The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) is in a race to clean up its house before it appears again before the parliamentary communications portfolio committee in three months' time.
Icasa reports to parliament twice a year - in April, and in November when it tables its annual report. However, due to its failure to impress the portfolio committee, it will now have to appear again before April.
Top of the list of criticisms is the stand off between Icasa councillors, led by chairman Paris Mashile, and management, under CEO Karabo Motlana.
Ismail Vadi - Increased monitoring needed
At the heart of the tension, says portfolio committee chairman Ismail Vadi, is the council's refusal to recognise the executive arm as a vital resource. This is what has been paralysing the authority, says Vadi, and not just lack of capacity. Icasa has been ordered to come up with a solution to the tensions, and soon.Vadi says Icasa's poor performance has shown that it needs to be monitored closely. "We are not pushing for the authority to be micro managed, but we need to apply pressure to make sure it performs." He says the portfolio committee will be discussing with the communications minister how this can best be carried out.
To make matters worse, Icasa's 2008/2009 annual report reveals a lack of appropriate financial and risk-management systems. According to the auditor-general, Icasa incurred almost R400 000 in irregular expenditure due to "supply chain management processes not complied with", and about R40 000 in "fruitless and wasteful" expenditure.
Explaining the figures, Icasa communications head Jubie Matlou says the wasteful expenditure was due to "urgent issues and mistakes" and not a lack of internal controls - though he says "there is room for improvement".
Karabo Motlana - Role confusion
A major concern raised by the auditor-general is the absence of a performance contract between Icasa and its chief executive, the chairman and new councillors - yet all received performance bonuses this year. Each of Icasa's executive managers, including the CEO, received a performance bonus of R73 000. This pushed Motlana's package to R1,5m for the year. Mashile, who has been Icasa chairman since 2005, received R1m in total.
Matlou says the concern has been addressed. He says the council approved and signed the CEO's performance contract in May this year, and has since sent it to the minister. In the past, the CEO's employment contract was used for performance management "because it is clear on deliverables", but assessment will from next year be the responsibility of the council.
For 2008/2009, Icasa received R247m from the national communications department, up from the previous year's R235m. Of this, R133m was spent on salaries, which went up 11%.
The long list of litigation cases against Icasa also took a toll on the regulator, an issue the portfolio committee pointed out. Defending itself against these left it R4m poorer.
Among those suing the authority are German satellite broadcaster Deukom and Black Earth Communications (BEC), who were refused subscription broadcasting licences. BEC was one of the failed applicants for the pay-TV licences that were announced in 2007.
The authority has also been taken to court by former employees to the Council for Conciliation, Mediation & Arbitration for alleged unfair labour practices.
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