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An application to the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS), under the Public Access to Information Act (PAIA), for the regulatory impact assessment for its controversial Wireless Open Access Network (WOAN) plan has been rejected, with no reason given despite the duty to do so.

The DA suspects that this is because no impact assessment was ever done.

On October 12 I lodged an application for the impact assessment or any other documentation that informed the planned establishment of this network as set out in the National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper gazetted on October 3. There has been no response from DTPS which means, in terms of the Act, that as 30 days have passed since it was lodged, the application has been denied.

The DA then wrote to the DTPS on 24 November asking them to provide a reason for the rejection of the PAIA and to respond by 30 November. No response has been received.

The lack of an impact assessment contradicts the Principle and Values of the National Development Plan (NDP), which the White Paper claims as its founding document. The NDP states that “any interventions must be proportionate, consistent and evidence-based and determined through public participation”.

In addition, it states that the “socio-economic and regulatory impacts of any action will be assessed and considered before imposing regulations, rules/and or conditions”.

In light of this lack of proper process in formulating his radical sector transformation policies I call on Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Dr Siyabonga Cwele, to withdraw the WOAN proposal contained in the White Paper.

As the department cannot supply any evidence on the feasibility of the WOAN in the South African environment, or any impact assessment reports, it can be assumed that WOAN idea is not evidence-based. This is despite a department official remarking during a meeting of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Telecommunications and Postal Services on October 11 that an impact assessment was done.

Network service providers and Information Communications Technology (ICT) stakeholders and analysts have condemned the WOAN as being anti-competitive, unworkable and, in some respects, non-constitutional. They claim to have not been consulted on the detail of the network which was, during the public participation process, referred to only in general terms.

I ask that DTPS embark on a proper and thorough consultation with ICT sector players – both large and small – to draw up a dynamic networking regime that is affordable, flexible to take advantage of constantly evolving technologies, competitive for large and small stakeholders and incentivises ongoing investment in a shared-infrastructure environment.

The collapse of South Africa Connect’s tender process – because of onerous DTPS-stipulated requirements with which none none of major networking companies could comply – is a clear indication that government is incompetent in grasping the realities and complexities of implementing and running robust, ubiuitous communicationnetworks.

Digitally excluded South Africans cannot be perpetually side-lined as this ANC government holds up ICT broadband infrastructure and service rollouts because of its failed developmental state policies.

Issued by DA