The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) has officially been assigned to the department responsible for the dissemination of state information, although the Department of Telecoms and Postal Services (DTPS) has indicated it has authority to direct the Chapter Nine body.
President Jacob Zuma yesterday issued the proclamation the industry has been waiting for since his puzzling May move to split SA's former ICT ministry in two: the transfer of administration, powers and functions to certain Cabinet ministers in terms of section 97 of the Constitution.
Quietly published yesterday, Government Gazette number 37839 formalises the transfer of the administration of the ICASA Act and the Electronic Communications Act - wherein the regulator's mandate is spelled out - from the former Department of Communications (DOC, now the DTPS) to the "new" DOC, which has replaced Government Communication and Information Systems.
While this has stilled the rumour mill around the possible about-turn and "rightful" placement of ICASA under the DTPS, it has exacerbated the confusion around the regulator's role and which department it reports to. Both new departments' ministers have spoken of the regulator - whose independence is guaranteed by Chapter Nine of SA's Constitution - as if it is their own "baby".
Yesterday, in DTPS minister Siyabonga Cwele's budget vote speech, the minister repeatedly said he would be "directing ICASA" to perform certain tasks. These include directives for ICASA to formulate regulations for infrastructure, develop regulations on pricing transparency and develop regulations around premium content and how different broadcasters access this for their services.
Both ministers have also declared a renewed sense of urgency around the critical issue of digital migration, with Cwele saying the final digital migration policy would be gazetted by the end of the month - and DOC minister Faith Muthambi last week saying her department "will soon make pronouncements on the digital migration revised time table".
Stirring debate
Democratic Alliance shadow minister for telecoms and postal services Marian Shinn caused a stir during the DTPS budget vote debate yesterday, after she insisted Cwele clarifies "once and for all" which department ICASA would report through.
Shinn says the minister finally concluded the regulator reports to the ANC, as it operated as a government collective.
Despite the presidential proclamation published in the Government Gazette yesterday, Shinn says there is still no clear vision of what is intended by the ministry split.
"The ICT sector's hearts will fall at the confirmation that ICASA is lumped into the Department of Communications alongside the ANC's propaganda machinery."
Muthambi recently rubbished the notion that her department amounted to being an agent of propaganda for the state. She says its job is to foster a good relationship with the media and get "the good stories that are not being told" out there.
ICT veteran Adrian Schofield says it is still "somewhat confusing" for the onlooker to understand the complexities arising from splitting the old communications department in two. "I hope the detailed budget documents will make this clearer than [Cwele's] speech did." He says Cwele's statements around ICASA indicate he has the authority to direct the body.
Share