ICASA lacks capacity - Adv Mkumatela

"Does not train people"

"ICASA does not train people, I don't know why. But it seriously lacks capacity. It must have a training programme to build capacity to enable it to act in the public interest," independent consultant and former Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) councillor Adv Luthando Mkumatela said.

"The other thing is that people at ICASA go in and out. I don't know why. But it's untenable."

The IBA is the ancestor of the current ICASA, which the government aims to 'expropriate' and bring under its control through the enactment of the proposed ICASA Amendment Bill.

But, the bill has come under fire from independent analysts and civil society groups such as the SOS Support Public Broadcasting, which continue to question its constitutionality.

Always been in the news

However, ICASA, which is in charge of issuing licences for radio, TV and communications (cellphone, among others), has always been in the news for the wrong reasons. Some observers believe one of the regulator's biggest sins is its inability to efficiently monitor its licensees. Others accuse it of favouritism and injustice in issuing licences.

Mkumatela said: "When you take decisions, you need to be independent and follow the law.

"Dishing out licences is not a problem. You can wake up in the morning and issue licences to everyone, but the main problem is to ensure that these licensees are monitored and show sustainability."

He also said frequencies, which ICASA partly takes account in issuing licences, are a national asset.

"A frequency is like fish in the sea and minerals in the land. They belong to everyone. But who get these frequencies since 1994? SABC gets a big power. When you tune to SABC radio, you get its stations all over the shows, very easily, but what about community broadcasting?

"Instant millionaire"

"If you get a frequency, you become an instant millionaire. That is why those who got the Kaya FM, Cape Talk and others have become instant millionaires.

"When you abuse a frequency, and ICASA intervenes, your business fails. Why is everyone crying when the SABC is collapsing but when ICASA is collapsing, people are quiet?"

The former exile added: "It is not ICASA alone that needs capacity; all the government structures across the board [need]. The DoC [Department of Communications] needs capacity as well. We are reaping the fruits of pre-1994, when it was said that liberation comes first and education later."

Furthermore, Mkumatela warned about amending the law for the sake of amending. "You should check whether these amendments do not compromise the independence of the regulator.

"It is not only Government that counts here; commercial interest is another powder keg. ICASA is manipulated by all sorts of forces - Government, unions and commercial interests."

"South Africans don't read"

You need to read the Constitution, he advised. "South Africans don't read. I am sorry to say that but our institutions don't prepare us for that," he explained, perhaps arguing that some of the provisions of the proposed ICASA Amendment Bill might be unconstitutional.

The 'ICASA's issues awareness' workshop, which took place in the premises of the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism (IAJ), was hosted by the Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) and the SOS Coalition.

For more:

• Bizcommunity: for control of ICASA: what lies beneath