1.1. On the 7th of July 2022, I updated the nation on the Broadcast Digital Migration (BDM) and Analogue Switch-Off (ASO), in particular with the outcome of the Constitutional Court and our next steps forward.

1.2. As highlighted by the Constitutional Court, the digital migration process is national priority, and it must be completed without any further delay for the benefit of the country.

 

1.3. The Broadcast Digital Migration (BDM) process delays have negatively affected the development of ICT sector in particular, it has delayed broadband penetration across the country, in particular in rural and per-urban areas.

 

1.4. At the last Briefing, I announced the 30th of September 2022 as the final date for applications of Government subsidized Set-Top Boxes. The extended window aims to provide a further opportunity for needy households to make applications and register  for Government Subsidized STBs.

 

1.5. The final registration date of the 30th of September was published through Government Gazette in all Official South African Languages.

 

 

2.1. We have simultaneously ramped up the public awareness programme to ensure the digital migration message reaches South Africans irrespective of where they are. We therefore adopted a multi-prong and multichannel approach to drive the message to our citizens regarding BDM and the final date of applications of the 30th of September 2022.

 

2.2. We are broadcasting key messages on all the SABC public radio stations in their languages of broadcast through at least 5 slots per radio station per day; and 3 Slots for the 3 SABC Television channels per day. The SABC has been appointed to champion broadcasting awareness messages to the public of South Africa in partnership with community Broadcasters.

 

2.3. With regards to community Broadcasters, we are working with 96 community Broadcasters and they also Broadcast the BDM message 3 times a day.

 

2.4. We have teams on the ground across all Provinces doing community activations to educate people about Digital migration, Drive registrations and STB installations. We appreciate the support of the South African Local Government Authority (SALGA) and the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders and their provincial chapters for the collaborative work with both councillors and traditional leaders in coordinating localised community meetings. During last week, I was personally in the Western Cape province, Cape Town Metro, Ward 86 Lwandle in the Strand where we received positive feedback from STB beneficiaries including the improvement in the turn-around time between applications and installations.

 

2.5. Through our collaboration with SALGA, ward councillors where there is demand serve as points where application forms for STB can be collected and returned for onward transmission to the post offices. This is important because it is also making it convenient for communities to access the application forms.

 

2.6. We are also utilising the social media platforms to further disseminate the message to the public of South Africa as can be seen on the platforms of the DCDT and other participating Entities.

 

3.1. I have also visited post offices in the 6 provinces of Northern Cape, Northwest, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Free-State, and the Eastern Cape to evaluate progress made on issuing of STB to the public. We are comfortable that there are no STBs issued to beneficiaries that are laying at Post Offices. In post offices where we found non-issued STBs, we facilitated that they are issued to registered households and excess stock moved accordingly. We are planning to complete our SAPO evaluation in the remaining province of Gauteng KZN and WC during the month of August.

 

3.2. The total number of new registered households between April 2022 and July 2022 now stands at 61,155 and this translates to an average of 15,288 registrations per month, therefore representing a decline in STB applications and registrations.

 

3.3. Based on the consolidated number of registrations and installations, including the rolled over numbers from KZN and EC provinces due to floods, we are now left with approximately 244 000 installations to complete.

 

3.4. We will continue to evaluate registrations for the period to September as we move towards determining the final Analogue switch-off date that we will undertake consultations on.

 

3.5. We continue to improve our STB installer capacity across the country. As we celebrate the 66th Anniversary since the August 9th Women’s Month, I am pleased to report back the country that 44% or 473 of our installer enterprises are women-owned. Tomorrow I will be meeting with these Women installers to not only engage them on Digital Migration matters but on how we must support them to participate and grow their businesses within the ICT technical fields.

 

3.6. Our commitment to the struggle for the total emancipation of women from economic exclusion, gender-based violence and any form of discrimination targeted towards women is not symbolic but DELIBERATE, INTENTIONAL, AND RESOLUTE - ASIJIKI. We owe these to our forebears but most importantly we owe this to future generations of women and the girl child who deserve to live in an equal society. Today, I am also accompanied by Ms Tumelo Moloko (15) and in Grade 9, who aspires to be the President of this Republic and her dream should be possible without the albatross of her gender.

 

 

Thank you

 

Enquiries: Tlangelani Manganyi 060 886-4670

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Facebook: Department of Communications & Digital Technologies.

Twitter: @CmmsZA

Chitchat.cool: DCDT

 

Issued by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Technologies