Icasa gets new chairman

Mothibi Ramusi has been appointed chairman of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa).

Communications minister Mondli Gungubele announced his appointment in the Government Gazette on Wednesday.

Ramusi has been appointed for five years “with effect from the date of his availability”.

Ramusi has had a storied career in tech and telecommunications in South Africa, beginning as a Systems Engineer at Siemens in 1992, where he was seconded to the Independent Electoral Commission to help with South Africa’s first democratic elections.

His early career also includes experience in policy and regulation, serving at the former Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services for a year in 1994/95 as a manager in the frequency planning and monitoring department.

Between 1998 and 2001, he was a senior manager at Icasa’s predecessor, SATRA. He also served as acting GM for spectrum management.

He also did stints at Transtel, the CSIR, and Saab Grintek Technologies.

From 2011 to 2014, he was Cell C’s executive head for regulatory affairs.

Most recently, he spent ten years as the National Lotteries Commission’s chief information officer.

He replaces acting chair Yolisa Kedama, who has been serving in the role since 4 April 2023.

Kedama’s appointment was set to lapse on 30 September 2023 but was extended while a permanent replacement was sought.

Charley Lewis served as acting Icasa chair before Kedama when former chairman Keabetswe Modimoeng resigned to join MultiChoice.

Modimoeng was recently promoted to Group Regulatory and Corporate Affairs Executive at MultiChoice.

Icasa also appointed Tshiamo Maluleka-Disemelo as CEO last year, effective 1 February 2023.