Committee Programme; ICASA Vacancies & Review

COMMUNICATIONS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
23 January 2007
COMMITTEE PROGRAMME; ICASA VACANCIES & REVIEW

CHAIRPERSON: Mr K Khumalo (ANC)

Documents handed out:
Legal opinion on ICASA vacancies
Letter from Prof. K Asmal on Review of Chapter 9 institutions
Information Services: Research
Committee Programme

SUMMARY
The Committee adopted its programme for the first term, without amendments. The need to meet more often with the Minister of Communications was recognised. A brief discussion focused on the suitability of the appointment of Dr Marcia Soakwa to head ICASA, as proposed by the Minister. It was decided that the Committee would await the official word from the Speaker before proceeding.
 
MINUTES
Committee First Term Programme
The Chair noted that the Committee adopted the programme, without amendments.

The Chair informed the Committee that there was not much money left in its budget, but that there was currently enough for two more months.

Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) vacancy
Ms D Smuts (DA) said that this Committee passed the Electronic Communications Act (ECA) and thus has to ensure that ICASA was in good shape as a regulator. The departure of its CEO was just symptomatic of the problems within ICASA. She said that it was necessary to engage properly with ICASA. All the senior management staff resigned and the last to leave was the CEO and it was for that reason that she insisted that the Committee cannot meet with ICASA only twice a year – to discuss its budget and annual report. She made it clear that there should be more frequent and programmed meeting between the Committee and the industry regulator. The vacancy must be filled quickly with the appropriate individual.

She continued that the economy suffered when ICASA was not functioning effectively. She touched on the problem of the undersea cables to South Africa as well as the cables that NEPAD will be using, and expressed concern about an Indian company that will be providing cables for either South Africa or other countries in Africa.

The Chair stated that the undersea cable issue should be raised with the Minister. The matter should be prioritized as it was of crucial importance.
 
Ms S Vos (IFP) said that the Committee must establish who ICASA’s consultants are, and also establish ICASA’s current capacity and efficiency considering the loss of leadership.

Secondly, she expressed her disappointment with the Minister of Communications, and asked when last the Minister personally addressed the Committee. She recalled that when the Minister did in fact appear, she produced a “wishlist” of things she would do. The reality was that nothing mentioned by the Minister has yet been achieved. It was clearly evident that the Committee needed to meet with the Minister urgently to discuss this.

Thirdly, Ms Vos expressed concern over consumer issues such as affordability, accessibility and the South African Post Office’s efforts to give effect to every person’s right to have a physical address. A further problem was that ordinary people were still unable to access new technologies, such as the Internet.

The Chair supported the grievances. However, Members should not embark on oversight visits to established areas alone, such as Johannesburg, but must also visit the rural areas. He stated that some Members’ oversight visit records were not good at all.

Ms Vos again expressed concern about pricing issues, especially when it comes to poorer rural areas. She noted that under-serviced licences really needed to be looked at.

Ms Smuts stated that the Committee had passed an excellent law - the ECA – which addressed pricing policy. The President was also calling for change on this matter.
 
Mr M Mohlalonga (ANC) took the opportunity to ask if it would be possible to have two oversight visits in the next two months given the limited budget.

Ms Smuts agreed with Mr Mohlalonga because there really is not much time left and the Committee needed to talk with ICASA for maybe two days in a row, on other occasions outside of the budget and financial cycles. She reiterated that it was Parliament and not the Minister who was responsible for ICASA, according to Chapter 9 of the Constitution..

Ms Smuts said that it is embarrassing that so many reports show that South Africa’s communications costs are many, many multiples higher than in other comparable countries. There is no need for oversight visits because she already knows that people cannot afford communication technologies. She said again that it is a huge problem for the economy and gave the example of Reuters refusing to expand in South Africa because communications costs were too high and that infrastructure was “flaky” at best. Reuters instead has chosen to expand in India and Telkom’s high costs were a deciding factor.

Mr R Pieterse (ANC) said that it was important to find out what the real reason was for the departure of the ICASA CEO. The problem has to be identified and addressed. He agreed that the Committee needed to meet with both the Minister and her Director-General more frequently. It did not however have to be arranged in a programmed manner, but just had to take place more often.

The Chair urged Members to remember that the private telecommunications industry, with its attractive salary packages, was the reason for talented people leaving the public sector

The Chair then gave a brief summary of the Legal Opinion concerning the ICASA vacancies. The resignation of the CEO of ICASA will be considered as an old vacancy. There was currently one and a half times the number of names on the list from which the Minister needed to make recommendations. The three shortlisted names, as decided in 2006, were: Dr Marcia Soakwa, Dr Kedibone Sereno-Chiloane and Ms Mashila Matlatla. He informed the Committee that the Minister would like to recommend to the National Assembly that Dr Marcia Soakwa become the new head of ICASA. He recommended that the Committee wait for an official response from The Speaker and then the matter could be concluded.

Ms Smuts stated that both she and Adv P Swart (DA) agreed that Dr Soakwa would not be a good appointment to ICASA, and reiterated that it was the duty of the Committee to select an appropriate person for the job. She said that ICASA made it clear that they need a person with economic regulatory skills and she was thus of the view that Dr Soakwa does not fill this description adequately. The selection process should thus be re-opened. She and Adv Swart had consulted Adv F Jenkins, Parliamentary Legal Advisor, who believed the process could be re-opened to search for a new ICASA head. She then said that The Committee might remember that she and her colleagues have a problem with Dr Soakwa as she was too close for comfort to certain interests and operators, even though she was very well qualified. She stated again that Dr Kedibone Sereno-Chiloane was a candidate that the DA was very enthusiastic about.

Mr Mohlalonga said that the Committee did raise the issue of gender representation within ICASA, and he was thus satisfied that the head be a woman. He agreed with the Chair that the Speaker’s response be awaited before proceeding.
 
The Chair opposed the re-opening the selection process, but it should in fact fill that vacancy as quickly as possible from the final three names currently available.

Mr Pieterse said that it was a mistake to discuss any individual at this time. He said that the individuals should be spoken of in positive terms and not in terms of why they would not be a suitable match for the job.

Letter from Prof K Asmal on Review of Chapter 9 institutions
The Chair then raised the matter of the letter from Prof K Asmal, Chairperson of Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Review of Chapter 9 Institutions, regarding ICASA and its funding. He said that the Committee’s draft response was currently being circulated, and encouraged Members to add their views.

Ms Smuts brought up the issue of raising funds for ICASA through its license fees. She said the Ad Hoc Committee on the Review of Chapter Nine Institutions looked at the matter. The comparable Chapter Nine Institution was the Auditor-General, who does not appropriate funds from Parliament but also has revenue of over R1 billion, just like ICASA. She said that if ICASA could take in its own revenue, then it would be more independent and more effective. This cannot be done at the moment, as stated in the latest Auditor-General report on ICASA, but should be done when appropriate to do so.

Mr Mohlalonga said that ICASA needs the right protection if it was going to raise revenue through licence fees. He said that The Committee must be thorough in understanding how ICASA generates its funding.

The meeting was adjourned.