ADDRESS BY DEPUTY PRESIDENT ZUMA TO OPENING OF THE SECOND PLENARY MEETING OF THE DIGITAL OPPORTUNITIES TASK FORCE (DOT FORCE), MOUNT NELSON HOTEL, CAPE TOWN, 1 MARCH 2001
The Minister of Communications The Chairperson of DOT Forc Members of Parliament Distinguished guests Ladies and gentlemen
It gives me great pleasure to have the opportunity to interact with you this evening.
Let me start by extending a warm welcome to you all, and in particular the international delegates. We trust that you will enjoy your stay, and that at the end of the conference, you will make time to explore and discover what has made our country a leading tourist destination.
Ladies and gentlemen, at the 26th Summit of the G8 countries held in Japan last year, leaders of major industrialised countries adopted the Okinawa Charter on the Global Information Society. In addition, the inaugural meeting of the Digital Opportunities Task Force (Dot Force) took place, with the mandate of making "findings and recommendations on global action to bridge the international information and knowledge divide".
We are honoured as South Africans, to host this second plenary meeting that will finalise the report to the G8 meeting later this year.
The deliberations that took place at last year's Summit put Information Communications Technology (ICT) development high up on the agenda of most international institutions and countries, which was indeed an achievement of note.
Your meeting takes place at the right time for Africa, as the continent is pressing ahead with plans for renewal. Thirty days ago, President Mbeki, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika unveiled the Millennium Africa Renaissance Plan. (MAP).
This "Marshall Plan" represents a good premise of departure for Africa's quest for self-reliance and the realisation of the vision of an African Renaissance.
The initiative also indicates the pro-active role we are prepared to play in addressing some of the challenges that are facing us.
In that regard, the hosting of this prestigious DOT Force meeting is very much in line with some of the objectives outlined in the MAP programme, such as that of crystallising Global Partnerships so as to fast-track development initiatives within the continent.
The Plan also represents a major statement and acknowledgement of responsibility by the continent for its future. As Africans we concede that there are matters that could have been handled differently, if a collective approach had been sought from the outset.
We are mindful of the fact that the strength of developing countries lies in presenting a united front, and that this becomes even more crucial during this era of globalisation.
This unity will assist in our efforts to take full advantage of the benefits associated with technological advancements. It will make us forge ahead as a united bloc, and to take decisive charge of our social and economic destiny.
I must, however, hasten to add that Africa does not in any way seek to isolate herself from the global arena. In fact, this is not even an option.
We seek rather, to provide our own solutions to our own problems, while utilising the abundant knowledge and assistance offered by world counterparts.
Africa has a lot to offer; the potential is there and requires careful unearthing. One does not have to go far to substantiate this. For example, if one looks at Internet growth one will see that in terms of access, Africa recorded a growth of 136 percent during the past year, and was only second to Asia/Pacific. A developed country such as the United States evidenced a growth of 40 percent, according a report on digital economy produced by the United States department of commerce last year. It is achievement that would sound a bit odd to an ordinary person, as some people in developing countries have never made a telephone call in their lives, let alone see a computer.
Given that most Africans get introduced to the Internet as a resource base rather than a tool of leisure, this gives an indication of where future business lies.
As government, while committing ourselves to an information revolution in our country, we are fully aware that bridging the digital divide is not the cure-all for social ills that afflict society, especially given our unique history in this country. For example, on one side you have one section of society that enjoys unlimited and unprecedented access to information and communication technology resources.
On the other hand, one is confronted with members of the same society whose lack of exposure to even the most basic resources, makes them unable to appreciate the impact that such technologies could have on their lives, hence the cry of "water, sanitation, electricity before ICT".
Other questions posed are how do we overcome the barriers of affordability and also the limitations posed by low literacy rates? We therefore need to guard against making the literate more literate, while the illiterate continue to lag behind.
These questions impress on us the importance of contextualising the practical role of technology. The role of ICT in advancing the goals of development is quite vast, and needs to be emphasised more.
Most of our rural poor will only be more accepting of digital initiatives once there is full appreciation of the fact that poverty alleviation and technological advances are not mutually exclusive, but are in most cases complementary. For example, one can use technology to speed up community access to water, and to widen the reach of electricity distribution.
The potential of technologies to generate wealth also needs to be strongly focused on. Budding entrepreneurs have to be nurtured through exposing them to means of financial and information access.
There are also a lot of other barriers that still confront us. For example, how do we ensure that the legislative and judicial process do not impede and hinder expansion efforts by entrepreneurs? How do we integrate social and cultural content on these rapidly moving applications, for instance?
The blurring of boundaries brought about by these technological advances also confronts us with questions of cyber security, reduction of state sovereignty, bandwidth limitations, and the regulation of electronic commerce.
We trust that your meeting will take us a step further towards addressing these challenges, and towards finding solutions that will ensure that all, in both rich and poor countries, can have access to basic tools such as a computer, telephone and the Internet.
Once again, welcome to our country, and I wish you all the best in your deliberations.
I hereby declare the DOT Force meeting open.
I thank you.