South Africa is now undertaking a digital transformation. Its progress is encouraging, notwithstanding the turbulence. Take, for example, the recently completed spectrum auction, which was delayed for more than a decade and was mired in multiple legal challenges, it is an indication of South Africa finally taking some of its digital transformation seriously.
The same thing is happening currently with the analog-to-digital conversion of television transmissions. Between eMedia (eTV), the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), and its shareholder representative, Communications Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, there appears to be a broken telephone. Minister Ntshavheni intended the analog-to-digital transition to happen on 31 March 2022 but eTV went to court, requesting a postponement of the switch-off date. The migration has been postponed until 30 June 2022 by the High Court in South Africa.
The SABC has raised doubts about the country's readiness for analog-to-digital conversion in a new development. It has said that it still supports digital migration but asked for a postponement of the ultimate switch-off date because 5.7% of homes in the remaining provinces had set-top boxes installed. The SABC further stated that the early demise of analog television might jeopardize its goal to maintain long-term financial viability and achieve its public purpose.
Minister Ntshavheni's relationship with the SABC appears to have strained after just two SABC board members agreed to remove the broadcaster's previous statement. Following the comments, Ntshavheni withdrew her signature from SABC performance reports, increasing fears that the public broadcaster would no longer receive state funding.
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Something interesting
Thanks to research in recent years we know that more money leaves Afrika through illicit financial transactions than the continent receives in aid. What is less highlighted is that some of the money marked as aid mostly never leaves Europe. This is definitely the case as we recently discovered two projects in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire where the European Union Trust Fund for Africa would pay European organizations to do the work and these agencies would then use their European staff and resources from Europe. In both these cases, they don't even do any skills or knowledge transfer. Surprisingly, in responding to us at iAfrikan.com, the EU through the European Commission confirmed just as much - EUTF aid money mostly never leaves Europe for Afrika.
