The report commissioned to determine the problems faced by underserviced area licensees (USALs) and make recommendations on how to assist them will be made available to the public in June, says the Universal Service Agency (USA).
The report will be presented on the first day of the Convergence Broadcast and Telecommunications Summit, organised by ForgeAhead, which takes place from 6 to 8 June in Johannesburg.
Tebogo Tlapaase, USA manager of regulatory and corporate affairs, previously said the report would be completed by the end of April.
The report was commissioned from BMI-TechKnowledge and Lisa Thornton Attorneys, following a USA presentation in Parliament, which indicated USALs are facing a number of problems. These include a lack of technological and regulatory expertise, a misunderstanding of corporate governance issues, as well as the misuse of their annual R5 million subsidies.
Sam Gulube, CEO of the USA, says following the investigation, the seven USALs that are operational will receive training on corporate governance, telecoms technologies and how to develop financial reports.
The problems experienced by USAL companies were recently highlighted when Dominic Mokhethi, former CEO of one of the first USALs, Bokamoso Telecoms (B-Tel), made allegations of bad corporate governance at the company.
Owen Monoang has since been appointed as chairman and MD of B-Tel.
Gulube would not comment on Mokhethi`s allegations and Monoang could not be reached for comment. Gulube did note that the investigation by BMI-TechKnowlege and Lisa Thornton Attorneys would not include a forensic audit.
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