New Icasa chair will face political challenges | TechCentral

President Jacob Zuma is expected to appoint a chairman to the Icasa council within the next few weeks to replace outgoing chair Paris Mashile, whose five-year term expires at the end of this month. It’s a decision that will reverberate in the telecommunications industry for years to come, says a leading consultant.

BMI-TechKnowledge MD Denis Smit says it’s important Zuma, in consultation with communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda, picks a strong and capable person to lead the regulatory authority for the next five years.

Zuma’s choices are somewhat limited, though. The Icasa Act requires him to pick the next chairman from the existing crop of councillors. But there are a few strong potential candidates the president could choose.

Smit says whoever gets the job will have a number of challenges to deal with the moment they walk into Mashile’s soon-to-be-vacated office. “And a lot of these are very political in nature,” Smit says.

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