Communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri has taken the unusual step of asking for public comment on her policy directives concerning the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA), and comments received will be incorporated into the final policy, the Department of Communications says.
On Friday, 25 May, a notice was published in the Government Gazette outlining Matsepe-Casaburri's draft policy directives to ICASA, which she had talked about in her budget vote speech to Parliament the day before.
The policy directive includes the fact that the unbundling of the local loop has to be completed by November 2011 for ICASA to determine if none, or some, of the value-added network service licensees can be authorised to provide full electronic services, and to address the weaknesses of the underserviced area licensees.
Department spokesman Albi Modise says the minister is not required, in terms of the Electronic Communications Act, to call for public comment on the draft policy directives, but that it is part of ensuring transparency of the process.
"Public comments will be collated and then the state law adviser will use them to draft a final document that will be the policy directives ICASA will have to implement," he says.
The public has until 30 June to comment on the draft directives, which can be found on the department's Web site.
Also on the Web site, and published today, is the final report by the local loop unbundling committee that was handed over to Matsepe-Casaburri a week ago.
The report should have appeared on the Web site on Monday; however, Modise says, the delay was caused by the site going through a redesign.
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