ICASA appoints acting CEO

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has appointed Advocate Nkhetheleni Norman Gidi as its acting chief executive officer, effective from 1 September to 30 November, or until a permanent appointment has been made.

In a statement, the telecoms regulator says the appointment follows the announcement of the end of the term of office for outgoing CEO Willington Ngwepe.

Ngwepe’s last day at the authority will be on 31 August, following his resignation, which was accepted by the ICASA Council.

Mobile operator MTN has since moved to appoint Ngwepe as its chief of staff in the office of the group president and CEO, effective 1 October.

Earlier this month, ICASA announced Ngwepe had decided against renewing his contract as CEO of the country’s telecoms regulator.

Ngwepe advised he is not available to be considered for re-appointment to serve a further term as CEO, having decided to pursue other career opportunities, said ICASA.

According to ICASA, Gidi brings a wealth of ICASA-specific knowledge and experience to the acting role, having been with the authority for more than 12 years.

He first joined ICASA in August 2009 as a senior manager for licensing. In this role, he was instrumental in the management of the licensing of broadcasting, ECS/ECNS and postal services, ICASA says.

Gidi has held several positions at the authority, including general manager for licensing; executive: legal, risk and complaints and compliance committee in 2017; and, latterly, executive: policy research and analysis from 2021.

Gidi is an admitted advocate of the High Court since 2009, and he holds the degree of Master of Laws (University of the Witwatersrand), and has completed various leadership programmes, including the Spider Capacity Building on ICT Regulation, Policy and Practice (Stockholm University) and the Leaders in Development Programme (Harvard Kennedy School).

Says ICASA: “The council expresses its full confidence in Adv Gidi, who has contributed substantially to the work and goals of the Policy Research and Analysis Division and ICASA as a whole. The council further looks forward to working with him in this important organisational transition.

“On behalf of both myself and the council, I wish to extend my congratulations, support and well wishes to Adv Gidi on his new role. I know that he can count on the cooperation and assistance of both staff at ICASA and the wider stakeholder community during this time,” says Dr Charley Lewis, acting chairperson of ICASA. ITWeb