PS of Ministry never got back to me on possible role in Telecoms Agency

Dear Editor,

I wish to provide clarity and context to the statement from the Ministry of Public Telecommunications that the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) CEO (sic) did not heed the recommendation and apply for a position in the Telecommunications Agency (TA).

On March 27, 2019, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Telecommunications (PS, MoPT), along with officials of the TA first met with me and then the staff of the NFMU to officially announce the dissolution of the NFMU (on May 10, 2019) and positions within the TA which were of likely interest to the NFMU staff.

As Managing Director of the NFMU (at the time) and given my 20-plus years of regulatory experience, one of the questions I asked the PS of the MoPT, was “Do you see a role for me in the TA?”  His response was, “I need to discuss this with the Minister.” After some discussion on this response, it was agreed that we would meet in two days. When we met on March 29, 2019, the PS of the MoPT informed me that he had not had an opportunity to discuss the matter with the Minister. To date, the PS of the MoPT has not indicated if he has since had that opportunity to discuss the matter with the Minister.

During a brief discussion with the Director, Telecommunications Agency on May 10, 2019, the possibility of me having an engagement with the TA was raised. This is currently being explored.

Yours faithfully,

Valmikki Singh

Former Managing Director

NFMU