The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is once again looking for a new CEO after announcing late yesterday the departure of suspended CEO Pakamile Pongwana.
The ICASA council in a statement announced the "mutual separation" with Pongwana, who was a month ago placed on precautionary suspension pending an internal disciplinary process. COO Willington Ngwepe will continue serving as acting CEO until a permanent CEO is employed.
Pongwana joins a long list of CEOs and acting CEOs that have led the regulator over the past 15 years.
Pakamile Pongwana
Pongwana took over in November 2013, replacing Themba Dlamini, who completed his three-year term at the end of October 2013. Before joining ICASA, Pongwana was managing executive for regulatory affairs at Vodacom for a number of years and had also previously served as deputy director-general for telecommunications policy for the Department of Communications.
Pongwana was an outspoken CEO and just last year caused controversy when he said ICASA may not follow the stipulations laid out in the National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper published in October 2016.
On 6 July 2017, the ICASA council announced Pongwana had been placed on precautionary suspension but gave no reasons for the suspension or the internal disciplinary process it said had begun. On 16 July, his departure was announced with no update on the progress or outcomes of the disciplinary process.
ICT veteran Adrian Schofield says it is not always easy to identify the impact of a CEO on an enterprise that is subject to as many other influences as ICASA is.
"Any CEO needs the guidance and support of a strong board (or council, in this case) and ICASA has long faced challenges in that respect," Schofield adds.
When asked about milestones under Pongwana's leadership, Schofield says two major issues spring to mind.
"One is the slow pace of bringing down the cost of data for consumers and the other is failure to reach agreement with the minister of telecommunications and postal services about the (re-)allocation of high demand spectrum. A well-resourced, well-researched independent authority should have been able to better inform the minister while he was formulating his policy instead of meeting him in court."
He refers to a squabble between the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS) and ICASA over the allocation of spectrum. The DTPS in September 2016 succeeded in interdicting ICASA from continuing with a planned spectrum auction, which would have given telecoms operators the opportunity to bid for spectrum in the highly sought-after 700MHz, 800MHz and 2.6GHz bands. Last month, ICASA announced it had deferred the timeframe for the auction "until further notice".
In terms of Pongwana's predecessors, of which there are a number, Schofield says he cannot pick one CEO that performed above the standards of the others.
"I think the ICASA CEOs live in the shadow of the chairperson, who is often the more visible of the two (Stephen Mncube and Paris Mashile come to mind). The regulator sits between a few rocks and hard places, being subject to heavyweight political and commercial interests while having to comply with international technical standards."
Schofield says the next CEO needs to be an able negotiator, have a good understanding of the licensing regimes for broadcasting, telecommunications and postal services, motivate and manage a capable team, engage with and obtain the support of the board/council and be immune to political capture.
Themba Dlamini
Pongwana's predecessor was Themba Dlamini, who led the authority from November 2010 to the end of October 2013. He joined after leaving his role as deputy director-general of the Department of Science and Technology.
Dlamini took over at a time when ICASA was constantly in the headlines for poor financial management. He was CEO when ICASA had to put CFO Tubane Mosia on 'gardening leave' in September 2011, until his contract ran out that November, because of issues with its 2010 financial statements. Soon after, ICASA received another qualified audit opinion from the auditor-general, after incurring R5 million in irregular expenditure.
Dlamini's exit from ICASA was marred by another poor annual report in 2013, which showed the regulator's failure to curb fruitless and wasteful expenditure, missed targets and under-spending.
Karabo Motlana
Karabo Motlana was CEO between September 2007 and August 2010. He joined the regulator after leaving his role as Cell C's head of regulatory affairs and took over around 20 months after the previous incumbent Jackie Manche first left the position.
Between Motlana and Manche, there were three acting CEOs: Eric Nhlapo, Bruce Jooste and Stanley Mamaregane.
Motlana left the post when his contract expired in August 2010 to join a construction firm and was replaced by Dlamini that November, while Montseng Mopeli filled in as acting CEO in the interim.
Motlana and former ICASA chairman Paris Mashile, who left in July 2010, worked closely together and were often seen attending various industry conferences, events and Parliament together. However, the relationship soured in 2009 during the infamous about-turn by ICASA over the need for Vodacom to get approval to list on the JSE.
The authority, as directed by Mashile, said Vodacom did not need its approval and then, with 48 hours to go before the listing debut, the authority changed its mind, resulting in a weekend-long court battle that ICASA lost.
Jackie Manche
Jackie Manche had one of the most controversial tenures at the telecoms regulator, spending months on suspension between 2005 and 2006, and finally leaving at the end of 2006.
Manche was placed on "cautionary" suspension in November 2005 as a result of alleged violation of the Public Finance Management Act, the ICASA Act and ICASA's policies and procedures. The alleged irregularities were reportedly brought to the chairman's attention by ICASA employees.
There were also allegations that she mishandled the situation when R110 000 was stolen from the regulator's safe. This led to a political storm and numerous media reports that there was political infighting in the regulator's council.
She resumed her duties as CEO on 13 September 2006 but quit soon after, leaving the position in December 2006 with little said about the outcome of the investigation.
Former ICASA CEOs:
- * Jackie Manche, July 2004 to December 2006 (suspended between November 2005 and September 2006)
- * Eric Nhlapo (acting CEO), November 2005 to June 2006
- * Bruce Jooste (acting CEO), July 2006 to December 2006
- * Stanley Mamaregane (acting CEO), January 2007 to August 2007
- * Karabo Motlana, 3 September 2007 to 31 August 2010
- * Montseng Mopeli (acting CEO), 1 September 2010 to 30 September 2010
- * Themba Dlamini, 1 November 2010 to 31 October 2013
- * Pakamile Pongwana, 1 November 2013 to 16 August 2017 (suspended in July 2017)
- * Willington Ngwepe (acting CEO), July 2017 to present
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