The Minister of Communications General (Ret) Siphiwe Nyanda today chaired the inaugural meeting between the Department of Communications and the ICT Industry forum. The forum is a brainchild of the Minister aimed at building partnerships between the Department of Communications and representatives of ICT industry organisations.
The organisations include the National Association of Broadcasters, the South African Communications Forum, NAFCOC, Black-IT Forum, Communications Users of South Africa, Computer Society of South Africa, Internet Service Providers Association and Electronic Industries Federation and Information Technology Association. The forum envisages meeting four times a year.
The objectives of the forum are as follows:
* To provide opinion and advice on a periodic voluntary basis to the Minister of Communications on policies and programmes of the department
* To make recommendations on legislations, policies and strategies of the Department of Communications
* To draw on the knowledge and expertise of ICT industry leaders within organised business groups to create sustainable conditions for the industry to support the socio-economic objectives of government
* To bring together all the sectors in the ICT industry and use the Forum as an information-sharing platform
* To create sustainable partnerships between government and industry by identifying common goals and share ideas on how to realise these goals.
Opening the meeting, Minister Nyanda emphasised the need for cooperation between government and the private sector to find solutions to the challenges facing the ICT industry.
“When I delivered the department’s maiden Budget Vote speech in June this year, I made a commitment that I will foster closer working relationships with key stakeholders including the private sector. I have since held numerous meetings with individual organizations, some industry associations, ICT state-owned enterprises, among others,” said Minister Nyanda.
The Minister told forum members that the Department of Communications has taken a decision to institutionalise platforms of engagement with industry to ensure that required resources are made available to manage the stakeholder engagement programme, hence the ICT industry forum.
“We seek to build long-term, sustainable partnerships with industry, underpinned by very transparent principles. No one sector in society can deliver on the complexities of sustainable development alone. Therefore our goal is to work collaboratively with you to deliver on the mandate of this administration,” said Minister Nyanda.
The Department of Communications is of the firm view that despite the grave challenges facing the industry today, partnerships such as the ICT industry forum can serve as a catalyst to turn these challenges into opportunities.
“For us it is clear that commitment and cooperation between government and industry is critical if we are to see the tangible gains of these opportunities.”
The Minister acknowledged that there have been other similar initiatives in the past. However these have collapsed due to a lack of long-term commitment on the part of the Department and the participants alike.
“It is clear that in order for the ICT industry forum to be sustainable over time; there is a need to nurture this stakeholder forum. In this regard, my department and I commit to provide leadership at both political and administrative levels. We are aware that benefits of these kinds of initiatives take time to be realised, but it’s us to identify low-hanging fruit, that is the quick wins.”
The Director General of Communications Mamodupi Mohlala shared the department’s 2009 to 2012 strategic-plan with members of the forum. “The long term objective of the forum is to ensure that the interests of both the private sector and government are harnessed and realized for the good of all South Africans,” Mohlala said.
The meeting discussed wide ranging issues such as the department’s plans for the 2010 FIFA World Cup; broadcast digital migration, local content strategy, national broadband policy and cyber-security policy, among others.
Industry representatives hailed the Minister’s efforts to bring key industry players under one umbrella to discuss matters of mutual concern. They said the inaugural ICT industry forum meeting heralds an era of an invigorated approach by government and industry to collectively tackle challenges and identify opportunities within the ICT industry.
For more information contact:
Tiyani Rikhotso
Tel: 012 427 8010
Cell: 083 800 9936
E-mail: tiyani@doc.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Communications
23 October 2009
Source: Department of Communications (https://www.doc.gov.za/)
