The deadline for public comments on the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill has been extended to 31 January 2018.
Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services Dr Siyabonga Cwele announced today that the decision was informed by the requests for extension received from numerous role players in the sector.
The initial deadline for public comment was next week (17 December), giving the industry just 30 days from its publication.
Commentators have been vocal in their condemnation of the short time allowed for public participation, given that the bill took 14 months to finalise – and issues raised previously had still not been addressed.
The ECA Bill is one of several pieces of legislation required to effect the policy set out in the ICT White Paper published on 3 October 2016.