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Date: 23/10/2003
Source: Ministry of Communications
Title: Matsepe-Casaburri: International Trade & Investment Conference


ADDRESS BY THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS, DR IVY MATSEPE-CASABURRI, AT "THE AFRICAN RENAISSANCE: EXPANDING FRONTIERS OF AFRICAN BUSINESS" INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INVESTMENT CONFERENCE, Port Elizabeth, 23 October 2003

Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen:

Thank you for inviting me to address this important conference on African Renaissance: Expanding Frontiers of African Business. I have noted with some satisfaction that this conference has given attention to information and communications technologies (ICTs) in your programme. Particularly satisfying is the focus you give on the role of ICTs in fuelling the local economy and ICTs for rural development. This is a timely discussion since we are increasingly becoming aware of the use of ICTs in both social and economic development and service delivery and the benefits it can bring even to small enterprises in expediting their work and enabling them to sustain themselves.

I have only just returned from India, having accompanied the President on a State Visit. An example we looked at is one where government and business together realised the potential of ICTs for developmental purposes. By putting their heads and their resources together, they managed to create new and niche markets for themselves in the world economy. In particular the example of Andra Pradesh where they decided to focus on ICTs - applications and content, software development and research - is most instructive of how to become a world leader in this field.

In South Africa in the last five to ten years, our people, both black and white, have taken to ICTs in great numbers because of the desire of South Africans to participate in a modern world through the use of ICTs.

Today South Africa's ICT industry is the twentieth largest in the world contributing 0.5% to worldwide ICT revenues. The telecommunications sector has witnessed an accelerated growth of data communications. The rate of connections of mobile subscribers in particular has surpassed that of fixed line services. The total subscriber base is over 14 million, which incidentally is approximately the same number as that of India which has a population of 1 billion people compared to South Africa's 44.8 million.

In addition to the 14 million cellular phones, there are 4.8 million fixed-line phones. The shift from fixed to mobile lines was unexpected. There are also between 2.5 and 3.5 million Internet connections. Growth of this industry is unprecedented, given that there has been a downturn in the ICT sector globally.

Clearly, the South African market is among the fastest growing markets in the world. The growth of the ICT sector depends on infrastructure development coupled with enabling progressive policy, legislation and regulation, coupled with a political commitment that not only gives strategic vision but also champions the sector.

In the area of multimedia, television viewership is at 67.3% of the adult population. National radio listenership is also on the increase with Monday to Friday national listenership levels having increased in the previous 12 months. (This is according to the South African Advertising Research Foundation's All Media and Products Survey (AMPS) 2003A and Radio Measurement Survey (RAMS) 2003A, Highlights, September 2003).

This indicates an increased use of new media and technologies by the South African population. This is clearly a bright picture although within this rosy picture, we can identify a development gap, namely lack of access to low cost broadband and the development of a South Africa broadband corridor, the development of local content, human resource development and the development of local entrepreneurship. We are further faced with the challenges of promoting cheaper access, broadband services and affordable bandwidth as well as accelerating high-bandwidth services for multimedia applications, Internet and video conferencing. There is a need to expand Internet usage and availability.

Black economic empowerment (BEE) also remains a challenge for the full transformation of South Africa. Within this sector, processes have already been put in motion for the development of a broad-based ICT BEE charter. There has been significant progress in this regard in an industry that in the past was dominated by white people.

At the BEE ICT Charter Indaba, I drew attention to the President's letter in 'ANC Today' in which he said we need "conscious specific interventions", such as the one given life by the Mogalakwena HP-I Community project in Limpopo Province.

This is a project where ground-breaking work is being undertaken through harnessing ICTs. It is also a good example of a public-private partnership where investment in the community has come from different sources. The Mogalakwena HP I-Community is a project that draws on the capacity of Hewlett-Packard (HP) to bring ICT into the rural district of Mogalakwena. It focuses on ICT infrastructure, the provision of training and education, and the identification of opportunities for economic growth. It uses ICTs to create the conditions for sustainable social and economic development so that through building capacity and enhancing technology, opportunities are created for sustainable growth. After the necessary infrastructure was set up, 20 community computer access centres were set up in schools, clinics, municipal offices traditional leaders' offices and libraries etc., where people are trained in ICT skills and where schools, clinics and business people etc., are given solutions and possibilities to use ICTs to meet their needs. This project has trained over 1000 people. It helps to make people computer-literate and includes ICT use in and by schools and by clinics, business people, cultural workers and others to use ICTs to meet their needs.

The Mogalakwena HP I-Community is a shining example of what can be done at local level. Other municipalities could learn from this and try to strategise about what should happen in their areas.

The role of local government in attracting investment into ICTs and creating the environment for ICTs to flourish is enormous. The local government currently rarely plans for roll-out of communications infrastructure when it plans its infrastructure. For example, today technological advancement allows for using water, gas, electricity infrastructure to make possible platforms for the roll-out of ICTs. Visionary leadership at the local sphere in this regard will ensure the turning of the tide in a growth sector that has been left only to the private sector.

The Nelson Mandela Metro Municipality (NMMM) is fortunate enough to have higher education institutions located here. The needs of this municipality and its citizens, especially its most historically disadvantaged communities, should be able to drive the research agenda of these institutions and create new mandates for other training institutions such as vocational and unused teacher colleges.

In Port St. Johns, an old house has been converted into an access point to ICTs for rural areas in the OR Tambo district. The training of black youth, matriculants and unemployed graduates, to meet the skills need from lower level to higher level skills, from technical to maintenance, networking, software development and appropriate research is in the interest of local government.

In downtown Johannesburg, the conversion of a building into CIDA University has attracted businesses - in the financial sector and now in the ICT sector - into the area. This institution's innovative and creative way of making access possible at low cost, is also very instructive as a possible way the NMMM, which has already unleashed its creativity in its economic development programmes, can become involved in ICT development which is not usually seen as the business of local government.

For example in the search for your own solutions to meter reading of water and electricity, technologies are being developed for computerised hand-held devices to do this task. Accuracy of readings can be checked immediately with beneficiaries, payments can be done immediately if beneficiaries are card linked to financial institutions. But these same devices can be used by health workers, school administrators for monitoring supply distribution, attendance etc. Some of the software has been applied in the Limpopo Provincial Government.

The importance of the global and local reality

It is within the larger global reality that we recognise the importance of ICTs in enabling us to reach our developmental goals and objectives and also to enhance our participation in the global information society. New forms of partnerships are indeed required and the participation of the private sector is important in this regard since new business opportunities arise as a result. As government, our belief in universal service is about creating "equitable access to information" and empowering communities through access to communications infrastructure and skills development.

We further recognise that ICTs can be used effectively at both local and national levels. In fact if we are to make real inroads into bridging the digital knowledge divide, we can succeed at local level. "Think global, act local" was the call of the Secretary-General of the Universal Postal Union on the eve of World Post Day and it is this sentiment, this rallying cry that we must adopt in our daily work and in our implementation plans.

To "think globally" about ICTs without undermining, but rather through strengthening capacity and resources at local level, is also to embrace the notion of an information society and to stress that South Africa needs to contribute to the building of an information society on the continent and in the world.

An investment in the local community should also be an investment in the information society because at a very basic level our intention is to equip our people to communicate more effectively with each other and to participate more fully in economic and social life and in the context of the world information economy. Government recognises the ICT sector as a potential growth area and the importance of working towards the creation of a technically literate workforce that can contribute towards a thriving economy. The nurturing of a broad spectrum of skilled people can also result in a stronger base from which entrepreneurs can emerge and SMMEs can develop.

At local level, there is still a great need to improve access to services through ICTs. A more active role can be played through partnerships in stimulating and developing the local economy. An appropriate understanding of local government is imperative. Local government should be the most dynamic system of governance since it is here where power resides, in that the people of that locality and municipalities could be spoken about as the ear, the eyes, the hands and the feet of government. Access to ICTs can also strengthen democracy in an area by giving voice to diverse needs and interests within the local economy. One can, for example, think of how community radio since 1994 and especially the increase in talk shows and interactive discussions have enabled more and more South Africans to communicate with each other over distances and to share their views and access information about services.

The relevance of WSIS

E-government is another area that we are developing in which ICTs can be harnessed to expedite the delivery of services. Our progress should be understood and located not simply in isolation, but as part and parcel of the creation of a World Information Society.

As some of you may be aware, the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is to happen in Geneva in December of this year. Our participation in this regard is because we share a common desire for a people-centred and inclusive information society where everyone can "create, access, utilise and share information and knowledge" that can improve their quality of life and build communities.

The Draft Declaration of Principles for the WSIS says that:

"We recognise that building an inclusive information society requires new forms of solidarity, partnership and cooperation of all of us - governments, the private sector and civil society and international organizations - individually and collectively. We are committed to realising our common vision of the information society for ourselves and for future generations."

The Draft Declaration also makes the connection between the information society, development and knowledge production; and I quote:

"A rich public domain is an essential element for the growth of the information society, creating multiple benefits such as an educated public, new jobs, innovation, business opportunities and the advancement of sciences. Information in the public domain should be easily accessible to support the Information Society, and protected from misappropriation. Public institutions such as libraries and archives, museums, cultural collections and other community-based access points should be strengthened so as to promote the preservation of documentary records and free and equitable access to information."

Furthermore the Declaration also speaks pointedly about capacity building:

"Given the wide range of ICT and information specialists required at all levels, building the institutional capacity to plan, develop, guide, monitor, collect, organise, store and share information and knowledge deserves special attention."

In this regard, the role and impact on local government therefore cannot be underestimated.

The Declaration says that: "Everyone should have the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge in order to understand, participate actively in, and benefit fully from, the Information Society and the knowledge economy....

ICT Strategy

A key objective of government's strategy is also the expansion of ICT services in South Africa as part of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). We also need to develop the ICT backbone for economic development and service delivery to enable investment and service delivery to citizens throughout the continent.

As part of our strategy we need to do a number of things:

* Promote the supply of skills, capital and technology
* Generate the supply of new services
* Enhance mobility of services through a new regulatory framework and investments
* Develop wireless "hotspots" at strategic centres and through access in rural and remote locations
* Registering domain names - to protect your economic and cultural heritage.

By being a partner of ICTs, you cannot fail with your local economic development. Your link with other countries on the continent, especially as a port city, will enhance your own capacity and development as common African standards are being set. It will give business such as the Chambers of Commerce inroads into other municipalities, since they will know what to expect especially in terms of good governance benchmarks.

The e-Africa Commission in particular is responsible for developing e-strategies and projects at the continental level as well as managing the structured development of the ICT sector.

The Information Society Partnership for Africa's Development (ISPAD) has been formulated with an objective to be the mechanism through which the private sector and other sectors can engage in the work of the e-Africa Commission. It is also responsible for convening workshops bringing together both public and private stakeholders to plan a strategy for working in partnership.

The NEPAD e-schools initiative was formulated with the objective of providing Africa's children with the skills they need to have in the 21st century. The project is aiming at providing every NEPAD E-School with ICT lab equipped with the ICT tools that learners need to be able to function in the ICT environment. It also focuses on establishing a teacher-training programme that will facilitate the training of thousand of teachers in several countries allowing for pooling of resources and sharing experience.

Concluding Remarks

Government's participation in building the ICT sector is also premised on the need to attain universal service obligations.

Government is utilising ICT as a vital catalyst for improving lives of poor communities and for economic development. In so doing, we believe that forms of public-private partnerships are the means by which we address the needs of our people through finding creative and innovative solutions to the problems at hand and offer sustainable possibilities for future development.

Only in this way, can we arrive at a "people-centred and inclusive information society" where everyone can "create, access, utilize and share information and knowledge" that can improve the quality of life of communities, countries, continents and contribute to the development of a more equitable world. Only in this way, can the local meet the national and global and power can truly reside with the people of the village that is the world.

Thank you.

For further details please contact: Lisa Combrinck @ 012 427 8292 or 082 821 4886, Media Liaison Officer to Minister Matsepe-Casaburri
Issued by: Ministry of Communications
23 October 2003

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