The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications will be characterised more by those who have left than those who will remain, says former African National Congress (ANC) MP Vincent Gore.
“There are many veteran MPs who have served on that committee since 1994 who will not be returning, and it seems that it will have to go through an education process to bring new members up to speed about the sector,” he notes.
Gore served on the committee from 1999 to 2007, first as a member of the Democratic Alliance, then as a member of the Independent Democrats from 2004 until 2007, when he crossed to the ANC, but did not continue serving on the committee.
The committee has a strong influence on what happens in the ICT sector, as it plays an oversight role to the Department of Communications, which has Telkom, Sentech, South African Broadcasting Corporation, the Universal Service and Access Agency of SA, and sector regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of SA, within its portfolio.
Yesterday, the Independent Electoral Commission released the lists of names of members of the various political parties that had made it to Parliament in terms of the country's proportional representation system. This follows the national and provincial elections that were held on 22 April.
ANC members of the committee who will not be back in Parliament include Kgotso Khumalo, Randy Pieterse and former interim chairman of the committee Godfrey Oliphant.
One opposition MP who did not make it back is Suzanne Vos, formerly an Inkatha Freedom Party MP.
Long-serving Democratic Alliance communications spokesperson Dene Smuts will be back in Parliament, but has indicated she will not be back on the communications committee as she wants to go to the Constitutional Affairs Committee.
However, Smut's DA colleague Paul Swart will not be back in Parliament or on the committee.
Deputy communications minister Roy Padayachie will be back in Parliament, as he was placed at 121 on the ANC national list, but it is unknown whether he will retain his post.
“It would not be a bad idea to keep him in his current position as he has been making all the right noises about reconciling the industry with government and some continuity is needed,” Gore says.
Ismail Vadi, who served as communications committee chairman from 2007, will be back in Parliament as he was placed on the ANC's Gauteng regional list at number 17.
“We will have to wait and see what the final make up of the committee is and this will determine how quickly they will be able to pick up on the issues facing it. However, the committee will not have to fight the same types of fights that it did two years ago as the sector has been liberalised,” Gore notes.
He says the committee will have to act in such a way as to reinforce the role of ICT, especially telecommunications, as a major economic driver.
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