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Date
: 06/06/2005
Source: Department of Communication
Title: Padayachie: Celebrations to mark World Telecommunications
Day
Speech by the Deputy Minister of Communications, Mr
Radhakrishna Padayachie (Roy), at the celebrations to mark World
Telecommunications Day 2005, Peter Mokaba Stadium, Limpopo
Programme Director
Premier of Limpopo Province and Members of the Executive
Council
The Mayor
Community Leaders
The Director-General and Managers of the Department of
Communications
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
I will begin by expressing my appreciation as well as that of the
Department of Communications to the Premier of the Limpopo
Province, the Honourable Mr Sello Moloto, for agreeing to this
year’s World Telecommunications Day celebrations being held
in this beautiful province. Thank you Mr Premier and the Members of
the Executive Council.
This is a proud day in our history. It is also a very important day
in our calendar. In a historical sense we are proud because it was
only after our struggle for liberation, after the advent of
democracy that South Africa was readmitted to the World
Telecommunications body. The apartheid state has been expelled
because of its evil and racist policy of apartheid. Now, let me
tell you why it is an important day in our calendar. World
Telecommunications Day is celebrated every year on 17 May
throughout the World by all countries that are member states of the
International Communications Union (ITU).
The ITU is a United Nations-based organisation and has its head
quarters in Geneva Switzerland. The ITU co-ordinates the global
telecommunication network and services of member states and the
private sector. The main objective of this day, over the years, has
been to celebrate the work of the Union, its growth, as well as
celebrate the development of the various technologies in the
telecommunications industry. A theme has been developed for each
year and the theme this year is “Creating an equitable
information society, time for action”.
The first World Telecommunications Day was celebrated on 17 May
1969 in remembrance or in commemoration of the “birth”
of the ITU on the same date in 1865.
As I have mentioned earlier, we too have celebrated this important
date since 1997 in various provinces in the country. In fact the
very first World Telecommunications Day celebrations were held in
Botlokwa Village in this Province. So, it a very proud moment
indeed that this year’s celebrations are once again being
held in Limpopo Province. We also have another reason why this is a
very happy day for us. We are all gathered here to congratulate
Bokone Telecomms who have won the Under-serviced Area Licence for
Capricorn District.
What exactly do we mean by Under-serviced Area Licences? In order
that you may fully understand this I am going to take you back with
me into the apartheid days. You remember the days, when electricity
and telephones were enjoyed only by the whites? You remember the
days, when you wanted to contact a relative or your father working
in the city, and the only way to do this was to write a letter;
when you would get the reply to the letter only in the following
month?
Well our Government, the ANC-led Government has changed all that.
We are now building a society which gives each one of us an equal
opportunity to do what we can and to achieve, as far as is
possible, our plans. When we became part of the world body for
telecommunication we had to level the playing field. We had to make
sure that there is justice for all and that there is equality for
all.
Notwithstanding all our efforts at intervening to improve on the
basic conditions of our peoples lives, our people over the past
weeks have been speaking to us from a number of the informal and
squatter camps in our country. They have spoken in the language of
their choice: the youth have barricaded the streets, lighting
bonfires and engaging with battle with the police. We all do not
agree that they should resort to violence of this kind to bring
home their dissatisfaction. But they seem to be saying something to
us. They are unhappy, they have lost their patience and after 10
years they cannot wait anymore for basic facilities such as
Housing, water, sanitation and communication facilities and jobs
and peace and security.
The message to us as Government is very clear. We have to
accelerate our efforts and bring an urgent intervention on these
basic needs to our people in the squatter camps for housing, jobs,
food and basic security. Delivery at the local government level
becomes absolutely critical and desperately urgent. That is why
today, Government is doing all it can to ensure that there is
adequate housing, water, electricity, postal services, sanitation,
refuse removal and in the case of this department, the Department
of Communications, access to telephones for all of us; access to
computers, to the internet and e-mail. Our Government wants to
ensure that wherever possible, we, all of us will have the
opportunity to live a better life.
However, our greatest challenge today is to wipe out 300 years of
deprivation in the small period we have had of about only ten years
of freedom and democracy. And as much as we may agree that 10 years
is a long time, yet it is not so long when you take into
consideration the 300 years of Apartheid suffering. There is one
thing that we must always keep in mind and remember. Rome was not
built in a day (Diterelo tsa Mmuso di a tla, le se ke la fela
pelo). Our Government has only been in power for just 10 years.
Only 10 years to undo 300 years of misery and destruction.
Yet we too must agree that despite all of this we must do
everything in our power to fast track the delivery of a better life
to our people who suffer in this winter in the squatter camps and
informal settlements of our country. Going back to Universal
Service and our World Telecoms Day celebrations today, the granting
of the licence to Bokone is very important because it now means
that people in the underserviced areas will have greater access to
telephones and communications devices.
People will have more choice–fixed line or cell phone, voice
over Internet and the like. It is also expected that the cost of
calls should go down. All these benefits go a long way to improving
the quality of life for the people in our country.
Another good thing about the granting of the licence is that it has
given the women, our mothers, an opportunity where they can provide
a much-needed service and where they too, can become owners of
businesses. These increased opportunities in business will
stimulate the economy; and will lead to the creation of jobs and
translate to the growth and development of the area. In
today’s world, economic development is driven by Information
and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Our Government has started
initiatives and developed policies that will help bring facilities
within the reach of the historically disadvantaged communities
including those living in the rural areas.
As a result of these carefully thought out policies, the
Government, in 1998 established the Universal Service Agency (USA)
with a clear mandate to ensure that people in rural areas have
access to information and communication technologies in order to
improve their conditions of life. Since its establishment great
strides have been made to take ICTs to the people of this country.
Special attention has been given to address the problems that exist
in those areas of the country which have been most depressed. We
want to uplift everybody but most especially those areas which have
experienced very little or no growth.
I also need to add that other ICT facilities are being established
throughout the country. These are Multi Purpose Community Centres
(MPCCs), Tele Centres Multi-Media Resource Centres and Cyberlabs.
These allow communities access to computers, e-mail, internet, fax
and photo copying facilities and so on.
Finally, I want to say that skills training is critical if people
are going to enjoy the benefits of ICTs in their communities. We
must encourage our young people to explore the training facilities
available in the sector so that they may be in a position to find
employment in the sector or build small businesses. Once again,
thank you to the Premier and the Executive Council; our heartiest
congratulations to Bokone and to all of you, a fruitful World
Telecommunications Day.
I thank you.
Amandla!
Issued by: Department of Communication
06 May 2006
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