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Date
: 02/07/2003
Source: Ministry of Communications
Title: Matsepe-Casaburri: Commission on Communications of the
Specialised Technical Committee of Transport, Communications &
Tourism of the AU
OPENING ADDRESS BY MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS OF SOUTH AFRICA, DR
IVY MATSEPE-CASABURRI ON THE OCCASION OF THE CONSULTATIVE MEETING
OF THE COMMISSION ON COMMUNICATIONS OF THE SPECIALISED TECHNICAL
COMMITTEE OF TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS AND TOURISM OF THE AFRICA
UNION, Maputo, Mozambique, 2 July 2003
Honourable Minister Salomao,
Honourable fellow Ministers Excellencies, Ambassadors and High
Commissioners,
Senior officials,
Distinguished delegates,
The last time we met in South Africa I welcomed you to the meeting
in my capacity as chairperson of the Ministerial Oversight
Committee (MOC) of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU). At
that meeting, we decided to hold a consultative meeting in Maputo,
under the aegis of the African Union (AU) to discuss a common
African position or message on the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS) so that we may have a common message to our
leadership and encourage them to attend the first phase of the
Summit on 10 - 12 December this year.
It gives me singular pleasure today to say that we are making
history. Today we are holding our very first meeting under the
umbrella of the African Union to discuss an issue that will be
equally historic, the WSIS.
It is not often that a Minister is requested by colleagues to host
a meeting of these historic proportions in a short space of time
and the response is almost immediate. I would like to take this
opportunity to thank our colleague HE Tomaz Salomao, the Minister
of Transport and Communications of Mozambique, and through him the
Government of Mozambique for allowing us at such short notice to
make history even as they have the mammoth task of preparing for
the most important annual event on our continent - the Summit of
the AU.
Many times the Africa of old has been plagued by a lack of a united
voice by Africans in world affairs or by simply not being heard by
others who did not wish to see us succeed at our endeavours. The
new Africa has and must continue to meet these challenges through
bold and conscious steps in reclaiming an equal space for ourselves
and the developing world in global structures and relations.
It is in this context of affirming ourselves anew and asserting
ourselves, that we have come together to begin to discuss and to
formulate a clear African position to the Declaration and Plan of
Action to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) that
will take place in Geneva 2003.
MILESTONES ALONG THE WAY
Luckily for us, should I say, we have certain milestones along the
way that we can tap into in order to feed into our common position.
I am speaking of course, about the Bamako Declaration and the
discussions we have been having in meetings earlier this year in
Maputo, Port Louis and Cairo, among others that would have
influenced what we see as African priorities for the World
Summit.
NEPAD
The processes that we have embarked upon as Africans through the
New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) must also not be
forgotten during our deliberations in this new commission. The
emphasis on socio-economic development through the attainment of
good governance, peace and stability is something we must bear in
mind if we wish to see ICTs being fully utilised in our people's
lives. The development of Africa's ICT resources both in human and
physical terms, the promotion of gender equality, and the
development of society through addressing education and health
matters, amongst others. Even the fostering of both intra-African
and other international trade and investment through addressing
market access and other barriers to success are related as ICT
infrastructure and know-how can facilitate these activities and
bring Africans closer together.
e-Africa Commission
ICTs have been recognised as of crucial importance in enabling
Africa's recovery and allowing African countries to compete in the
world economy. The bridging of the digital divide between rural and
urban areas, bridging the gap between different countries in the
same sub-regions and bridging the gap between Africa and the rest
of the world is what we must seek to deliver. The e-Africa
Commission has been instrumental in this regard in overseeing the
implementation of priority programmes and overseeing ICT
development on the African continent. The wealth of this
organisation, the knowledge and practical expertise ought to
influence us now as we decide on an African position.
The Millennium Declaration
Above all, ICTs have changed the global economic landscape and let
us not forget that Heads of State and Government have responded to
this challenge as they signed the Millennium Declaration at the
United Nations in September 2000 in New York. May I remind you,
once more, that the Millennium Declaration stipulates that "in
order to reduce global poverty by half in 2015th ICTs are central
as crosscutting, catalysts and enablers for all areas of
socio-economic development.
If indeed ICTs can be used to provide greater access for all the
world's people not only to services but also to each other and if
we accept that the information society is a new and high form of
social organisation for the greater good, then we would have
succeeded in moving into a world that begins to understand and to
see others as one and not as separate, divided entities with
different, separate and possibly unequal futures. This is not to
say that Africa must submit to the whims of the world; rather
Africa must contribute fully to the creation of an African
worldview. How we see the world's future must impact on world
affairs.
The aim is to put a stop to the continued impoverishment of the
African people and also to use modern technology for the
advancement of African society. Let us continue to acknowledge that
the African development strategy requires that Africa must bridge
the digital divide and that the development of telecommunications
infrastructure and ensuring Africa's access to ICT will assist in
fast-tracking developmental programmes.
I started by saying that last time I spoke to you it was in an MOC
meeting. It is my pleasure to speak to you today in my capacity as
the out-going chairperson of the Commission on Communications (CC)
of the Specialised Technical Committee on Transport, Communications
and Tourism (STC on TCT) of the African Union.
This STC on TCT, which in accordance with the Constitutive Act of
the AU, is made up of Ministers and senior officials in the sector
has the responsibility of advising the Executive Council of the
Union which in turn is made up of Ministers of Foreign
Affairs.
Given the importance of Information and Communication Technologies
(ICTs) to all spheres of life and to development in particular, it
is significant that the first advice that we give relates to the
most important event of our sector this century, the WSIS.
In due time and under the chairmanship of Minister Salomao, the
Commission on Communications will need to address the issue of how
it will address the question of ensuring that the work that is
being done in the Specialised Agencies such as ATU, the Pan-African
Postal Union (PAPU) that are in our sector will be addressed. It is
my understanding in discussion with officials in the AU that some
of the colleagues in other sectors have already held workshops on
this issue. Of course it is expected that these agencies, which
were established by their own constitution, and whose work is very
important for the continent, will also discuss how they envisage
their future in light of developments in the AU. Mr Mutai has sent
his apologies for this meeting but he has sent a representative. I
think that we will be able to get a briefing on the planned ATU
Conference of Plenipotentiaries.
Fortunately for the most part it is the same Ministers and
officials who sit on both sides of the coin. Most of the Ministers
who are the Plenipotentiaries in ATU are also Plenipotentiaries in
PAPU and are also members of the STC on TCT.
It is also the case that the Commission on Communication also
incorporates areas that are outside the domain of some of us, for
example broadcasting and some of us cover areas that are outside
the Communications Commission like transport. We will therefore
need to organise a workshop under the auspices of the AU where we
can discuss this matter extensively and organise ourselves in the
most appropriate way. This may be the first major task that
Minister Salomao will need to undertake, and I am sure we all wish
him well. On my part, I will, in conjunction with Mr Jan Mutai, the
Secretary-General of ATU, and in my capacity as chairperson of the
MOC initiate preparations for this discussion in preparation for
the up-coming Conference of Plenipotentiaries of ATU due to take
place this year.
In this meeting however we will be addressing the question of
preparations for WSIS and our participation in the Summit.
In our last MOC meeting I was requested to put together a team to
work on a possible position paper for discussion in this meeting. I
requested the ATU Secretary-General to prepare something and also
asked Prof Nadia Hegazy to prepare a paper based on the different
inputs that had taken place in previous meetings such as Bamako,
Mauritius and Arusha. Unfortunately the only input that I received
was from Prof Hegazy and I wish to thank her for what was obviously
a lot of hard work. Given that this was a detailed contribution on
the Plan of Action, I have requested Dr Henry Chasia to use this
material as the base document for discussion at the NEPAD workshop
on WSIS, which will be organised by the e-Africa Commission and on
which Dr Chasia will brief us.
In order to facilitate discussion in this meeting, and prepare a
document that we will send to the Executive Council, you have
before you a brief document that concentrates on the latest version
of the WSIS Draft Declaration and has taken into account the Bamako
Declaration and the Mauritius meeting. The document before us is
also structured in the same way as the WSIS Draft Declaration and
highlights out of that document the important issues for Africa.
The document is limited to those issues which are important to
Africa but may not be as important to other regions, especially in
the developed world.
The document is deliberately brief as it will be input to the
Executive Council. It will need to be clear enough to enable the
Council to make appropriate recommendations to the Heads of State
and Government.
I have been advised that the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Mali
and Tunisia have put the issue of WSIS on the agenda and proposed a
recommendation or resolution on the matter for discussion by the
Council. I wish to place on record our appreciation for this
leadership. I trust that we will be able to receive a formal
briefing on this matter for the information of our
Commission.
As I wish us a good discussion, I wish to thank, through Honourable
Drabo, the Minister of Communications of Mali for this country's
leadership of the Bamako Bureau and re-iterate the support that was
expressed as the MOC for that Bureau in order to ensure effective
participation of Africa in the preparations for WSIS. Mali also has
provided us with clear and visionary leadership of the WSIS
preparatory process through Prof Adama Sammasekou, the chairperson
of the WSIS PrepCom.
My gratitude also goes to the different administrations that have
taken our preparatory process further by organising and hosting
meetings and conferences. In this regard I would like to thank Mali
for the Bamako Preparatory Conference, Mauritius, Tanzania for the
ITU organised meeting in Arusha, and Egypt for the recent meeting
which also allowed for an important interaction with our colleagues
from the Arab states.
Dear Colleagues
The WSIS enables us as Africans to influence positively the global
ICT agenda for development and to make a better world for the
world's people. The WSIS is, of course, involving civil society,
labour and NGOs as well as business. They all must be included in
our national preparations and in shaping our views.
As leaders and Ministers of Communications in this technical
committee, we need to follow the signposts and use the knowledge
that these give us to move forward in building digital
opportunities to African people.
Let us use this forum and the international space that the WSIS
provides to shape a new Africa for the new generations to come. It
is my sincere hope that this consultative meeting will go down in
history as having contributed to that ideal.
I thank you and wish all of us good deliberations.
Issued by: Ministry of Communications, 2 July 2003
Source: SAPA
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