Pressure group the Progressive Blacks in ICT (PBICT) is demanding that Parliament urgently approve the list of candidates recommended by minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams to serve on the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) council.
The group says it is appealing to the ruling party and Parliament to “allow the minister do her job”.
Earlier this week, ITWeb first reported that Ndabeni-Abrahams recommended six candidates for appointment to the ICASA council. Prior to her latest recommendations, a stand-off between her and the portfolio
committee overseeing her department had ensued.
Ndabeni-Abrahams had written to National Assembly speaker Thandi Modise, saying she is only accepting four out of the 10 names shortlisted by Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications.
The minister cited lack of skills set that would position the regulator to effectively execute its mandate among the areas of concern, reported the Sunday Times, adding that these are skills in digital economy/economics, cyber security
and emerging technologies.
According to the minister’s correspondence, ICASA’s current skills set, including the proposed names, is in finance, legal, engineering and public relations.
As result of the back and forth, the PBICT says: “Hands off our minister; let her do her job and appoint a strong ICASA board that will serve the interest of our people, not the elite or the monopolisers.”
Leon Rolls, president of the group, which has 3 000 members across the country, says: “We cannot afford to have a board that is there to serve the interest of the elite and more so have a board that is run by people clouded with corruption and dirty dealings from other state-owned entities. Those people must face their sins and should not be allowed to serve on boards like that of ICASA.
“It is very disappointing to see us continue to recycle people in a country with a population of 57 million people. We support the minister’s stance of ensuring we have the right people serving on the right table that will make right decisions.”
Rolls also lays into the former board, which he says “sold its soul and gave spectrum to telcos and totally ignored our call to speed up the WOAN process and that of issuing TV white space (TVWS) to our SMMEs”.
The PBICT has been on the forefront of urging increased utilisation of TVWS, which has been touted as an opportunity to connect the world’s population that remains without Internet access.
Commercial deployment of the technology has been lagging, even after ICASA published the final regulations on the use of TVWS in 2018.
However, in March, the regulator surprised the industry by temporarily awarding three companies to provide
TVWS-based networks.
Mthinte Communications, Levin Global and Morai Solutions were authorised to use TVWS in the 470MHz to 694MHz band.
Rolls says government must place TVWS technology on the list of priorities and programmes that can recover the economy.
“Government must release the TV whitespace to black players. ICASA must speed up the WOAN and award it within three months.”
