OUTA has submitted a research report to Parliament, highlighting persistent delays, mismanagement, and wasteful expenditure in South Africa’s Broadcasting Digital Migration project. We want accountability.

Despite being approved in 2008, the project remains incomplete, with the latest deadline of December 2024 missed by a wide margin. With the final switch-off deadline that was set for 31 March 2025, we want Parliament to act urgently to ensure accountability.

Millions of South Africans, particularly vulnerable households, remain dependent on analogue television, yet the government has failed to distribute set-top boxes (STBs) adequately. Between 2.2 million and 4.5 million households could as a result be left without access to television services.

OUTA calls for:

• Accountability for government departments responsible for delays.

• Consequence management for wasteful expenditure.

• Urgent distribution of STBs to at least 80% of indigent households.

• A national public awareness campaign on the transition.

“This failure is a betrayal of citizens,” says OUTA’s Stefanie Fick. Parliament must enforce accountability and ensure public funds are used effectively. South Africans deserve a transparent and properly managed digital migration.

READ more – including our submission – here​.