PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO: 969
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 28 August 2009
QUESTION PAPER NO: 12
DATE OF REPLY: 8 September 2009
Mr N J van den Berg (DA) to ask the Minister of Communications:
(1) Whether, with reference to recent reports that e-TV has applied for
an urgent interdict to delay the switching over to digital terrestrial
television (DTT), (a) the process by the Independent Communications
Authority of SA (Icasa) was procedurally correct and fair and (b)
sufficient, relevant information was provided; if not, why not in each
case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case;
(2) whether there was any negligence on the Icasa side with the
compilation and providing of important documentation with regard to
DTT; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
NW1168E
REPLY:
1) (a) ICASA has informed me that the process of the draft DTT
regulations, was procedurally fair, as the regulations was subjected to
two rounds of public consultation. In terms of procedure, the draft
regulations were placed on the website of the Authority as it is common
practice. Interested parties were given thirty (30) working days to
comment to the first draft, and fourteen working days in regard to the
second draft. This is due to the fact that most of the issues canvassed
in second draft were already addressed during the initial consultation
process. The consultation process was held in terms of section 4 of the
Electronic Communications Act, and in due consideration of the
Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, which requires public bodies
to embark on certain processes when decisions. These include giving
members of the public adequate time to make comments.
(b) Yes, information was given to all stakeholders through a publication
on the Government Gazette. All submissions received were made available
to interested parties ahead of the public hearings. At the end of the
consultation process, a detailed reasons document was issued to
highlight the key decisions taken by the Authority.
2) ICASA has informed me that there was a referencing error in regulation
10 of the final DTT regulations. This is being rectified as part of the
review of the current regulations to allow industry additional time to
comment the key issues raised in the revised document.