Former Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) chairman Stephen Mncube has died.
This was confirmed by the regulator's spokesperson Paseka Maleka this afternoon.
Mncube was appointed ICASA chairperson in 2010 at the age of 69, replacing Paris Mashile. He left the organisation five years later.
Mncube also held the post of chairman of Sentech as well as the Development Bank of Southern Africa. In the early 1970s, after obtaining a degree in Library Science, a Masters in Social Science and a PhD specialising in Adult Education from the University of Syracuse, as well as a Bachelor of Science from the University of Rochester, he has held various positions at universities and government agencies in the US.
In a statement, ICASA says it is saddened by the sudden passing of the former chairperson, Mncube.
During his tenure, he steered the ICASA ship to the right direction through his valuable and strategic leadership towards the achievement of the goals the authority had set itself, it notes.
The five years of Dr Mncube's chairpersonship was a period of intensified regional harmonisation where a number of sector-specific regulatory agencies were established in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), says ICASA.
"There was also a move towards consolidation of these agencies as evidenced by the merger of the Southern African Postal Regulators Association and the Communication Regulators Association of Southern Africa (CRASA).
"Dr Mncube was, therefore, appointed to serve as the first chairperson of the new and united CRASA. This is following a series of meetings to effect the merger and dealt with issues relating to, among others, promoting transparency and reducing the cost of roaming for the people of SADC."
The regulator says when joining ICASA in 2010, Dr Mncube stated that he was guided by his self-adopted LTMS approach to doing things, that is, Learning, Teaching, Management and Service.
"We must learn from each other as a people and of course from other regulatory agencies that emulate best practices. We also need to tread carefully in applying the law; and impart knowledge and understanding in a more excellent way by creating a conducive environment to accommodate and manage the transition in the electronic communications sector. However, we must not forget that in everything we do, the consumers must benefit because we provide a service to them," said Dr Mncube in 2010.
Dr Mncube was quick to take full responsibility when things do not go according to plan or his decisions were challenged, the statement adds. "We must make sure that everything we do is ethically correct and according to what the law requires us to do, because we operate in a fluid and volatile environment, with new concepts and inventions that normally bring greater challenges to us. We also need to swallow our pride when we err because that is the nature of being human and helps us to rectify our mistakes," said Dr Mncube
He will be sorely missed for his astuteness, choice of words and the wealth of knowledge he had shared in his interaction with ICASA and its external stakeholders.
ICT veteran, Adrian Schofield, who has known Mncube since 1999 - when he worked with him to form Information Industry SA - says: "I had the honour of working with Mncube at the turn of the century, when we were both members of the working group that formed Information Industry South Africa.
"At that time, Stephen was chairman of the National Information Technology Forum and worked at the Development Bank of Southern Africa. Stephen was unfailingly polite, committed to achieving transformation of South Africa and willing to give significant personal time to seeking cooperation and consensus between the stakeholder groups in the ICT sector."
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