DA appeals to Cwele to halt legal action against ICASA
26 July 2016
I have written to Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Dr Siyabonga Cwele, urging him to abandon his legal action to stop the high-demand spectrum auction by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA).
The matter of how to allocate wireless broadband spectrum that is critical to the expansion of South Africa’s knowledge-based service delivery and economic growth, has been subjected to a decade of politically inspired delays within the governing ANC as it dithered on how it could control the potentially lucrative spectrum.
A week ago ICASA – in a spirited move to assert its mandated independence as a Chapter Nine Institution – issued a government gazetted invitation to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) enterprises to lodge their interest in participating in spectrum auctions to take place in Johannesburg in January 2017.
Yesterday, the Minister released a statement advising that it was taking ICASA to court in a bid to stop the auction process. This was done after two meetings were held with ICASA to withdraw its invitation, which it declined to do.
ICASA’s bold step to issue the invitation to prospective bidders came after 10 years of dithering on the spectrum policy by successive ANC communications ministers over how it was best to allocate the high-demand spectrum to ‘new’ entrants to the telecommunications sector.
In February Minister Cwele made it clear to the parliamentary portfolio committee on Telecommunications and Postal Services that he preferred a closed-bid process. This revealed his conflict with ICASA which told us that an auction was the most efficient and transparent method to assign spectrum.
The spectrum policy is unnecessarily bogged down in the ICT Policy White Paper review process that was started in 2012, and that is now entangled in a tug-of-war of competing factions in the ANC’s communications sub-committee after it was submitted to Cabinet in March.
The reasons why successive communications ministers have delayed the issue of policy and the assignment of spectrum have never been clear. But what is certain is that repeated delays by politicians are negatively impacting the empowerment, through ICTs, of all South Africans – particularly the marginalized communities – and is a major hindrance to the economic growth and job creation potential of South Africa.
The machinations of the ANC to control who is given the high-demand spectrum must stop. It is time to let ICASA exercise its authority as a Chapter Nine Institution to act impartially in the best interest of South Africa.
Issued by Marian Shinn, DA Shadow Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, 26 July 2016
