Date: 14/05/2004
Source: Department of Communications
Title: I Matsepe-Casaburri: ICT Charter Indaba
SPEECH BY MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS, DR IVY MATSEPE-CASABURRI AT THE ICT CHARTER INDABA, Vodaworld, 14 May 2004
Mr Programme Director
Colleagues and friends
The Leadership of the ICT sector
Chairperson of the ICT Charter Working Group
Ladies and Gentlemen
Thank you again for allowing me to participate in the charter deliberations. Regrettably you have set this date at such short notice that it does not allow me and my department's senior officials the time for meaningful participation in the discussions that are so important for us.
We have just emerged from our third democratic elections that have been lauded for their success the world over. But that success would not have been possible without this sector (of course also the women who ran the elections)
* The mapping and demarcations
* The social and economic infrastructure
* The software and content, etc
All made possible the mobilisation of government, political parties and the citizenry for this huge success.
I wish to thank many of you who individually and collectively assisted all parties, especially my party, financially or in kind.
If you allow me to be partisan for a moment. I have read media reports and have been amazed at what I read, heard and saw and would like to make but a few comments which those of you who are South African citizens especially but also those who are business partners, ought to think about:
1. For the first time media discovered a President who had always been there in the consciousness of people but the media did not know
3. We were informed of the disenchantment of majority of people, especially the youth and that therefore there would be low voter turnout and a vote protest by youth. None of this materialised. How did media get it so wrong??
Today it is exactly one month since South Africans of all colours, genders, ages and race exercised their democratic right to vote and returned this government into power. So in a way I am now talking to you as the "new" Minister of Communications, although you may think you've seen me somewhere before!
I say new because we have had a fresh mandate from our people. Another new thing is that we now have a brand new member of the Department of Communications family in my colleague, Deputy Minister, Roy Padayachie, and please join me in welcoming him. Thank you for the congratulatory messages, flowers and gifts, which I shall declare.
I made some of these above comments because the 70% success that the ruling party achieved has, instead of making it arrogant, made it more humble; made it more committed to achieve the ideals it had striven for over a long period of time - the vision to build a truly no-racial, non sexist and democratic and prosperous society. We received this mandate last month. Further more we were mandated to continue with our programs intensify and accelerate them.
Central to this mandate would be an integrated economy that must/should benefit all citizens, including those participating in the first economy/developed part as well as those in the second economy/underdeveloped part whether they are in rural or urban areas.
We as senior level of government, have just emerged from a Cabinet lekgotla made up of many parties and views but with commitment and determination to work together, to work with the people; labour and business in a People's Contract to improve (a) lives of our people; (b) our economy (c) our continent (d) our position globally and work to create a humane world, and to sustain the gains we make in each area.
We therefore also have to renew the Department of Communications, its structures, processes, attitudes, work ethic and commitment to service our clients and citizens. By sharing responsibilities with the Deputy Minister we hope to achieve our excellent goals.
None of this will be possible without you sharing in this common vision and national project. This vision, which spans across all spheres of government and across all departments must, also be yours.
The process that you have embarked upon of crafting an information and communications technology (ICT) industry charter is part and parcel of this government's philosophy of a people's contract. When our government announced in 2002 that industry, charters should be led by industry was it abdicating its power to bring about transformation? The answer is a big NO! What we are saying is that a final charter will obviously be a product of input from all our social partners, business, government, labour and the community. By giving leadership of the process to business it does not diminish the roles of these other players. What it does is to place a responsibility on your shoulders to involve other stakeholders at the appropriate points along the process. Government will not accept a charter that does not speak to our realities, the values, culture and aspirations of our people.
When you finalise the document we look forward to some serious engagement. We are confident that this engagement will not be acrimonious. This is because, in your wisdom, you decided to keep us informed of the developments right from the start. We were with you at your first two day indaba in September last year, we were together again at your Digital Divide Summit in February this year, we have been receiving your Charter Working Drafts since March of this year.
We are aware too that you have kept a similar relationship with the labour movement. This approach bodes well for the efficiency of any formal negotiation process later, which will hopefully be a mere formality.
I have read your Third Working Draft of the Charter I will refrain from commenting on the content of the draft, in case you use it against the government when we have to negotiate!
However, I wish to raise a few concerns that I have, viz:
(a) The blanket exclusion of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as non-BEE (black economic empowerment) (b) target setting in ownership transaction-how to ensure sustainability (c) what leverage government must ensure for itself to meet its political mandate. For example: our election statement relates to the creation of work and eradication of poverty. Four charters must address these issues squarely. The difficult tension between the need for economic growth and the imperative of transformation must be balanced with Solomonic wisdom. There can be no economic growth without transformation and BEE can only best occur in an environment of a growing economy accompanied by job creation.
Anybody who derives profits from the South African economy accordingly, has a corresponding duty to assist with meeting our peculiar economic challenges. This will contribute to create a climate of political and economic stability, which will ensure the affirmation of your business activity.
My comments with regard to the process are that your roadshow process has started to indicate that more South Africans form part of our dream of an information society. Let me therefore take this opportunity to give a special welcome to the provincial delegates from Limpopo, Free State, Northern Cape, Western Cape, Mpumalanga, North West, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
Our President has time and again expressed his views about the pivotal role, which should be played by the ICT sector. Not only has he set up two presidential advisory bodies on ICT. The recent establishment of a stand-alone Ministry of Science and Technology and creation of an advanced Institute for ICT also symbolises the importance placed on technological capacity as a tool for social progress.
Millions of our people still have no access to ICT services with possible exception of radio and to some extent television. The penetration of both fixed and cellular telephony in the first decade of democracy has brought hope that this state of affairs is not permanent and can be reversed. Government/business projects such as Gauteng Online have given us hope that even on the high-end ICT services such as internet access, there is hope and it can be done.
But there is still a lot of work to be done especially in the education; health and small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) sector before we can say the digital divide is narrowed. The digital divide is just a single manifestation of a bigger problem mainly the economic divide between the first and the second economies. You cannot resolve the issue of the digital divide in isolation of the economic divide. But your role in the latter cannot be underestimated.
You are all aware that this sector is generally viewed as untransformed. But we are not interested in gut feel. We researched the actual extent of the problem to devise intelligent ways of resolving it in the long term. We are studying the research report, which will also inform our inputs to the charter.
We cannot entrench the status quo. We seek to change it in an orderly fashion. To ignore the problem would be to postpone the inevitable time bomb blow up. There is only one alternative, to sit around the table and address our problems. As South Africans if there is one unique product that we can export to the world it is that there is no problem so large that you cannot find consensus over. What is needed is the willpower to find those solutions. One can look for million excuses not to confront and solve a problem, but if you are willing to look at yourself in the mirror and are determined to find a solution, you will find one.
As business leaders you know this is true even more than myself. In your daily lives you have to resolve problems that at face value seem intractable. You have to balance between the interests of your shareholders, your customers, your suppliers, your employees, your communities and even your government. If you cannot do this you should not be in business.
I am therefore encouraged by the process that you have chosen for yourselves in fashioning a Transformation Charter for the ICT industry. The leadership of your sector has wisely decided to approach this process in a non-partisan, non-racial manner. This process does cause delays as you try to get busy in across the spectrum, but it is the only path, as the end product will in part be owned by the wider constituency. It is time to accelerate and complete the process. Time is no longer on our side but I have no doubt that you will rise to the challenge.
Keep up the good work and congratulations on your progress thus far.
Issued by: Department of Communications
14 May 2004
Source: Department of Communications
Title: I Matsepe-Casaburri: ICT Charter Indaba
SPEECH BY MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS, DR IVY MATSEPE-CASABURRI AT THE ICT CHARTER INDABA, Vodaworld, 14 May 2004
Mr Programme Director
Colleagues and friends
The Leadership of the ICT sector
Chairperson of the ICT Charter Working Group
Ladies and Gentlemen
Thank you again for allowing me to participate in the charter deliberations. Regrettably you have set this date at such short notice that it does not allow me and my department's senior officials the time for meaningful participation in the discussions that are so important for us.
We have just emerged from our third democratic elections that have been lauded for their success the world over. But that success would not have been possible without this sector (of course also the women who ran the elections)
* The mapping and demarcations
* The social and economic infrastructure
* The software and content, etc
All made possible the mobilisation of government, political parties and the citizenry for this huge success.
I wish to thank many of you who individually and collectively assisted all parties, especially my party, financially or in kind.
If you allow me to be partisan for a moment. I have read media reports and have been amazed at what I read, heard and saw and would like to make but a few comments which those of you who are South African citizens especially but also those who are business partners, ought to think about:
1. For the first time media discovered a President who had always been there in the consciousness of people but the media did not know
3. We were informed of the disenchantment of majority of people, especially the youth and that therefore there would be low voter turnout and a vote protest by youth. None of this materialised. How did media get it so wrong??
Today it is exactly one month since South Africans of all colours, genders, ages and race exercised their democratic right to vote and returned this government into power. So in a way I am now talking to you as the "new" Minister of Communications, although you may think you've seen me somewhere before!
I say new because we have had a fresh mandate from our people. Another new thing is that we now have a brand new member of the Department of Communications family in my colleague, Deputy Minister, Roy Padayachie, and please join me in welcoming him. Thank you for the congratulatory messages, flowers and gifts, which I shall declare.
I made some of these above comments because the 70% success that the ruling party achieved has, instead of making it arrogant, made it more humble; made it more committed to achieve the ideals it had striven for over a long period of time - the vision to build a truly no-racial, non sexist and democratic and prosperous society. We received this mandate last month. Further more we were mandated to continue with our programs intensify and accelerate them.
Central to this mandate would be an integrated economy that must/should benefit all citizens, including those participating in the first economy/developed part as well as those in the second economy/underdeveloped part whether they are in rural or urban areas.
We as senior level of government, have just emerged from a Cabinet lekgotla made up of many parties and views but with commitment and determination to work together, to work with the people; labour and business in a People's Contract to improve (a) lives of our people; (b) our economy (c) our continent (d) our position globally and work to create a humane world, and to sustain the gains we make in each area.
We therefore also have to renew the Department of Communications, its structures, processes, attitudes, work ethic and commitment to service our clients and citizens. By sharing responsibilities with the Deputy Minister we hope to achieve our excellent goals.
None of this will be possible without you sharing in this common vision and national project. This vision, which spans across all spheres of government and across all departments must, also be yours.
The process that you have embarked upon of crafting an information and communications technology (ICT) industry charter is part and parcel of this government's philosophy of a people's contract. When our government announced in 2002 that industry, charters should be led by industry was it abdicating its power to bring about transformation? The answer is a big NO! What we are saying is that a final charter will obviously be a product of input from all our social partners, business, government, labour and the community. By giving leadership of the process to business it does not diminish the roles of these other players. What it does is to place a responsibility on your shoulders to involve other stakeholders at the appropriate points along the process. Government will not accept a charter that does not speak to our realities, the values, culture and aspirations of our people.
When you finalise the document we look forward to some serious engagement. We are confident that this engagement will not be acrimonious. This is because, in your wisdom, you decided to keep us informed of the developments right from the start. We were with you at your first two day indaba in September last year, we were together again at your Digital Divide Summit in February this year, we have been receiving your Charter Working Drafts since March of this year.
We are aware too that you have kept a similar relationship with the labour movement. This approach bodes well for the efficiency of any formal negotiation process later, which will hopefully be a mere formality.
I have read your Third Working Draft of the Charter I will refrain from commenting on the content of the draft, in case you use it against the government when we have to negotiate!
However, I wish to raise a few concerns that I have, viz:
(a) The blanket exclusion of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as non-BEE (black economic empowerment) (b) target setting in ownership transaction-how to ensure sustainability (c) what leverage government must ensure for itself to meet its political mandate. For example: our election statement relates to the creation of work and eradication of poverty. Four charters must address these issues squarely. The difficult tension between the need for economic growth and the imperative of transformation must be balanced with Solomonic wisdom. There can be no economic growth without transformation and BEE can only best occur in an environment of a growing economy accompanied by job creation.
Anybody who derives profits from the South African economy accordingly, has a corresponding duty to assist with meeting our peculiar economic challenges. This will contribute to create a climate of political and economic stability, which will ensure the affirmation of your business activity.
My comments with regard to the process are that your roadshow process has started to indicate that more South Africans form part of our dream of an information society. Let me therefore take this opportunity to give a special welcome to the provincial delegates from Limpopo, Free State, Northern Cape, Western Cape, Mpumalanga, North West, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
Our President has time and again expressed his views about the pivotal role, which should be played by the ICT sector. Not only has he set up two presidential advisory bodies on ICT. The recent establishment of a stand-alone Ministry of Science and Technology and creation of an advanced Institute for ICT also symbolises the importance placed on technological capacity as a tool for social progress.
Millions of our people still have no access to ICT services with possible exception of radio and to some extent television. The penetration of both fixed and cellular telephony in the first decade of democracy has brought hope that this state of affairs is not permanent and can be reversed. Government/business projects such as Gauteng Online have given us hope that even on the high-end ICT services such as internet access, there is hope and it can be done.
But there is still a lot of work to be done especially in the education; health and small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) sector before we can say the digital divide is narrowed. The digital divide is just a single manifestation of a bigger problem mainly the economic divide between the first and the second economies. You cannot resolve the issue of the digital divide in isolation of the economic divide. But your role in the latter cannot be underestimated.
You are all aware that this sector is generally viewed as untransformed. But we are not interested in gut feel. We researched the actual extent of the problem to devise intelligent ways of resolving it in the long term. We are studying the research report, which will also inform our inputs to the charter.
We cannot entrench the status quo. We seek to change it in an orderly fashion. To ignore the problem would be to postpone the inevitable time bomb blow up. There is only one alternative, to sit around the table and address our problems. As South Africans if there is one unique product that we can export to the world it is that there is no problem so large that you cannot find consensus over. What is needed is the willpower to find those solutions. One can look for million excuses not to confront and solve a problem, but if you are willing to look at yourself in the mirror and are determined to find a solution, you will find one.
As business leaders you know this is true even more than myself. In your daily lives you have to resolve problems that at face value seem intractable. You have to balance between the interests of your shareholders, your customers, your suppliers, your employees, your communities and even your government. If you cannot do this you should not be in business.
I am therefore encouraged by the process that you have chosen for yourselves in fashioning a Transformation Charter for the ICT industry. The leadership of your sector has wisely decided to approach this process in a non-partisan, non-racial manner. This process does cause delays as you try to get busy in across the spectrum, but it is the only path, as the end product will in part be owned by the wider constituency. It is time to accelerate and complete the process. Time is no longer on our side but I have no doubt that you will rise to the challenge.
Keep up the good work and congratulations on your progress thus far.
Issued by: Department of Communications
14 May 2004
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