Pressure mounts on Icasa chair amid policy violation claims
Policy Violations
THE chairperson of the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa), Mothibi Ramusi, is at the epicentre of a deepening institutional crisis.
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THE chairperson of the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa), Mothibi Ramusi, is at the epicentre of a deepening institutional crisis, accused by the country’s largest public-sector union of presiding over a culture of “arbitrary conduct”, policy violations, and executive self-enrichment — all while workers remain unpaid for performance rewards spanning two financial years.
The allegations, laid out in a letter dated October 30, 2025, from the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu), directly implicate both the Icasa Council and executive leadership in what the union described as a “gross violation” of internal governance frameworks.
When reached, Icasa confirmed receipt of a letter from Nehawu on allegations of unpaid performance rewards and arbitrary conduct at the Authority. “Icasa confirms receipt of correspondence from Nehawu dated 30 October 2025 regarding the impasse on performance rewards for 2023/24 and 2024/25.
“The conduct of Icasa towards the union has never been ‘arbitrary’. Icasa consistently engages with Nehawu in terms of its long-standing Recognition Agreement with the union, which governs dispute resolution and labour consultations.”
The Authority — emphasising that it was responding on governance processes and operational matters of the Authority and not of any individual — outlined how Icasa had complied with its internal governance frameworks, particularly regarding labour matters and performance moderation: “Icasa has complied with the internal governance frameworks for the performance cycle and conducted it in accordance with the performance management policy.
“The finalisation of the performance cycle was delayed due to the need to ensure the accuracy, fairness and integrity of the process. This included accommodating the availability of key stakeholders required to finalise moderation sessions and addressing matters raised during the review process.
“Icasa is committed to continuous improvement and to upholding the trust of its employees in the management of performance assessments. Measures are in place to ensure that the remaining deliverables in the performance management cycle are concluded promptly.”
Compounding the pressure, Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi issued a formal directive to Ramusi two days earlier, demanding a full accounting of all international travel expenditures since January 2025, citing Icasa’s repeated claims of “resource constraints”. Both Nehawu’s November 5 deadline and the Minister's November 7 deadline for response have since passed with no public evidence of compliance.
The Authority confirmed receiving a formal directive from Minister Solly Malatsi, requiring a detailed report of international travel expenditures from January 1, 2025: “Icasa has received a formal letter from Minister Solly Malatsi dated 28 October 2025. The report detailing Icasa’s participation in international fora guided by Section 3(1) (c) read with Section 3(2) and Section 34 of the ECA was prepared for the Ministers’ attention.”
The Authority asserted that this was a standard oversight that Icasa had responded to.
In a sharply worded communique addressed to “Chairperson of Council”, Nehawu national organiser Ryan Motau detailed a pattern of broken commitments under Ramusi’s leadership. The union’s central grievance centres on unpaid performance rewards for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years. According to Nehawu, Icasa’s chief executive, acting as Accounting Officer, “announced on the staff meeting of September 12, 2025”, that the process would be “concluded by the end of October”, following delays caused by “some corrections or adjustments requested by the Remuneration Committee (Remco) in the submission to Council”.
Yet on October 21, staff received only an internal newsletter (iNews) that Nehawu condemned as lacking “commitment and clear turnaround times”, describing it as “a further demonstration of the undesirable habit we have alluded to, along with the knack of reneging on matters of principle engraved in policy”.
More damningly, Nehawu directly tied Council conduct under Ramusi’s chairmanship to executive privilege: “We are indeed alive to the various Council and Exco activities that are taking place both domestically and internationally, along with the monetary benefits amassed in the process. This could very well be the reason why Council and Exco appear indifferent to the plight of workers in relation to these performance rewards.”
The Authority denied accusations of “monetary benefits amassed” by the Council and executive leadership while workers remained unpaid, saying: “There are no undue monetary benefits to the Council and executive. All monetary issues at Icasa are regulated by legislation and compliance frameworks; for example, ‘S&T’ are paid as per the approved policy.”
The union also referenced a prior engagement with Ramusi on March 24, 2025, which focused mainly on the arbitrary conduct of Icasa’s management and council: “The concern is deepened by the unrepentant habit of violating the authority's very own policies, especially as it relates to labour matters.”
Nehawu further observed “with serious concern the conduct of some executives in performance moderation processes” and concluded: “The delays in implementing these payments due to our members constitute a gross violation of the PMS and remuneration policies, respectively.”
With no resolution by November 5, Nehawu warned it would “trigger dispute resolution mechanism provisioned in the Recognition Agreement” and “ballot members accordingly”.
On October 28, Malatsi sent a formal instruction to Ramusi, invoking Section 16(1)(a) of the Icasa Act. Citing Icasa’s representations about fiscal limitations, Malatsi ordered: “I am thus instructing the Council to submit a consolidated report covering every international trip undertaken by Icasa Councillors and/or officials between January 1, 2025, and the date of this letter, whether funded in whole or in part by Icasa or by third parties.”
The Minister demanded granular detail for each trip, including:- Event details and host organisation- Full delegation list with roles- Purpose and justification- Actual travel dates and sessions attended- Full cost breakdown: air travel, accommodation, daily subsistence allowance, ground transport, visa and insurance, registration or participation fees, and any other incidentals- Outputs and benefits: presentations, positions advanced, votes cast, resolutions influenced, partnerships concluded, and how these translate into measurable regulatory outcomes or compliance obligations- A short note explaining the rationale for delegation size and how duplication of roles was avoided
The report was due by November 7, 2025, at close of business. No public confirmation of submission has been issued.
The failure to meet either deadline suggests institutional paralysis, deliberate evasion, or an inability to justify expenditures and policy decisions.
Ramusi now stands at a crossroads, bearing full responsibility for the consequences. Accusations of monetary benefits for executives, violations of Icasa’s own policies, and indifference to worker entitlements, coupled with a ministerial order demanding full financial transparency, have created a perfect storm.
Icasa denied knowledge of ongoing investigations or probes involving the Authority’s executives or Council members related to policy compliance or expenditure irregularities: “No, there are no ongoing investigations or probes involving the Executive or Council, as far as Icasa is aware.”
While Icasa is not under investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), these concerns unfold against a national backdrop of aggressive anti-corruption enforcement. According to an SIU document seen by the Sunday Independent, the SIU is concluding the third phase of a R2 billion investigation into the National Lotteries Commission (NLC), covering “maladministration, corruption, and fraud”, including “any related unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred by the NLC or the State”.
The SIU affirmed its mandate: “The SIU will refer any evidence of criminal conduct uncovered during its investigation to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for further action. Under the SIU Act, the SIU is also authorised to initiate a civil action in the High Court or a Special Tribunal in its name to address any wrongdoing identified during its investigation resulting from acts of corruption, fraud, or maladministration.”
Although the SIU probe targets the NLC, its scope — fruitless and wasteful expenditure, policy violations, and systemic governance failure — mirrors issues now alleged at Icasa. In this climate, Malatsi or Parliament could request SIU intervention if the travel report reveals irregularities or if Nehawu’s claims are substantiated.
With the SIU actively prosecuting similar failures elsewhere in the public sector and Nehawu poised for industrial action, the question is no longer whether Icasa is in crisis, but whether its chairperson will finally be held to account.