Icasa's tensions are rooted in division - Vadi
November 4, 2009
By Thabiso Mochiko
THE tension between the council of the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) and its administration is one of the obstacles hampering the regulator from effectively regulating the sector, according to the chairman of the portfolio committee on communication, Ismail Vadi.
Speaking at a public lecture at Wits University this week, Vadi said Icasa's failure to bring down interconnection rates was not a capacity problem, nor was it a lack of resources.
"There are serious tensions and divisions between councillors and the administration (the chief executive and staff)," said Vadi. "Council does not see the administration as a vital resource. They work in opposite directions. We never picked it up before until we visited Icasa (last month). Professionalism and quality is a concern, not capacity," he added.
The regulator was expected to clarify the "rules of business" between management and council.
Icasa has recently come under sharp criticism for its failure over the past eight years to lower the interconnection rate, which is set at R1.25 a minute from 20c in 2001. This has also resulted in consumers paying high retail prices.
The communications ministry has instructed Icasa to force cellular operators to cut interconnection rates by the end of this month. But last week Icasa said it would be able to do so by June next year.
Vadi said the regulator lacked clarity and purpose, adding that it was time it acted with courage. He questioned why the Competition Commission's performance was better than that of Icasa even though the two operated in the same environment.
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