Interviews of candidates for the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) Council

Meeting report

Adoption of Outstanding Minutes

The Chairperson noted that the candidate had not arrived as yet. Therefore, he asked Members to consider the outstanding minutes of previous meetings. These minutes were dated 23, 16 and 24 February 2010. The former was adopted with amendments while the latter two were approved without any changes.

Disqualification of Candidates

The Chairperson asked the Committee to informally discuss the disqualification of candidates in terms of section 6 of the Electronic Communications Amendment Act. He noted that the Committee should be prepared if this became an issue later on.

He advised the media not to record the discussion because it was an informal discussion between the Committee members. It was decided that the Committee would seek expert legal opinion on this matter.

Interviews
Candidates were asked the following questions:

•They were asked to give a brief description of their background (who they were and what they had achieved) in relation to the job they were applying for.

•They were asked if they had business or financial interests in the Communications Industry.

•They were asked to share their views about what mistakes ICASA had made and how they would fix those mistakes.

•How would they transform ICASA?

•They were asked to elaborate on their expertise, and what contributions they would bring to ICASA

•Candidates were asked whether they would be able to deliver on their mandate without outside or political pressure.

•They were asked to explain their understanding of the independence of ICASA.

•They were also asked how they would manage the conflict of interests between ICASA and the Minister of Communications.

•Candidates were asked to elaborate about their views on the ICASA Amendment Act.

•They were asked whether there was anything that could disqualify them in terms of the Electronic Communications Amendment Act.

•They were asked to explain the areas they would focus on if they were appointed to the ICASA Council.

Refer to audio recordings for further discussion.

The meeting was adjourned.