MAJOR CHANGES AT SPTC

MBABANE – The Swaziland Post and Telecommunications Corporation (SPTC), which employs about 760 people, has embarked on a three-year programme to wind up its current operations.

The corporation, wholly owned by government, plans to streamline its operations and focus only on establishing, constructing, maintaining and operating the national telecommunications backbone infrastructure nationally.
This will be in compliance with provisions of the Swaziland Communications Commission Act of 2013 and the Electronics Communications Act of 2013.
The Swaziland Communications Commission Act of 2013 provides that a new subsidiary company should be formed to operate the corporation’s telephony business.
SPTC is made up of Swazi Post and Swazi Telecom, which are two distinct divisions.

Arthur Ngcobo, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the parastatal, said the future of SPTC was unclear. “I cannot say what will happen to the company after the elapse of the three years. Government, as a shareholder, is in a better position to explain what would become of the company or its employees,” he said.
He said the company would conform to the dictates of the two Acts with the guidance of government.
According to Ngcobo, the Act provides that SPTC shall have the exclusive right of establishing, constructing and maintaining the national telecommunication infrastructure for the next three years.
Section 53 (4) of the Swaziland Communications Commission Act provides that after three years of coming into force of the Act, SPTC shall then establish a subsidiary telecommunications service company.

The new company will offer telephony services, which could include the wireless fixed phone services or the full mobile cellphone communication technology service that is presently being offered by Swazi MTN.
Like all other licensed operators and service providers, the new company shall have a right to establish ‘last mile’ interconnection to the national backbone infrastructure. It includes providing telephone handsets.
The service that would be provided by the new company is presently being provided by Swazi Telecom.

The company shall also be afforded the same interconnection conditions and rates like all other licensed service operators.
Dumisani Ndlangamandla, Minister of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) said the parastatal would follow the dictates of the two pieces of legislations.
He said government was yet to decide the future of the parastatal and that of its employees, post the three-year period, which ends in 2016.

The minister said a decision on the way forward on these matters would be taken based on recommendations of a consultant who has been engaged to map it.
He said consultants Deloitte had been engaged on a six-month contract to craft a strategy on the way forward for SPTC after the transition period.
The minister said the consultants would make recommendations on options for the future of SPTC.

He said a decision on the fate of employees of SPTC three years from now would be taken into consideration, based on recommendations of the consultant.  “We will wait for the recommendations of the consultant on what should happen to SPTC,” Ndlangamandla said.
Ndlangamandla said the aim of government with regard to SPTC was to grow the business of the company, observing and respecting all laws governing the countrys telephony industry.
He said the consultant was engaged to look into such things as how the new company would be formed and structured.
The consultants have already been on this task for a month.

According to a source close to the matter, SPTC operations will be streamlined.
The new company would basically take over functions of the Swazi Telecom division. These include the provision of telephony services and the internet services, among others.
This would then mean all the employees of the company, particularly those employed by Swazi Telecom, would either move to the new company or go home.

Petros Dlamini, Managing Director of SPTC, said he was aware that consultants had been engaged to come up with a strategic plan for the company. “I cannot comment further on this issue because it is being handled by the shareholder,” he said, referring to government.
 “For us, it is business as usual. We have disconnected our mobile network and are rolling out the landline network,” Dlamini said.
About the new company that would be formed by SPTC according to the Act, the company shall be afforded the same interconnections conditions and rates like all licensed service providers.

Some of the employees, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were also disturbed by the developments.
“We still do not know what will eventually happen to us,” they said.

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