Digital Dzonga Advisory Council: who's who

The 15 new members of Digital Dzonga Advisory Council were announced by minister of communications Siphiwe Nyanda on Friday, 20 August 2010. The council will advise the minister on and oversee the complex process of migrating South Africa's analogue broadcasting services to a new digital technology, known as digital terrestrial television (DTT).

Appointed for a five-year term, the new members are:

Prof Mamokgethi Setati (chairperson)
Ruddy Rashama (deputy chairperson)
Nomvuyiso Batyi
Dingane Dube
Calvo Mawela
Karen Willenberg
Zubair Munshi
Sabelo Silinga
Richard Paulton
Adv Cawekazi Mahlati
Llewellyn Jones
Julia Hope
Masodi Xaba
Hlukanisa Zitha
Rosey Sekese (DOC)

The 15 members were drawn from nominations submitted by the public, following an invitation by the Department of Communications made in April 2010; 51 names were submitted for consideration. This list included nominees from a variety of backgrounds such as regulatory, signal distribution, legal, broadcasting, labour, consumer groups and government.

Deputy minister Dina Pule chaired the short listing and the selection panel, which comprised officials from the department's executive commitee and ministry.

Nyanda wishes the new members well and has expressed his trust that they will use their wide-ranging expertise to ensure a smooth and successful transition from analogue to digital broadcasting.

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