Communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri has made her selection for the five vacant ICASA councillor positions and members of parliament are due to debate the list today.
According to papers placed before parliament today, the five candidates selected by the minister are Kobus van Rooyen, Andrew Barendse, Robert Nkuna, Brenda Ntombela and Mamodupi Mohlala.
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications initially selected eight candidates, after interviewing 19 from an original list of 57 nominees. The committee will meet at 11am today to discuss Matsepe-Casaburri`s list.
In terms of the ICASA Amendment Act, the law that governs the ICT regulator, parliament submits a list of candidates one-and-a-half times the length needed to the minister, who, in turn, makes her selection. Parliament then debates those names and has the power to reject them and submit another list.
Vincent Gore, of the Independent Democrats, says: "There are some very good people on this list, but there are also some problem individuals, who in the view of this party may not be able to rise to the challenges being faced by the regulator."
Today`s debate is critical for ICASA as it needs its full number of nine councillors as soon as possible to issue regulations for the Electronic Communications Act and to take on the responsibility of also being the postal regulator, apart from its telecommunications and broadcasting responsibilities.
If the parliamentary committee rejects the minister`s list, then it will only be in October that it will be able to discuss it again as the National Assembly goes into recess for two weeks starting tomorrow.
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