Apr 13, 2021
Kathy Gibson reports – South Africans have lost out on better coverage and lower data prices for years, as a direct result of regulatory failure and political ideology.
Government policies in telecommunication, spectrum, competition and digital migration have deprived consumers of better ICT services, according to the Free Market Foundation’s 2021 Socio Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA) and market research.
Leon Louw, founder and president of the FMF, points out that South Africa’s mobile network industry is arguably the biggest success story the country has achieved since 1994 – despite government’s bad policies over the years.
Government initially created a duopoly in the mobile environment with the establishment of MTN and Vodacom, he points out. “But they have produced coverage in South Africa that is comparable to the best in the world.
Leon Louw
Government’s plan to create a wholesale open-access network, or Woan, “will serve no useful purpose” and could, in fact, harm consumers – the exact opposite of what it’s meant to achieve.
This is a key finding in a new “socioeconomic impact assessment”, or SEIA, produced by the Free Market Foundation (FMF) and published on Tuesday. The SEIA report argues that it is a mistake to try to impose competition through such a mechanism and suggests that the Woan project is the product of “believers in Marxian economics” who find it “torturous” that MTN and Vodacom still service 75% of South Africa’s mobile market 25 years after they were licensed.
Joburg’s ‘unreasonable’ tariff hike will hit pockets hard, warn experts The proposed increases will force the people who use the least amount of electricity to pay more 11 April 2021 - 17:58
Experts believe the City of Joburg’s proposed tariff increases for 2021/22 are unreasonable given the economic climate.
On March 24, draft tariffs were tabled during a council meeting. They are now open for comment till May 3 and will come into effect in July, when the city’s new financial year kicks in.
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Lesufi’s secret tender
Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi was recorded in a meeting he held with his team in Tshwane, during which his department tenders were discussed. In the recording, which City Press has heard, Lesufi told the team that, as an MEC, he had to ensure that people were satisfied at all costs.
Magashule set to tell elders that he is a target
ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule is set to begin his “consultations” with erstwhile party leaders, armed with claims that the move to have him step aside is politically motivated. He will also claim that law enforcement agencies are being used to settle political scores, City Press has learnt.
Turbulent times at SAA as pilots demand to be retrenched. The Head of SAA Pilot’s Association, Grant Back, told the BizNews Pour Hour that they have not been paid in a year and are proceeding with their uncommon strike. Grant is joined in conversation by Leon Louw of FMF and the team at BizNews.
Grant Back on his last flight:
I landed back in Johannesburg from Munich on the 28th of February. I actually did that flight with my son, not knowing it would be my last. It was at least a special one that’s in the memory and certainly a special moment. It’s been over a year and a lot of guys, pretty much, ended their careers at SAA in March. There’s been very little flying since then.