SA Govt.-Driven Telkom tries to Find Its Place in Africa's Coming Telecom Gold Rush

Government will use its board voting power to make Telkom toe the line in participating in the East African Submarine Cable System (Eassy), says Lyndall Shope-Mafole. It will force the company to join the SPV rather than the overall consortium.

The Department of Communications director-general made this statement after delivering her department's 2007-2010 strategy to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications last week.

She also attacked the Eassy supplier contract signed on 9 March between Telkom, the network operators and equipment supplier Alcatel Lucent. She said it was outside the policy framework. The South African Government seems to believe that it will run and control the cable consortium. The private sector takes a different view and NEPAD seems to have taken the view that it can impose both its view and the rather heavy-handed governmental structure it envisages.

The Rest: Ballancing Act