South Africa’s second national operator — a fixed-line telephone network — would be named in eight weeks, Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri indicated on Tuesday.
The minister told journalists in Pretoria that a search for the SNO’s 51% shareholders or investors had so far not been successful and the ”equity stake will be warehoused until suitable investors or shareholders are found”.
She said this decision had been arrived at on the strength of recommendations by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), procedural matters and legal opinions.
Icasa recommended that the two shortlisted bidders, CommuniTel and Scandinavian-based Two Consortium for the 51% equity stake fell short of the criteria.
The two bidders were a shelve company that did not have assets and failed to show their strengths to meet the Telecommunications Act objectives. It was the second time that bidders had been rejected.
Matsepe-Casaburri said she had decided that a licence would be issued to an entity consisting of the integrated 30% of state-owned entities, 19% to Nexus Connection and the warehoused 51% stake.
”Current applicants will not be excluded from consideration for the purposes of identifying shareholders and investors in the SNO.”
In eight weeks, the minister is expected to announce the 51% equity stakeholders, the department’s deputy director, Pakamile Pongwana, said. – Sapa