06 April 2025
In a bold call to action, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), a non-profit civil advocacy group, has urged the South African parliament to investigate the government's management of the long-awaited digital television switchover process.
Originally slated for completion in 2015, South Africa's migration to digital television is still in progress as of early April 2025, prompting growing concern over the extensive delays and mismanagement.
Stefanie Fick, executive director of OUTA’s accountability division, stated that the combination of governmental mismanagement and a noticeable lack of political commitment has squandered public funds during a migration process that remains far from complete. According to OUTA's assessments, the ongoing dual operation of both analogue and digital signals has cost the nation a staggering R1.23 billion over the past decade.
The government had pledged to support low-income households with free decoders to expedite this transition to digital television. However, as of January 2025, around 467,000 vulnerable households that had registered for these decoders had yet to receive assistance. OUTA posits that the actual number of households potentially left without television could range from 2.2 million to 4.5 million once the analogue signal is eventually turned off.
The situation has sparked significant backlash from major television networks such as eMedia and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), who are apprehensive about the potential audience loss stemming from the switchover. In a legal maneuver, eMedia successfully secured a court injunction that has postponed the planned analogue shutdown originally scheduled for 31 March 2025. This legal challenge is not unprecedented; in 2022, eMedia had already obtained a ruling from the Constitutional Court that delayed the process.
OUTA hopes that the proposed parliamentary inquiry will bring transparency regarding the roles and accountability of various ministries involved in the digital migration, as well as address the issue of wasteful expenditures.
The implications of South Africa's delayed analogue shutdown extend beyond mere financial losses and social equity concerns; they also carry significant economic repercussions. The long-awaited release of digital spectrum could empower telecom operators to enhance wireless network capacity, potentially leading to more affordable mobile data prices — a missed opportunity attributed largely to the ongoing delays in the transition.
