Does my SAMSA VHF radio license meet international standards?

Since inception, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is an organization based on public-private partnership and currently has a membership of 193 countries and almost 800 private-sector entities and academic institutions.  ITU is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has twelve regional and area offices around the world.  Founded on the principle of international cooperation between governments (Member States) and the private sector (Sector Members, Associates and Academia), ITU is the premier global forum through which parties work towards consensus on a wide range of issues affecting the future direction of the ICT industry. 

1. Independent telecommunications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) (a statutory body) is a State Member of the ITU within the African Region and regulates and administers licensing in South Africa.  In December 2011, ICASA entered into a new MoU with South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) for the licensing of marine radio operators. Southern Yachting Academy is one of SAMSA's accredited learning institutions for training the Short Range Certificate (SRC) for marine VHF Radio Operator licences in South Africa.
2. Office of Communications – Ofcom (a statutory body) is a State Member of the ITU within the Western Europe Region and regulates and administers licensing in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.  Ofcom has accredited the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) for training the Short Range Certificate (SRC) and the Association of Marine Electronic and Radio Colleges (AMERC) for training the Long Range Certificates (LRC). 
   

The learning outcomes, assessment criteria, certificate courses and radio operators’ licensing are typically the same across the world; with some countries using centralised and others decentralised approaches to assessments and certification. In South Africa, the SAMSA Short Range Certificate is compulsory for all skippers of sail and/or power vessels operating more than 1nm from the coast, applicable 1 January 2016.