I Matsepe-Casaburri: Communication Regulators Association of Southern
Africa workshop

25 June 2007

Chairperson of Crasa and other members of the Executive Committee of
Crasa
Executive Directors of Crasa and NetTel@Africa
Chairperson, other Councillors and staff of Icasa
Chief Executive Officer of the Media Development and Diversity Agency
Representatives of industry and academic institutions
Friends

It is my pleasure to welcome you to our country, South Africa, a land whose
recent transition to democracy and freedom was made possible by the heroic
sacrifices of the peoples of Southern Africa, and the rest of the progressive
world. We felt much at home during our stay in your own countries, during the
darkest period in the lifetime of our country, may you too; feel at home during
your stay in the land you helped liberate.

In the face of globalisation, which, with each passing day, continues to
eschew its human face, there is no doubt that our shared humility and
determination, demonstrated when death was a common possibility, are also the
tools we have to overcome the scourge of underdevelopment and our continued
marginalisation with the community of nations.

I therefore would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our public
agencies, Icasa and the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), for
agreeing to host this workshop, in partnership with Crasa and NetTel@Africa, on our shores. It gives us pride to
see our agencies taking active interest in issues of regional development and
integration, and become a pacesetter in our continental integration, in line
with the vision of New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) and the
African Union (AU).

I have also been informed that this workshop will be followed by a meeting
of the Crasa Special Committee, to be hosted by Icasa, here in Johannesburg.
The Special Committee is charged with a task of reviewing and refocusing the
strategic direction of Crasa, including finding a long term sustainability
model for the organisation.

Since my address to regulators and policy makers early last year, South
Africa has approved our Information Society and Development Plan and
implementation mechanism. In our recent meeting in Maputo, ministers
responsible for communications in the region noted the challenges faced by
Crasa, as a result of the expanding mandate and activities of the organisation.
Our deliberations in Maputo confirmed that there is indeed a lot that needs to
be done by organisations like Crasa, to take our region to a higher trajectory.
I am confident that Crasa will emerge out of this workshop and the Special
Committee meeting, a much stronger organisation, empowered to carry out its
mandate.

These efforts of yours, and several others being undertaken across the
continent, show that the dream of achieving the African renaissance through the
applications of information and communications technology is an emerging
reality; it is attainable and it is within reach.

The new development and governance paradigm in Africa recognises the
information and communication technologies sector as one of the key priorities
that needs to be harnessed to consolidate the dawn of the African Century!

This workshop is long overdue, given the decisions of World Summit on
Information Society (WSIS) in 2005 and given the fact that convergence is upon
us. Convergence is our everyday reality, whose dividends can only be realised
through the adoption of enabling policies and regulations. Policy makers and
regulators can no longer separate competing telecommunications, broadcasting
and postal services from one another. Across the world, existing evidence
suggests that the continued separation into these traditional categories is
retrogressive; it holds back not only the possibilities of innovations, but
development opportunities, as well.

The absence of enabling policies for convergence, in some parts of Africa,
denies people some of the best technological innovations for human development,
and would further push them into the periphery of the digital world. Until we
act fast and decisively, with renewed focus and vision, our continent, which is
also the Cradle of Human kind, will not share the spoils of modern human
civilisation, which are today driven by technological innovations.

As you are well aware, successive meetings of the Heads of State of our
region have endorsed resolutions aimed at fast tracking regional integration.
Targets to achieve regional integration include the achievement of a Free Trade
Area in 2008 and the Common Market by 2015. Given these developments, a
question is, "how does the regional ICT policy fit in the scheme of
things"?

This question is important because we should not just formulate ICT policies
for the sake of doing so; any ICT policy intervention should be underpinned by
the prevailing national and regional social and economic developments including
trade, culture and information exchange. I believe that this workshop will not
only be concerned with technology, but also the necessary understanding of the
challenges facing the region.

Policy makers and regulators in the field of ICTs should not close
themselves away from prevailing realities; rather they should follow events and
processes in the other fields of governance and development. It is for this
reason that I wish to suggest that future ICT policy and regulatory forums
should include other participants in the social and economic fields, including
security and administration in order to harmonise our respective governance and
development strategies.

During my recent visit to the Republic of Korea, I witnessed the power of
technology, especially broadband and the convenience it provides in regards of
education, health, safety and security, transport and other social services, as
well as its role in enabling inclusive economic participation. The Korean
experience shows that with vision and political will all countries can emerge
as model users of ICTs to address their social and economic needs.

Indeed the gains and advances of such countries did not come overnight; they
have come as a consequence of foresight, dedication and national commitment.
There is a lot for Africa to learn from fellow developing countries.

I really encourage you as you go about shaping ICT policy and regulatory
dispensation for the region and the continent to take time and visit such
places, not only to witness what our peers are doing, but to draw lessons that
will enrich the work that you are currently doing here at home, especially the
challenge of rapid technology changes.

From a policy point of view, the recent meeting of the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) ministers' responsible for communications
identified the need for an overarching regional convergence policy framework to
enable broadband access opportunities such as home and away roaming, effective
regulation of essential facilities including undersea cables, transition to the
digital era and the uptake of innovations like Digital Media Broadcasting.

As governments in the region, we will await the outcome of your processes,
which will go a long way in influencing the decisions of Ministers and Heads of
State in their future discussion and decision making sessions. But while you
are focusing on developing a new regional policy and regulatory landscape, you
should also remain active participants in other initiatives such as the
implementation of the Nepad ICT Broadband Protocol which for the first time
advocates for inclusive access to essential infrastructure by all countries on
the continent and their respective people.

Experience in our dealing with the satellite-three (SAT-3) cable on the West
Coast of Africa, tells us that there is no better way to bring about broadband
connectivity other than through open access networks. There are indeed a lot of
vested interests on this issue, and therefore regulators cannot stand outside
this debate; it is in your mandate to contribute to the unfolding discourse on
such important matters as the rollout of undersea cables and landing stations.
Another issue of significance is the World Radio Conference (WRC), which will
take place in Geneva at the end of 2007. This WRC is undoubtedly at the heart
of global communications, without which there will be chaos arising from
inefficient use of spectrum, including interference within and between
countries.

As a region, we need to participate actively in the preparations and during
the WRC itself. The Department of Communications recently hosted a regional
meeting to start shaping our approach to the WRC, and such discussions should
continue to ensure that Africa is not just a spectator, but our interests are
adequately represented in the outcomes of the deliberations.

With this brief input, I declare this workshop opened, and wish you well in
your deliberations. I look forward to receiving your report.

Thank you.

Issued by: Department of Communications
25 June 2007
Source: Department of Communications (https://www.doc.gov.za)