Communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri is awaiting legal counsel advice on the second national operator (SNO) issue, but is hopeful she will be able to make an announcement before the end of this year.
The minister told a briefing in Parliament this morning that she could not make an announcement on the bidders for a 51% equity stake in the SNO yet. It had been hoped that she would make an announcement on the matter soon, following the Independent Communications Authority of SA`s (ICASA) rejection of the two bidders - CommuniTel and Two Consortium.
The minister said in Parliament today: "Before I`d even applied my mind to ICASA`s recommendation, I received written presentations from the two bidders and other interested parties. Today, unfortunately, I don`t have a formal announcement to make."
Matsepe-Casaburri refused to say what issues she had laid before the senior legal counsel, but explained that there are legal implications in how she makes a decision and what decision she makes.
"The law says I can accept, reject, or ask for more information, or refer back to ICASA as each option has a legal implication by doing it and how I do it," she said.
No telecoms legislation overhaul yet
The minister also told the media this morning that the Convergence Bill would be presented before Cabinet in October following the recommendations by committees that were formed at the convergence colloquium in June.
Matsepe-Casaburri said the proposed convergence legislation would probably not be as comprehensive as originally envisaged. "Originally, we wanted to change everything. However, we decided not to go that route after looking at the experiences of other government departments. We are not ready to do a total overhaul of telecommunications legislation."
The minister says the proposed Convergence Bill will, however, help to pave the way for a total overhaul in future.
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