Johannesburg – A draft forensic audit report commissioned by the Universal Service Access Agency (Usaasa) of SA in 2011 made adverse findings against a number of employees in the organisation which included the businessman and now husband of Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, Thato Abrahams, while he was an employee at the organisation.

The forensic report, “Investigation into alleged Irregularities and Maladministration”, with regard to various human resource, procurement and governance issues during the period of April 1, 2009 to September 28, 2011 at Usaasa was conducted by Forensic Investigation Risk & Recovery Management (Pty) Limited and is alleged by a whistleblower to have been removed from public record.

It is unclear whether this was done deliberately by Ndabeni-Abrahams while she was deputy minister of her current portfolio and was alleged to be in a relationship with one of those accused in the report at the time.

Read more at: https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/stella-ndabenis-husband-implicated-in-usaasa-theft-07749d53-e5e7-4c0a-a462-763ea96dcfc3

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Cape Town – Parliament should take disciplinary steps against Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams for defying the National Assembly by not appointing the full list of nominees for the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) council, the Democratic Alliance said on Monday.

Ndabeni-Abrahams on Friday gazetted the appointment of five Icasa councillors but excluded the sixth, Kgosi Matthews, on the list of people recommended by Parliament’s portfolio committee on communications.

Matthews has several years of experience in the postal sector and the minister’s decision not to appoint him has reportedly also raised eyebrows within the ruling party.

DA chief whip Natasha Mazzone said the minister’s stance marked her “latest decision to ignore Parliament” as she had been instructed to appoint six councillors.

“While this may seem a minor infraction, it is not. It is now the second time the minister has decided to override the power of the National Assembly regarding appointments to the Icasa council.”

Read more at: https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/da-wants-speaker-to-discipline-ndabeni-abrahams-over-icasa-a35a2b94-17df-4f48-819f-bc9b779609a5

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Sizwe Africa IT Group, a black empowerment IT company awarded the Department of Education in the Eastern Cape e-learning contract, and electronics manufacturing giant Samsung, who got the bulk of the contract to supply 55 000 tablets, have been caught in a tug of war between political factions in that province.

Information obtained by Independent Media suggests that the war was between those aligned with President Cyril Ramaphosa, led by Mcebisi Jonas through his interests at telecoms giant MTN, on the one side.

The other group, it is claimed, is led by businessman Thato Abrahams, who has interests in Vodacom – a claim he has since come out to deny.

Read more at: https://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/news/alleged-attempt-to-scupper-big-eastern-cape-e-learning-contract-a268e53f-aff1-4288-ba5a-0e52c1df1210

Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams’s husband in Sita storm https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/stella-ndabeni-abrahamss-husband-in-sita-storm-6dbb4e0f-b3f5-4e07-86ae-0105b9aeb19a

Excerpt:

According to the whistleblower, the patronage party between Sita and Abrahams continued when telecoms company Vodacom received an RT15 contract to supply tablets, mobile devices and e-Learning materials to the Eastern Cape Department of Education through the Eastern Cape Department of Economic Development.

Sources at Sita say Abrahams has a close relationship with the telecommunications giant.

In a response to questions, Abrahams said: “I would like to put it on record that I don’t have any business dealings with Vodacom, Sita nor any other player in the Telecoms space.

“I would really appreciate it not to be dragged into Sita and its service providers squabbles.”

Ndabeni-Abrahams responded: “I know nothing of these baseless allegations and I would urge you to ask your sources to provide evidence of your allegations.”

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24th August 2020

The newly-appointed ICASA Council members will be taking their oath of office today and commence their 4-year term to serve and execute their mandate in the public interest. The Chairperson will serve a five-year term.

The Councillors will be sworn in by Judge JCW Van Rooyen at ICASA Head Office from 16h00 today where they all will commit to serving the South African public without fear or favour and in line with their mandate as enshrined in the Constitution and the ICASA Act.

The new appointees are: Dr. Keabetswe Modimoeng – appointed Chairperson of ICASA Mr Peter Zimri, Adv. Luthando Mkumathela, Ms Yolisa Kedama, Dr. Charles Lewis

As ITWeb point out…….The appointment of the new councillors has not been without contention.

https://www.itweb.co.za/content/KWEBbvyZy427mRjO

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Source https://mybroadband.co.za/news/telecoms/359671-communications-minister-rejects-parliaments-candidates-for-icasa-report.html

Staff Writer 12 July 2020

Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has questioned the suitability of ICASA council candidates sent to her by Parliament, according to a report in the Sunday Times.

The report stated that the National Assembly provided Ndabeni-Abrahams with a ranked list of 10 candidates for positions on the ICASA council on 5 June, and instructed her to appoint six people.

The minister reportedly replied to Parliament with a letter on 30 June, questioning the suitability of the candidates and rejecting several of them due to their “lack of experience”.

ICASA plays a vital role in the South African economy – and ICT sector in particular – as it is responsible for managing the allocation of spectrum to mobile network operators.

Mobile network operators, including Vodacom and MTN, have been requesting new spectrum from the government and ICASA for years, as it will allow them to offer better mobile data coverage at higher speeds and lower prices.

ICASA’s allocation of spectrum will also determine how and when mobile operators can roll out their 5G networks in South Africa.

Vodacom, for example, said it used temporary spectrum from ICASA to fast-track the launch of its 5G network in May.

This latest news follows a report on 14 June that Ndabeni-Abrahams was facing an unprecedented stand-off with Parliament over the appointment of new ICASA councillors.

It was stated that the ranking of the candidate list was seen by the minister’s associates as an attempt to force her to align her choice with the views of the Parliament.

Read more at: https://mybroadband.co.za/news/telecoms/359671-communications-minister-rejects-parliaments-candidates-for-icasa-report.html

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