Giant of ICT sector strove for brilliance

THE ICT sector is mourning the loss of one of its brilliant leaders, Dr Stephen Mncube, who died on November 11.

The doctor of philosophy was a stalwart of the ICT industry in post-apartheid SA and had a long and distinguished career, including a stint at the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

His many roles in the ICT industry include chairmanship of Sentech and director of Arivia.kom. He was the first chairman of the Communications Regulators Association of Southern Africa (Crasa).

The Bedfordview resident was born on October 17 1940 in Edenvale, Ekurhuleni.

He was a former chairman of the National Information Technology Forum. He was highly regarded in the ICT industry and held a master’s in library science from the University of Syracuse in the US. He also had a PhD in philosophy from the same university in New York as well as a master’s in social science from the University of Rochester, also in New York.

He came from a family of political activism as brother to the UDF and ANC activist Sister Bernard Mncube and former Umkhonto weSizwe political commissar Henry Mncube.

During his tenure at the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), he steered the organisation in the right direction through his valuable and strategic leadership.

The five years of Mncube’s chairmanship was a period of intensified regional harmonisation where a number of sector-specific regulatory agencies were established in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

There was also a move towards consolidation of these agencies by the merger of the Southern African Postal Regulators Association (Sapra).

He strived for easy use and access of ICT for ordinary citizens as evidenced in one of his addresses: “We must learn from each other as a people and of course from other regulatory agencies that emulate best practices.

We also need to tread carefully in applying the law; and impart knowledge and understanding in a more excellent way by creating a conducive environment,” he said in 2010.

Icasa has sent words of condolences to family.

“We are saddened to share the news of the passing of Dr Stephen Mncube.”

The funeral service takes place today at 8am at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Dube, Soweto.