ATC220316: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Communications on the filling of four vacancies on the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) Council, dated 15 March 2022
Communications and Digital Technologies
Report of the Portfolio Committee on Communications on the filling of four vacancies on the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) Council, dated 15 March 2022
The Portfolio Committee on Communications (the Committee), having considered requests from the Minster of Communications and Digital Technologies to fill four vacancies on the ICASA Council, reports as follows:
A letter was received from the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, informing the National Assembly of the resignation, with immediate effect, of Mr Zolani Kgosie Matthews, a councillor on the Council of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa. In addition to the resignation of Mr Matthews, the Minister informed the Speaker of the terms of office of three other councillors that would expire as follows: Ms Palesa Kadi on 20 September 2021, Advocate Dimakatso Qocha on 25 September 2021 and Ms Thembeka Semane on 31 January 2022. The Minister requested the Speaker to initiate the recruitment process in terms of section 5(1) of the ICASA Act to fill a vacancy that had arisen as a result of a resignation and the vacancies that would arise on the expiry of the terms of office of the three ICASA councillors.
The Committee considered the letters from the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies and resolved that the Secretariat proceed with the process of publishing an advertisement in the media calling for the nomination of persons to fill the four vacancies 0n the ICASA Council. The advertisement was published in all eleven South African official languages in two national newspapers, two regional newspapers and seven community media newspapers. The Committee received seventy-one nominations but considered only sixty-nine nominations during shortlisting, following the withdrawal of Ms Abongile Mashele and Mr Lumko Mtimde from the nomination process.
The Committee further established a seven-member Subcommittee (4 x African National Congress, 1 x Democratic Alliance, 1 x Economic Freedom Fighters and 1 x Inkatha Freedom Party) to oversee the process of filling the four vacancies on the ICASA Council and report back to it.
On 31 August 2021, the Subcommittee met to consider the criteria and skills required to fill the vacancies and unanimously recommended that the Committee approve the following shortlisted candidates: Mr Edmund Baloyi, Ms Dikeledi Mushi, Mr Demetrios Martinis; Ms Palesa Legoze; Ms Caroline Macharia, Mr Mpho Tsedu, Adv Dimakatso Qocha; Dr Natalie Skeepers; Mr Charles Mabuza; Ms Rossana Gell; Mr Ashraf Patel; Ms Thabisa Faye; Ms Ntombiza Sithole; Mr Musa Sello; Ms Sesethu Gqomo; Dr Pulane Molokwane; Ms Thembeka Semane; Mr Leon Louw; Ms Keletso Lefothane; Ms Nompucuko Nontombana; Ms Nokwanda Mathenjwa; Mr Thabo Makhakhe and Dr Olwethu Sipuka.
On 1 September 2021, the Committee adopted the recommendation of the Subcommittee. The candidates were interviewed on 7, 8 and 10 September 2021, with the exception of Dr Olwethu Sipuka, Ms Caroline Macharia and Ms Keletso Lefothane, who all withdrew from the process. All the qualifications of the candidates were verified by Parliament’s Human Resources Unit and personnel suitability checks were conducted by the State Security Agency (SSA).
On 10 March 2022, the Subcommittee met and deliberated on the interviews and unanimously agreed to recommend to the Committee that (i) the four vacancies be filled from the following seven candidates, namely Advocate Dimakatso Qocha, Ms Nompucuko Nontombana, Ms Dikeledi Mushi, Ms Thabisa Faye, Ms Ntombiza Sithole, Ms Sesethu Gqomo and Ms Rossana Gell and (ii) although the ICASA Act states that “the National Assembly must submit to the Minister a list of suitable candidates at least one and a half times the number of councillors to be appointed”, the Subcommittee agreed to add to the list the name of Ms Rossana Gell as a seventh candidate.
The decision to submit seven names was made mainly to assist the appointing authority in appointing from the same pool, in an event that one of the appointed Councillors vacated office a few months after his/her appointment. This was evident from the vacancy, which arose as a result of the resignation of Mr ZK Matthews that occurred a few months after he was appointed to the Council.
On 15 March 2022, the Committee met to consider the recommendation of the Subcommittee. The Committee unanimously recommends that the National Assembly approve the names of Advocate Dimakatso Qocha, Ms Nompucuko Nontombana, Ms Dikeledi Mushi, Ms Thabisa Faye, Ms Ntombiza Sithole, Ms Sesethu Gqomo and Ms Rossana Gell for submission to the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies in order for her to appoint four from the seven candidates as ICASA Councillors.
Report to be considered.