There was never any intent to empower the CAP from the start. This was supposedly a consultative workshop supposedly centred on bolstering consumer rights, redresses and representations – yet the proportion of representation at this workshop was divided approximately as follows: 30% ICASA; 65% industry; and 5% consumer (yep, just me). Just exactly WHAT the telco operators were even doing in the room from the beginning is a question never asked; it was precisely as you claim- a meeting of the sharks to determine how best to “protect” the fish on which they gorge.

As for dealing with consumer complaints, ICASA has been unable to resolve even a single one of my complaints dating since 2004. Anyone who has ever made a emailed consumer complaint to ICASA will know that all emailed consumer complaints are immediately “File 13′d”*:
- Very persistent complainants will receive “oh sorry our email bombed out, please send your complaint again”-type replies from ICASA.
- Even more persistence- rarely seen- will see “we’re waiting for your case number” replies from ICASA.
- Two months later- if the complainant continues to virtually harass someone at ICASA via phone** fax and email, you might get something referred to as a “case number”.
- Then, when ICASA continues to do nothing, and only the most tenacious of complainants remain, ICASA will “lose” the original complaint, and “can you please send it again…”.
- Wash, rinse repeat.

This is something I have seen not just once or twice, but a dozen times. Not even sending your consumer complaint with a notarised affidavit and via registered post sparks the least reaction from ICASA. It is clear that ICASA’s standard procedure for resolving consumer complaints is that they have no procedure at all. In 5 years I have seen only two consumer complaints to ICASA actually addressed by the body (one matter involved several HUNDRED complainants- the ADSL Regulations; the other matter involved the lawful testing of said adsl regulations, ultimately addressed by ICASA due to the relentless persistence of Mr Cleghorn). Neither of the these two consumer complaints that actually got as far as to be addressed by ICASA, were resolved in favour of the consumer.

A handful of meetings between ICASA Council, Chair and consumer reps in the past few years has resulted, without a single exception, in absolutely nothing being done to improve ICASA’s ability to process consumer complaints. Plenty of talk of course, plenty of promises of “imminent” consumer protections, but then we all go home and ICASA continues to do what they do best…. nothing.

I hope the auditor-general and parliament scrutinises the spending of this R7,3 million to “beef up” processes. The last time they started “revamping consumer complaint processes” was just after Mandla Langa’s leadership at ICASA terminated a handful of years ago. Since this process resulted in nothing changing, one can only assume that the last time ICASA “revamped processes”, it involved intensive, demanding, ongoing acts of, yep, doing absolutely nothing.

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* Example: “It is now 6 weeks and 10 mails and many phone calls later since my original mail. All in an effort to get an acknowledgement to my initial mail.” (Thomas Cleghorn, email to ICASA, 23 Mar 2007 09:53:49, quoted with permission).

** though no one of any reasonable importance at ICASA actually answers their direct phone, you have to have their personal cellular numbers… you can, however, leave plenty of angry voicemails they’ll never fully listen to.