Domain space authority due by February

Johannesburg, 22 Nov 2002

A new government regulator that will take control of SA`s .za domain name suffix is expected to be established during the first quarter of next year.

The .za Domain Name Authority was once one of the most controversial elements introduced by the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act. The Internet community was outraged at what it saw as a power grab by government, while the government accused the community of clinging to the past.

But yesterday communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri quietly introduced Mike Lawrie, a man her ministry had accused of seeking personal power at the expense of the nation, as a member of the panel due to select the board that will ultimately control the new authority.

Explaining what only weeks ago would have seemed an impossible compromise, she said: "We need good South Africans who know what this is all about. Sometimes having divergent views is good for democracy."

Lawrie, currently single-handedly responsible for administering .za, and lawyer Ryk Meiring will represent the Internet community on the selection panel. Meiring has served on the board of the local Internet Society (ISOC-ZA), which claims spiritual ownership of the Internet and was an active member of Namespace, the body formed by Lawrie and ISOC-ZA to take over his responsibility.

Also on the panel are Zodwa Manase, acting chairman of the State IT Agency (SITA), and Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane, CEO of state-owned signal distributor Sentech.

The final member and chairman of the group is Sello Matsabu, executive director of the IT arm of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and not a representative of the SA Bureau of Standards as earlier reported.

Between them the panel must recommend to Matsepe-Casaburri nine board members who represent the existing domain name community, labour, business and academia, among others.

Also not to be forgotten are future users of the Internet, those who do not have access to it now but will become a major constituent in the future, says Matsabu. "We must not forget those that are less fortunate than ourselves."

Both Matsabu and Matsepe-Casaburri stress that the quality of the authority board, and therefore much of the future of the Internet in SA, will depend on the range of nominations received.

"If they only get lawyers, I think they are in serious trouble," jokes Matsepe-Casaburri, "and if they get only labour, they are in even more serious trouble."

The closing date for nominations has been extended to 15 December, although the Department of Communications says a number have already been received.

The selection panel met for the first time yesterday and has yet to set out the ground rules for its work. However, members of the panel will not be eligible for board selection, while the panel will continue to exist after its selection in order to fill any vacancies that may arise on the board.

The authority board is due to be appointed by February at the latest.