The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) will not follow through with its legal application against the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA).
This is despite heated accusations over the regulator's decision to approve the sale of SA's mobile giant, Vodacom, to Vodafone.
Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven says it is unlikely the legal action it lodged in early May against the regulator will go ahead, unless the situation changes. “ICASA changed their position on the sale, so there is no need to go ahead,” he adds.
ICASA joined with the congress of unions in an 11th hour bid to prevent Vodacom from listing and formalising Vodafone's majority ownership. The joint court bid failed and Vodacom is now trading on the JSE.
Not long after the listing, Cosatu secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi lambasted ICASA for not stopping the sale process sooner. He said the regulator's actions during the sale of Vodacom to Vodafone will need to be “debated” to determine whether the regulator had “failed in its duties”.
Vavi said if ICASA is found to have failed, then it does not deserve to continue being the country's communications regulator.
Cosatu's leadership is expected to meet with ICASA on the matter; however, Craven could not indicate when the meeting is expected to take place. Vodacom CEO Pieter Uys has also called on the congress to discuss a possible way forward.
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