is the IFP's view that nothing less than a full Commission of Enquiry
will help us get to the bottom of these scandals. South Africans deserve
answers.

Instability remains the DoC's Achilles's heel. We have had five Ministers in
five years. This has stalled progress on critical projects such as DTT and
the broadcasting and ICT review process. With each change of Minister, there
seems to have been insufficient cognisance of the need for stability in the
Ministry.

Instability within the Department has permeated all its entities. We've seen
the decline of the SABC and Telkom. The SA Post Office has been crippled by
strikes, and while the SABC remains in ICU, it is unclear why the
cash-strapped broadcaster continues to provide free air-time worth millions
of Rands to the Gupta-owned New Age newspaper, to showcase government.

The taxpayer already funds such a service in the form of the GCIS. Surely if
our public broadcaster has to double up on this service, it should be to the
benefit of all South Africans, showcasing all views and all political
parties. This arrangement cannot be to the benefit of a few. Tomorrow, this
House will debate Guptagate, but the Guptagate scandal is much wider than
just Waterkloof airbase. It extends to other institutions and entities as
well. Therefore, this House must cast the net wider and get to the bottom of
the full Guptagate saga.

Steering the SABC back to health is a priority. We need to restore the
credibility of the SABC. For that to happen, cadre deployment must stop.

Let me pause here, though, and pay tribute to all the dedicated staff,
especially the journalists, who work under extremely difficult
circumstances, yet keep the SABC running, and quality news programme on our
TVs. They are doing a remarkable job. Let me also take this opportunity to
pay tribute to a late SABC icon, Mr Vuyo Mbuli. We mourn the loss a great
SABC journalist and a patriotic South African.

Colleagues, the challenges I am highlighting are by no means all the
challenges facing this Department. But they are critical challenges.

In the face of all this, the Department's rhetoric is unchanged. It remains
confident that nothing will stop it from ensuring that all South Africans
have access to world class ICT services. How much of this has materialised?

The stark reality is that, to date, very little has been done to deliver on
these bold promises. The IFP is astonished that the President can still
speak so confidently about meeting the target of 100 percent broadband
penetration by 2020 when this Department has yet to deliver on their current
targets.

When one considers that an increase in broadband penetration is linked to an
increase in the GDP, it is astonishing that we are not putting more effort
into reaching these targets, now. A failure to do so will not only
jeopardize South Africa's economic growth, but the NDP.

Hon Minister, there can be little doubt ICT development in our country has
not prospered, as it has elsewhere in the world and even here on the African
continent. South Africa deserves better. Moreover, business is becoming
increasingly frustrated by the lack of governance and delivery in the DoC,
the Cape Chamber of Commerce recently stated.

It is time that we address these challenges. To so, we need to radically and
rapidly shift focus. We need a shift to accountability; to passion and
commitment.

We need to prioritize a skills audit within this Department and its
entities. We need the very best talent and appropriately skilled talent.
Crony deployment can no longer be tolerated. And we are calling on the
Minister to ensure that under no circumstances will bonuses be paid in the
absence of performance and clean audits.

Colleagues, bold and stable leadership is required to harness this
Department's development potential and put it back on the right track. Bold
leadership - that will focus on priorities, policy and strategy.

Without this, the Department will drift ever further from its potential of
bringing real and meaningful change in the lives of ordinary South Africans.