The City of Johannesburg’s Metropolitan Trading Company (MTC), which manages the municipality’s broadband network, wrapped up its last public meeting with residents and potential customers in Soweto on Saturday, 17 August 2019.
MTC officials took it on the chin when residents threw verbal punches at the end of an hour-long presentation by among others the Chief Technology Officer Itumeleng Mofikoe.
About 40 residents and business owners who listened to the hour-long presentation detailing MTC’s plans of re-engineering itself out a cash crunch by selling off its broadband network, worth R1.2 billion to the private sector, expressed disappointed that they were being consulted after the fact.
“You can’t come and tell us at the end of the open tender that you want our inputs. We also wanted to be a part of the bidders for the network. How long must we sit back and watch as the big four telecoms companies dominate the market?” asked one resident.
Another said: “You are coming to us after the fact. You are essentially privatizing a state asset. You should have called the right audience, which is business people, and shared details of the tender before the closing date.”
The MTC broadband network tender opened on May 22 and closed on 22 July 2019.
“Why didn’t MTC contact Icasa to get black players in the telecoms space? This is a waste of time as the new entrants you’re seeking can’t operate without a license. The MTC open tender is rolling back internet access to the masses, which is a universal right,” said another resident.
Mfikoe encouraged residents and business people not to hold back their punches. He said once a service level agreement has been concluded with the successful bidder, follow-up meetings with all stakeholders will be held so that the mechanics of the reseller programme can be explained.
He said far from disadvantaging residents, the sale won’t change the status quo because the successful bidder will have to abide to the terms and conditions of the City to ensure access for residents.
Mfikoe added that this will stimulate socio-economic activity by increasing SMME participation through a broader catalogue of ICT products and services it will offer for resell.
The sale of the City’s broadband network will unlock and support Smart City initiatives that seek to improve service delivery and the experiences of residents in the City of Johannesburg.
