Government likely to miss R7.7bn digital migration deadline again 

The government’s multibillion-rand digital migration of over 400 000 indigent households in South Africa has hit another stumbling block, raising fresh doubts about the future of broadcast in the country. 

As March draws near, a highly placed official in the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies has revealed to Sunday World that completing the migration before the latest month-end deadline is “not possible”. 

The delay places hundreds of thousands of households at risk of losing access to free-to-air television signals. The total budget allocated for the Broadcasting Digital Migration programme, was R7.7-billion over the medium term. 

The initiative, launched by then communications minister Faith Muthambi nearly a decade ago, has already consumed R1.23-billion, raising questions about government efficiency and fiscal responsibility. 

With finance minister Enoch Godongwana recently outlining the nation’s financial woes, the project’s ongoing delays could be perceived as an enormous waste of resources and a glaring example of bureaucratic inertia. 

Eligible South African households, defined by a combined income of R3 200 or less, were promised subsidised set-top boxes under the Amendment of the Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy, first gazetted in 2015. 

The policy aimed to assist five million poor households, but the road has been fraught with obstacles. The government extended its analogue switch-off deadline from December 31, 2024, to March 31, 2025, in an attempt to buy more time. However, the latest revelations suggest that this may not be enough. 

The insider explained that while the government developed an acceleration strategy to overcome potential hurdles, it has been insufficient. 

“The government messed the process up because they were slow; they delayed in procuring the decoders, and when they arrived, they were kept in storage at post offices for a year. 

“And the data of the people who registered for this thing is also a problem. In some instances, the installers could no longer reach residents because they could have potentially changed numbers. What should installers do?” the source said. 

The project has faced a myriad of challenges, ranging from logistical issues to financial constraints. Delays in delivering decoders to eligible households and non-competitive rates for installers are contributing to the bottleneck. Moreover, Sentech, the state-owned entity spearheading the Broadcast Digital Migration project, is grappling with financial difficulties, including a staggering R1.12-billion debt owed by the SABC and a R146-million loss in its 2024 financial year. This financial strain is impacting Sentech’s cash flow and its ability to make strategic investments, further complicating the situation. 

“The burden on the government is that they do not have the capacity to keep both analogue and digital signals at the same time.  

“Sentech is facing financial issues because it must maintain both signals; that is expensive. It is understandable for the government to say that we cannot afford to continue paying for analogue and digital,” according to the mole. 

Communications minister Solly Malatsi has acknowledged the delays but has remained tight-lipped about whether the department will be able to meet its obligations. 

“There are several hundred people who are yet to migrate from analogue to digital, and that process has been affected by a variety of issues. This was around the pace of installations, based primarily on the verification of beneficiary details and tracking down beneficiaries. 

“There was an extension, and when we motivated for it towards the end of last year, it was to give the government some time to accelerate the process because here is the thing: before you can switch off, any tower must have migrated to digital in order to switch to analogue,” he said. 

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