Former Vodacom CEO Pieter Uys is among 22 people who have been appointed by communications minister Dina Pule to advise her department as it prepares to overhaul the legislation that governs South Africa’s information and communications technology (ICT) sector.
Other well-known people on the list include Neotel chief corporate services officer and former Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) councillor Tracy Cohen, academic and regulatory expert Charley Lewis and Vodacom regulatory head Nkateko Nyoka.
Pule says the panel of experts will advise the department as its gears up to release a green paper and, later, a white paper on ICT policy ahead of the gazetting of new laws.
“It is a great act of patriotism that so many people answered our request for their time and their expertise. A lot of the respondents are people that we have worked with before and they bring a wealth of experience to our processes,” Pule says in a statement.
The controversial Atul Gupta, the proprietor of The New Age newspaper and close associate of President Jacob Zuma’s, is among those on the panel.
According to Pule, the panel will be divided into six focus areas: broadcasting, telecommunications and IT, postal services, content development, digitising government, and investment and manufacturing. Its first meeting is scheduled for January 2013, with a further three meetings scheduled for the rest of next year.
The names of the panellists are Charley Lewis, Shaun Pather, Calvo Mawela, Lehlohonolo Letele, Tracy Cohen, Kerron Edmonson, Lucky Masilela, Angeline Maseko, Johann Koster, Sizwe Snail, Monde Twala, Joe Mjwara, Lulama Nongogo, Libby Lloyd, Hlukanisa Zitha, Mothibi Ramusi, Atul Gupta, Mpho Mosimane, Febe Potgieter, Tshilidzi Marwala, Pieter Uys and Nkateko Nyoka. — (c) 2012 NewsCentral Media