ICASA Council: candidate interview; MDDA Board appointment process

Meeting report

ICASA Council: candidate interview
The Chairperson welcomed the final candidate and explained the process of the interview. The candidate introduced herself and made a brief presentation to the Committee on her chosen topic from a range provided by the Committee.

Interview: Ms Botlenyana Mokhele
Ms P Faku (ANC) noted the candidate had served both as a manager and then as a councillor at ICASA. What transformation had she seen in the sector since 1994? As an ICASA council member, what are the measures that you and your board have taken to ensure there is transformation in the sector. Given that you have been with ICASA for some time, what aspects do you think should be corrected, if given an opportunity to return to ICASA. ICASA has been saying that it would produce spectrum; however, to date this has not taken place. Why is this the case?

Ms P Van Damme (DA) asked what the candidate meant when she said that she did not want the courts to be running ICASA. What should the alternative be? What do you understand by the separation of powers? In a situation where a court reviews ICASA's decision and it is different from what you had anticipated, what would you do?

Dr M Ndlozi (EFF) asked what the role of ICASA should be if broadcasting expanded to online platforms, for example, if radio and television predominantly make use of the internet as the only space to broadcast? On the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) migration, why should the SABC not be allowed to play in the paid television market, considering the failures of DTT. What are your views on Must-Carry regulations and the way in which they have impacted the industry? What is the way forward on this?

Ms N Kubheka (ANC) asked what the biggest disagreements or differences in approach are between ICASA and the Competition Commission on data price regulations? In your view, what are the key pillars that must be in place for South Africa to exploit Fourth Industrial Revolution opportunities. A key objective of the policy directives of the high demand spectrum is to promote and facilitate entry by new players into the market to deal with the dual structure of the market. Do you believe that the information memorandum published by ICASA facilitates entry by new players; if no, why not? If yes, how does it do so?

Mr L Molala (ANC) followed up from Dr Ndlozi’s question and said Canada has developed a new model for internet in their country. Would you recommend at a policy level that our government should consider Canada’s model in ensuring that online services have some responsibility towards local people. He did not hear the candidate talk about the current challenges that ICASA is faced with apart from litigation in her presentation. Can you elaborate on ICASA's challenges and how you think they should be resolved. You spoke about the development of local economies, can you highlight areas of your service over the last five years where you have developed economies? Provide examples of this.

Mr B Maneli (ANC) asked what recommendations have you made in the policy that enables the regulator to be able to perform its task and what should be changed? Roaming arrangements have been left to the commercial operators and the regulator is not playing a role. Do you think this has helped the market to change, in particular looking at Cell C as a new player, would it have benefitted or not?

The Chairperson thanked the candidate for availing herself for the interview and explained the process going forward.

MDDA Board appointment briefing
Committee Content Advisor, Mr Mbombo Maleka, explained the MDDA Board is made up of nine members. Six board members must be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the National Assembly adhering to the principles of public participation on the shortlist of candidates. The three other board members would be appointed by the President – one of which should come from commercial media and the other from commercial broadcasting media. The President is also mandated to appoint one of the board members as the board chairperson.

The current MDDA Board has only two parliament-recommended appointees whose terms both end in October 2020. In terms of the presidential appointees, Mr Norman Nzerere has tended his resignation which has yet to be accepted by the President; Mr Moshoeshoe Munare's term will end in 2021; Mr Colin Mashile, as a government representative on the board, has his term end in 2022.

Mr Maleka noted that there are five board members currently on the MDDA Board. There have been recommendations by the Committee to conduct an enquiry into the MDDA Board, however due to scheduling this has not taken place. The board quorum consists of five members and there are four vacancies. What we need to consider is that the term of the two remaining parliament-recommended board members will end in October 2020. The Committee should consider how to cast a wider net so that it is able to accommodate and have seamless continuity in terms of the new board members.

In terms of HR processes, candidates who do not respond adequately to the advert are not considered. There is no policy on how many candidates can be shortlisted for a position, however there is a formula that is used. A qualifications check usually takes three to five days for local candidates and three to five weeks for international qualifications; however, COVID-19 has to be taken into consideration.

The Committee Secretary, Mr Thembinkosi Ngoma, said 127 applicants have applied and currently the Committee needs to advise on the way forward.

Discussion
The Chairperson said that the briefing would allow the Committee to decide on the way forward.

Ms Kubheka asked for clarity about two candidates who had not managed to apply.

Mr Ngoma clarified that the two candidates are the MDDA board members whose term is ending in October 2020. They would not have applied through the required process as they are current board members.

Mr C Mackenzie (DA) said the Committee had been given good guidance and said the two current board members cannot be prejudiced in terms of their eligibility.

The Chairperson said that the sitting board  members would have to follow the same selection process as the other applicants. The Committee needed to reach an agreement on the number of candidates that it would shortlist for interviews and suggested 20 candidates. An agreement also needs to be reached about qualifications verification. The Committee would only verify those candidates that have been shortlisted.

Mr T Gumbu (ANC) said he supported 20 shortlisted candidates as the maximum number.

Mr Mackenzie said for consistency, the same formula for shortlisting candidates should be used going forward.

The Chairperson asked if the Committee agreed to and all Members were in support of the resolutions.

Mr Ngoma said shortlisting of candidates would take place on 11 May and the Committee would proceed with interviews on 18 and 19 May while it did qualifications checks in order to speed up the process of making recommendations.

Committee members unanimously agreed.

Meeting adjourned.