Chairperson and hon Minister, the ACDP believes that the regulatory debacle over the listing of Vodacom was shocking to say the least. Whilst we accept the apologies by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, Icasa, chairman, Mr Mashile, the regulator conducted itself in an appalling manner. Had the urgent application to stop the R84,4 billion listing succeeded it would have done incalculable damage to our image as a destination for investors. The repatriation of R20,6 billion invested would also have dire consequences for our volatile currency - and as it was, the currency dropped by 3%.
As the ACDP, we encourage the Portfolio Committee to continue its investigation as to who succumbed to political pressure. Those responsible must be held accountable, at the very least, for the estimated R5 million of wasteful expenditure on legal costs.
Whilst the crisis at the SABC has been conveniently placed at the foot of the board, clearly it has been caused by internal division within the majority party in the run-up to and following the Polokwane conference. This is a direct result of the cadre deployment policy with regard to the public broadcaster. The ACDP is, however, fully aware that this crisis has hamstrung the whole SABC and must be speedily resolved. Yet, it was Parliament that selected the board members and it must take responsibility for that process.
It must be clarified that the board's remaining members cannot be removed without due process. Should they resign, they are obliged to serve a three- month notice period, thereafter Parliament must interview candidates to fill the vacancies, with the President signing off the names. The ACDP trusts, however, that we can speedily resolve this crisis to improve the tarnished reputation of the public broadcaster without compromising on due process requirements.
To conclude, as the ACDP we wish to congratulate the hon Minister and the Deputy Minister on their appointments and thank all the officials for their dedication and commitment often under very challenging conditions. I thank you.