I call the hon chairperson of the committee.
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the beautiful flowers you've laid out for me. [Laughter.] I also extend great thanks to Minister Gordhan for the R200 million he has given to the SABC. I think they really deserve that money and it will help them with their cash-flow problems.
Early last month I reported to the House that the Portfolio Committee on Communications had completed the process of interviewing candidates for a vacancy in the Council of the Independent Communications Authority of SA, Icasa. The committee, and subsequently this House, recommended two candidates for appointment to the Minister of Communications. They were Mr Khulile Boqwana and Mr William Stucke. The Minister had to decide on either one of the two candidates and refer the matter back to the House for a final decision.
The Minister has now done so. He recommends that Mr William Stucke be appointed to the Icasa Council. The committee, this morning, agreed to support the Minister's decision.
This is not your typical political appointment. This is not a mere affirmative-action placement. And this is not an appointment that the Minister had predetermined even before the parliamentary process had begun.
Minister Nyanda has considered the matter very, very carefully. He has taken into account many challenges that beset Icasa. He has opted for the candidate with the best possible technical skills and competencies, and the committee agrees with this refreshing approach.
Mr Stucke has a broad and in-depth understanding of technical and regulatory matters relating to the ICT sector. He has a BSc Honours degree in engineering and he is a certified electrical engineer. He has served as the chairman of the African Internet Service Providers Association. He is also the treasurer of the Internet Service Providers Association of SA. He designed and built the first fibre-optic Ethernet network in an underground mine, in our country. Taking these strengths into account, the committee is of the view that Mr Stucke will make an invaluable contribution to Icasa.
I have reported to the House previously that the committee was less than satisfied with the overall performance of Icasa. The committee is continually receiving negative feedback on administrative inefficiencies within Icasa. Icasa has not been successful in processing a number of regulatory decisions on the basis of proper and legally defensible procedures.
Only a few weeks ago, when the committee undertook an oversight visit to Icasa's offices, it discovered that there was no real cohesion between the Icasa councillors and its senior executive management. Here was a case where the left hand did not really understand what the right hand was doing. Lastly, I think by now we all acknowledge that Icasa had failed dismally to regulate interconnection rates in the cellphone industry.
Icasa cannot continue in this way, or in the way it has done over the past few years. It has to get its act together. The appointment of Mr Stucke signals, hopefully, that this is not business as usual. Mr Stucke strikes one as a person with energy, enthusiasm and passion. He has a good grasp of the legal issues at stake. And he is impatient to get on with the job of bringing about some change to Icasa.
The committee shares this sense of urgency. It, therefore, recommends that the House approve the nomination of Mr William Stucke to serve on the Council of Icasa. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
There was no debate.
Declaration of vote:
Hon Speaker, hon President, hon Deputy President and hon members of this House, it is indeed a joyous day for me personally and for our dynamic party, the DA.
The fact that the Minister of Communications appointed Mr William Stucke to the board of Icasa shows that the DA is always correct and right in their decisions. After I worked through the 86 nominations for one vacant position on the Icasa board, I put forward Mr Stucke's name - as the priority candidate - on the DA's list. Initially, the DA struggled to get Mr Stucke short-listed for the interviews. At the end, the ANC agreed to put his name on the list.
Hon Speaker, this House can guess who made the biggest impact owing to his knowledge in the field of electronic communications: Mr William Stucke, the DA's preferred candidate.
Nevertheless, the ANC picked their candidate. Two names were put to this House, Mr Stucke not being their preferred candidate. I want to congratulate the hon Nyanda on putting forward Mr Stucke's name to this House for the vacant position on the Icasa board.
There is no doubt that William Stucke was the best candidate for this position as he stood head and shoulders above the other candidates on the shortlist owing to his strong technical knowledge and his standing in the local telecoms arena.
The Icasa Council is not known for its strong technical skills, as indicated by their lack of decisive action in the lowering of interconnection rates and the issuing of licences.
Stucke's knowledge will definitely increase the capacity of the regulator to address certain complicated technical matters at council level. Stucke is a telecoms and Internet veteran, and has held numerous management positions in the local and ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Question put: That the recommendation of Mr W Stucke for appointment as councillor to fill a vacancy on the Council of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa be approved.
Question agreed to.
Mr W Stucke accordingly approved for appointment as councillor to fill a vacancy on the Council of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa.