Issued by: Minister Naidoo
A meeting was held in Pretoria today between Jay Naidoo, Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Broadcasting and the IBA Council to discuss, amongst other issues, the resolution on the IBA taken last month by the Public Accounts Committee.
"The meeting dealt with unresolved issues relating to the salaries and service conditions of IBA Councillors. It was productive and both the Department of Communications and the IBA Council are keen to speedily implement the resolution and to bring the IBA in line with conditions applicable to other statutory organisations in the country," Naidoo said.
Reports carried in newspapers in the past few weeks implying councillors had paid themselves "illegal" salaries had been noted with concern, Naidoo said. "I am disappointed that this impression has been created. The fact of the matter is that the situation faced by the present IBA Council was inherited and it is not the responsibility of any individual in current service."
Outstanding legal issues regarding the conditions of employment of the IBA Counci are to be finalised with the Department of State Expenditure, and a response from it is expected soon. This will bring the matter of the employment contract and conditions of service of IBA Councillors to a close.
Naidoo said the matter of the resignation tendered by IBA Councillor Pietie Lotriet will be dealt with in terms of the IBA Act, namely that three months notice is required, and the resignation letter has to be submitted to President Mandela who will make a decision in consultation with the Portfolio Committee on Communications.