16 December 2005
	Icasa - 2 INDEPENDENCE UNDER THREAT By Larry Claasen

A proposal that communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri be given the power to oversee the appointment of councillors to the Independent Communications Act of SA (Icasa) is not the only threat to its independence. The minister will also in effect have the right to hire and fire councillors if the introduction of a performance management system, designed to evaluate the work of councillors, is included in new legislation. This system is included in the draft Icasa Amendment Bill. There is concern among industry players and opposition political parties that if councillors act in ways that are deemed by government not to be in its interests, it could use some kind of performance-related issue to remove them and replace them with councillors who are more receptive to its influence. There is also unhappiness over proposed changes to the way councillors are appointed. Icasa says appointments must remain in the hands of parliament. "There is no doubt parliament has been and should remain the most appropriate institution to oversee Icasa . . . as it represents and articulates the views of a diverse range of organisations and individuals," says Media Monitoring Project researcher Jack Fine. When the proposal that the minister appoint councillors was first mooted, intense lobbying by industry and opposition political parties resulted in the clause being removed from the bill. But the victory was short-lived. The clause was later reinserted by the national council of provinces' (NCOP) communications committee. Democratic Alliance MP Dene Smuts says she grudgingly supported the introduction of a performance management system for councillors but is strongly opposed to the minister playing any role in appointments. She says she was initially reluctant to support the performance management system but changed her stance because of the poor performance of some councillors. If the bill is passed in the form proposed by the NCOP, Icasa will lose two of the most important provisions that protect its independence. Government will have control over who is appointed and be able to get rid of them, Smuts warns. At the moment, only the national assembly has the power to fire councillors but the Icasa Act, as it stands now, does not provide a framework to measure their performance. The Icasa Amendment Bill requires the minister to specify performance targets for the council. The minister will be able to fire councillors if they do not meet these standards. Smuts says the NCOP will have to send the bill back to the national assembly for further debate if it insists on the provision that the minister have control in the appointment of councillors.

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