Filing the four vacant posts on the Independent Communications Authority of SA's (ICASA's) council has been halted following the National Assembly's decision to withdraw the Portfolio Committee on Communication's report recommending eight candidates.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), which had raised concerns over two of the recommended councillors' chequered pasts, has welcomed the postponement.
ICASA's council has been four members short since October - by which time communications minister Faith Muthambi had ushered out William Currie, Joseph Lebooa, William Stucke and Ntombizodwa Ndhlovu - while another councillor, Marcia Socikwa, resigned in January. Incumbent ICASA chairperson Stephen Mncube's five-year tenure comes to an end this month.
According to a source close to the matter, all four of the outgoing ICASA councillors who left last year reapplied for the positions, but none were selected.
In a statement, the official opposition says the ANC agreed to postpone the matter following the DA's declaration in the House that suggested one of the candidates, Thami Ntenteni, has a criminal record that renders him ineligible for the ICASA council.
The DA objected to two of the eight names to be recommended to Muthambi for appointment to the ICASA council.
One was Lumko Mtimde, who the party says "is openly and unapologetically supportive of the Media Appeals Tribunal first proposed by the ANC back in 2007". The DA argues ICASA needs councillors whose instincts are to promote media freedom, not to curtail it.
The DA opposed Ntenteni being shortlisted as it argues he is ineligible for appointment on account of a criminal record.
"Reports in the public domain indicate that, in 1998, the BMW that Ntenteni was driving on the Ben Schoeman Highway crashed into a Volkswagen Passat from behind at high speed. One woman was killed and three others were injured.
"The courts found Ntenteni guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol, and culpable homicide. It is understood that he was sentenced to at least three years in prison, which would explain the gap on his CV between 1998 and 2001."
The DA notes the ICASA Act states a person may not be appointed to the council if they have been sentenced to a period of imprisonment exceeding one year without the option of a fine. "It is therefore highly unlikely that Ntenteni is lawfully eligible to serve on the ICASA council."
According to the ICASA Act, those appointed to the regulator's council must be individuals who:
* Are committed to fairness, freedom of expression, openness and accountability on the part of those entrusted with the governance of a public service.
* Are representative of a broad cross-section of the population of SA.
* Possess suitable qualifications, expertise and experience in the fields of (among others) broadcasting, electronic communications and postal policy or operations, public policy development, electronic engineering, law, IT, content in any form, consumer protection, education, economics, finance or any other relevant expertise or qualifications.
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