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- Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams only appointed five Icasa councillors.
- This after the National Assembly adopted a report that she should appoint six.
- The DA will ask Speaker Thandi Modise to discipline Ndabeni-Abrahams.
Despite the National Assembly not ceding to her request, Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams appointed only five councillors to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) council.
The DA said it would request that National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise discipline Ndabeni-Abrahams "following her latest decision to ignore Parliament".
On Friday, Ndabeni-Abrahams published the names of five nominees to be appointed to the Icasa council in the Government Gazette. They are Dr Keabetswe Modimoeng, Peter Zimri, advocate Luthando Mkumatela, Yolisa Kedama and Dr Charles Lewis.
However, there were six vacancies on the board, and Parliament presented Ndebeni-Abrahams with a shortlist of 10 names from which she had to pick six candidates to fill the vacancies, as the Icasa Act prescribes.
In June, while Ndabeni-Abrahams was still temporarily relieved of her duties as a Cabinet member after she was pictured contravening Level 5 lockdown regulations, Parliament's communications committee compiled a shortlist of 10 names to fill the vacancies on the Icasa council. It took the unusual step of ranking the candidates.
Ndabeni-Abrahams had to select six names from the shortlist of those who would fill the vacancies if the committee concurred they covered the required skills.
Instead, she sent three letters to Modise and the committee.
In the first, Ndabeni-Abrahams said she would only appoint four members and the committee should provide another six candidates because she was unhappy with the qualifications of the candidates.
In the second letter, she provided the names of the four she wanted to appoint, which coincided with the first four names on the committee's ranked list.
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In the third letter, she said she would appoint a further two candidates if the committee did not accede to her request to provide new candidates. Of the two names she proposed, one was not in the committee's top six.
On 14 July, the Portfolio Committee on Communications decided not to accede to her request and to reject the candidate she wanted to appoint who was not in its top six. This after the committee obtained a legal opinion that Ndabeni-Abrahams did not have a leg to stand on in rejecting the committee's nomination.
Two weeks later, the National Assembly unanimously adopted the committee's recommendation, thereby tying Ndabeni-Abrahams' hands.
"While this may seem a minor infraction, it is not," said DA MP and spokesperson on communications Phumzile van Damme. "It is now the second time the minister has decided to override the power of the National Assembly regarding appointments to the Icasa council."
She said when Ndabeni-Abrahams wrote to Modise seeking to reject the National Assembly's proposed list of candidates to serve on the council, she not only violated the Icasa Act but the constitutional principle of the separation of powers.
"That the minister has now only appointed five, and not the six as per the decision of the National Assembly is a brazen middle finger to Parliament, and must be dealt with harshly."
Van Damme said Ndabeni-Abrahams could also have violated the Executive Members' Ethics Code and the Powers and Privileges Act.
"A violation of the Powers and Privileges Act by a minister, who is also an MP, is contempt of Parliament and the House has the power to institute disciplinary action. If an MP is found guilty she could be removed as an MP among other sanctions."
Van Damme said her chief whip, Natasha Mazzone, will raise the matter with Modise.
"Throughout her term, minister Ndabeni-Abrahams has on repeated occasions demonstrated that she does not believe the law applies to her by illegally interfering in the work of the SABC and Post Office board, contravening lockdown regulations and now, for the second time, ignoring a decision of Parliament," she said.
The communications department was contacted for comment. This will be added once received.
