The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is undecided as to how to collect an outstanding ZAR501 million (US$48.7 million) owed by various companies.
According to a Sunday Times report, ICASA has not yet decided on whether to settle outstanding fines with companies that owe them money or pursue them for the full amount.
HumanIPO reported in April the size of the fees owed to ICASA had emerged after a parliamentary question had been put to Dina Pule, the communications minister.
The outstanding amount is a result of fines issued by the communications authority to various companies. The companies include state departments such as the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the South African Police Services (SAPS).
With regards to the SANDF, ICASA reportedly allowed the army to run up a ZAR189 million (US$18.4 million) bill for the spectrum it uses to communicate.
Twice this year ICASA has raided smaller companies who are accused of not having paid the correct licence fees. At the start of April officials raided the offices of Broadlink, temporarily bringing services, and in May Easttel, in the Eastern Cape, was targeted by the authority.
ICASA sources told the Sunday Times it would be wrong for the communications authority to “settle” with the companies because it would indicate ICASA negotiates with illegal operators.
If ICASA settles with the entities that owe it millions, such as the SANDF, other companies expected to pay the full amounts would be angered, said the report.
Furthermore the report said ICASA was previously told by the parliamentary standing committee on public accounts (SCOPA) it was weak with regards to capacity building and regulating general license fees and that it needed to “firm up and take charge in enforcing compliance from licensees”.
ICASA is reportedly still negotiating with Wireless Business Solutions (WBS) and iBurst pertaining to how much iBurst owes the communications authority, and Paseka Maleka, spokesperson for ICASA, told the Sunday Times both companies are disputing the amount they want to settle.
“We’ve never said we don’t want to settle, and we have tried settling with WBS, but the problem was that there was a dispute about the amount: They said they owed ZAR8 million (US$778,800), whilst we say they owe more than ZAR60 million (US$5.8 million),” said Maleka.
ICASA is reportedly waiting on a court order or judgement on the matter and is expected at the end of this month or in the beginning of August.
