Vivegananda Padayatchy, Chair of the Board of Directors
Members of the Board of Directors
Adiel Akplogan, CEO AfriNIC
Representatives of the African Internet Community
International guests, ladies and gentlemen
Welcome to South Africa.
I am honoured to address this important gathering of AfriNIC and the Internet Community in Africa, where key policies concerning the development of the internet are being discussed by important stakeholders and experts from across our beloved continent.
The formation of AfriNIC was a historic moment, because for the first time Africans gained access to decision-making over the distribution and allocation of IP addresses in Africa, instead of depending on other Regional Internet Registries.
As you may be aware, a new team of political leaders have been deployed by the African National Congress (ANC) to the Department of Communications.
The appointment of Mr Radhakrishna Padayachie as the Minister of Communications brings to the department a wealth of experience and expertise to the sector. He previously served as Deputy Minister of Communications.
As the new Deputy Minister of Communications, I too have some valuable experience of the sector, as I previously served as the Chair of the Board of the Global Centre of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in Parliament. This structure was established by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
As the new political team overseeing the development of the ICT sector in South Africa, our intention is to accelerate policy implementation in areas such as:
- reducing the cost of communication
- bridging the digital gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged communities, including in rural areas
- building an integrated national broadband plan that will contribute to the development of the knowledge based economy, encouraging innovation, the development of applications, addressing the regulation of e-content, providing for improved and greater access to e-government services
- building a people-centred, inclusive information society and knowledge based economy, so that all South Africans are able to take full advantage of the economic, social and educational opportunities offered by the emerging Information society and knowledge based economy
- skills development in the ICT sector, particularly by further capacitating the e-skills institute
- implementation of the national Cyber-security Policy, in particular with a well-established information security system, so as to create confidence in the use of ICTs. In this respect it is also important to create awareness about cyber-safety and e-security issues in the community
- turning South Africa into a globally competitive country and an ICT hub.
It remains critical that collectively, we utilise the Internet as a tool to drive the socio-economic advancement of the citizens of developing countries, in an inclusive and people-centred manner. We all have a duty, as governments, the private sector, NGOs, academia, and the internet community as a whole, to ensure that the whole of humanity can benefit from the considerable opportunities offered by the internet to improve the lives of the underprivileged.
Together in this important meeting, of course our focus is on the need to uplift the lives of the people of Africa. In this respect we can be encouraged by the considerable demand that exists in Africa to utilise affordable ICTs in everyday life.
Recently the ITU Plenipotentiary conference engaged in key public policies issues relating to the Internet, including the following:
- Internet governance issues
- Children on-line – we have an ethical responsibility to promote the use of the internet to our youth by ensuring their safety
- Cyber-security - we should promote the advancement of the information society, and our dependence on it, only by ensuring our systems are secure for everyone
- Issues relating to the transition from ipv4 to ipv6, which will release new numbers for the provision of internet services
- Having ongoing discussions on the importance of universal access, including disability access.
These are important public policy issues that are extremely relevant to the governance of the internet that need to be given serious attention in our work going forward.
Of course there are many other critical issues that we are giving attention to.
However, it is vital in the modern age to include the ICT sector, and the development of the Internet, in all national and regional development plans around the world. Only then can we ensure that ICTs become an effective enabler of economic growth, the creation of new jobs, skills for our people, and that we build the foundation for knowledge based economies on our continent.
I am also pleased to note that Public Policy issues pertaining to the Internet will be given more consideration by the ITU in future, with the establishment of a Council Working Group on Public Policy issues arising from the Internet.This group will also be open to observers in the form of non-governmental role-players who have an interest in Internet public policy, who will assist in informing the deliberations of the ITU.
Ladies and gentlemen, I greatly appreciate the opportunity to address you today, as it is a priority for our leadership to work with stakeholders to ensure the effective delivery of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society. This approach is critical when it comes to the Internet, as there are many important stakeholders across all platforms, with considerable expertise and a wealth of ideas that can assist national governments and Inter-governmental forums in the development of policies and in the effective implementation of those polices, for the greater benefit of humankind.
Next year South Africa will be hosting the annual Multi-stakeholder Forum for the Information Society and Development, to review the implementation of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) outcomes and the Information Society and Development Plan in South Africa. We view this forum as an initiative development partnership to discuss key developmental initiatives and programmes for building a people centred, inclusive information society and knowledge based economy.
