Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
Representatives from government, NGOs, and business from all the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) member countries and from more than 35 countries in Africa will gather in South Africa later this month to discuss the impact of the Millennium Bug on the region and continent, and the action plans which must be implemented to avert chaos.
Deputy President Thabo Mbeki told SADC economy conference in Namibia last week that South Africa would host a special SADC workshop to discuss the region's state of readiness for the Millennium Bug (Y2K) problem.
The special SADC workshop, hosted by South Africa and supported by the World Bank, will take place in Somerset West at the Lord Charles Hotel on August 20 and 21, according to Jay Naidoo, Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Broadcasting. Naidoo is responsible for the National Year 2000 Decision Support Centre that is implementing South Africa's programme to deal with the Millennium Bug.
"This is not an issue which can be dealt with in isolation. Given the economic and social interdependencies of the various SADC countries, it is imperative that we work together to implement plans that will offer solutions," Naidoo said.
The idea of the SADC workshop was spurred when, three months ago at conference in Ethiopia, it was indicated that only one SADC country outside South Africa had a plan to deal with the Y2K problem, and implementation of that plan was still under consideration. "Since South Africa presented its Y2K plan of action at the Ethiopia conference, it has received a huge response from the SADC countries seeking information and assistance," he said.
On August 19 this month, South Africa will organise National Y2K Awareness day, exactly 500 days before the turn of the century, Naidoo said. " So the workshop comes at a critical time for our region. The workshop will begin to identify issues and devise an action plan and strategy for implementation. In addition, there will be an exhibition of companies who have products and services relating to Y3K."
South Africa's National Year 2000 Centre - based at the office of the Department of Communications in Pretoria - is rated amongst government programmes in the world for addressing the Millennium Bug.
"So it was with great pleasure that we received a request from the International Telecommunications Union to spearhead a similar initiative to the SADC workshop, but for the continent of Africa. This conference will take place in Somerset West on August 27 and 28. Already more than 35 African countries have indicated they will be attending," Naidoo said.
"These are important initiatives and with the countdown already well underway, it is absolutely necessary that we do everything necessary to ensure our state of readiness by the by the turn of the century," he said.
For more information about the workshops, please contact Thandi Benghu at phone (012) 427 8000 or fax (012) 427 8242, cellphone 083 679 2914, email: thandi@doc.org.za