ICASA welcomes the CPA
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) today welcomed the implementation of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and the establishment of the National Consumer Commission (NCC).
“ICASA is ready to work, in a collaborative manner, with the NCC, for purposes of promoting the interests of consumers in the country. For that purpose, ICASA has entered into discussions with the NCC aimed at addressing the requirements of the CPA,” ICASA said in a press statement.
ICASA highlighted the following points:
- Section 5 (3) of the CPA, allows a regulatory authority to apply to the Minister of Trade and Industry for an industry-wide exemption from one or more provisions of the CPA on the grounds that those provisions overlap or duplicate a regulatory scheme administered by that regulatory authority in terms of any national legislation.
- Section 2(n) of the Electronic Communications Act (ECA) mandates ICASA to, among other things; promote the interests of consumers with regard to the price, quality and variety of electronic communications services.
“Therefore, recognising the potential for overlap and duplication of functions with the NCC, ICASA has embarked on a process of evaluating the ECA and its regulations as well as the Postal Services Act and its regulations for purposes of establishing the necessity of applying for exemption in accordance with section 5 of the CPA,” ICASA said.
ICASA said that they are engaging on a public consultation process to solicit the views of consumers and operators within the electronic communications and postal services sectors to inform its decision of whether to make an application for exemption or not and if so, the nature of the exemption sought.
“Further to this, Section 97 of the CPA enjoins the NCC to liaise with other regulatory authorities on matters of common interest, and for that reason to negotiate agreements with such authorities in order to coordinate and harmonise the exercise of jurisdiction over consumer matters in the relevant sectors. The two authorities have begun discussions on this score and a Memorandum of Agreement will be entered into in the near future,” said ICASA.
The regulator concluded saying that it is committed to promoting the rights of consumers in the ICT and postal services sectors.
ICASA welcomes the CPA << Comments and views
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