14 May 2026

The ANC Study Group on Communications and Digital Technologies welcomes the position communicated by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) on 13 May 2026, in response to the policy direction on Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) issued by the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Minister Solly Malatsi, in December 2025.

ICASA’s considered and legally grounded position reaffirms the rule of law and the constitutional imperative of economic transformation in the telecommunications sector.

The CDT Study Group notes with satisfaction that ICASA has reaffirmed its foundational commitment to advancing the interests of historically disadvantaged groups, in accordance with its mandate under the Electronic Communications Act (herein; ECA). The ECA is clear that individual licence holders in the telecommunications sector must maintain a minimum of 30% ownership by historically disadvantaged groups. This requirement is a statutory expression of South Africa’s constitutional commitment to transformation, and the meaningful participation of historically marginalised South Africans in the digital economy.

Of particular importance is ICASA’s finding that, while the amended ICT Sector Code must be applied in licensing qualification criteria, full alignment with all provisions of that Code cannot be achieved through a ministerial policy direction alone. ICASA has determined that any such extension would require a formal legislative amendment to the ECA.
It confirms what the ANC Study Group has consistently maintained: that fundamental changes to the statutory licensing framework for telecommunications must be made through full legislative amendments.

Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes are not inherently without merit as instruments of economic transformation. However, their application in the licensing framework for electronic communications services is a matter of legislative competence.

Any proposal to extend EEIPs as a substitute for equity ownership within the telecommunications licensing regime must be subjected to full parliamentary scrutiny, and legislative deliberation. It would be constitutionally impermissible for a policy direction to achieve through administrative means what the law reserves for legislative enactment.

We commend ICASA for its independence, and fidelity to its statutory mandate. The authority has demonstrated that Chapter 9 institutions are capable of withstanding pressure and fulfilling their constitutional obligations with integrity.

The CDT Study Group will continue to exercise its oversight mandate to ensure that the transformation imperatives embedded in the ECA are upheld, and that the digital economy of the Republic remains accessible to and owned by all who live in it

Issued by the Whip of the ANC Study Group on Communications and Digital Technologies, Cde I Subrathie.

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