Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications hosts public hearings

Skhumbuzo Kholwane - Chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications joined us on the line to tell us more about the public hearings on the cost to communicate in South Africa that they will be holding throughout the country. Kicking off this morning in Gauteng the series of public hearings seeks to holistically evaluate the entire value chain associated with the cost to communication in order to make further necessary interventions that would ultimately make the cost to communicate more affordable. This follows the first round of public hearings last year when the Committee targeted the Department of Communications, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, and dominant mobile and fixed-line operators in the telecommunications sector such as Cell C, Vodacom, 8ta and MTN. The second round will involve a similar process as stakeholders include role-players in the telecommunications sector value chain such as Small Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs). The hearings will be held until Friday July 26^th in Gauteng before the second round in the Eastern Cape from July 29^th and the 30^th and ending off in KwaZulu-Natal from July 31^st to August 2^nd.