Honourable Mayor of Umvoti municipality, His Excellency Councillor PMS Ngubane
Councillors present here
Inkosi Simakade Mchunu
Other traditional and community leaders
Senior government officials
Leadership and representatives of our parastatals
Members of the media
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
It is an honour and privilege for me to preside over this momentous occasion. Please allow me to start by apologising for not being able to answer your call at the time you had requested me to preside over the launch of this Telecentre. My unavailability was due to official commitments that were beyond the control of my office. I however indicated to my office that the first opportunity we get when the constituency period starts I would want to honour this long overdue commitment.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The power of knowledge and information as vital tools in the quest to improve people’s living conditions and the general development of communities, particularly those in rural areas, cannot be over emphasised. An educated and informed nation has the advantage to overcome challenges of whatever magnitude.
As you may be aware, the ANC government has taken a decision to prioritise skills development in particular and education in general as a key contributor to our country economic development. In his State of the Nation address, President Jacob Zuma declared 2010 “a year of action”.
What this means is that we need to do less talking and dedicate our energies towards practically delivering much needed services to our people.
Our people need to see change now.
The Ministry of Communications has a critical role to play in ensuring that the president’s declaration finds meaning among ordinary citizens.
Based on the commitments made by the president in his address to the nation, this government has taken a deliberate bias towards rural development, an area somewhat ignored in the past.
We therefore have a responsibility to position information and communications technology (ICT) as a vehicle to address the social challenges that continue to characterize everyday life in our communities. This includes making people in the most remote and rural communities of our country understand how a computer for instance, can improve their living conditions.
The time is now to bring to our people all these services that have always been a preserve of the rich mainly residing in urban areas. No more shall basic services such as the internet be a luxury commodity available only to those who can afford.
Through initiatives such as the Muden Telecentre, government and the private sector will be able to make these services available to our people. There’s a need to continuously engage the private sector and civil society to partner with government as we continue to seek lasting solutions to the many challenges facing our young democracy.
The Muden Telecentre is an example of these partnerships I’m referring to. The Telecentre is a community initiative, a product of Zibambeleni Development Trust in partnership with the Ministry of Communications, the Universal Service Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA), the South African Graduate Development Association and the National Youth Development Agency.
Also more important is the need for a symbiotic working relationship between all the three spheres of government. Development requires the commitment of national, provincial and local governments. We call on the private sector to work with us, more so local government structures, to ensure that we replicate similar initiatives in other parts of the province of KwaZulu-Natal and indeed the country at large.
We need to invest more resources in establishing community self help centres like the Telecentre we are launching here today. I am made to understand that this Telecentre only has 10 computers to service about five thousand people around Muden who would have otherwise not had reasonable access to the services being offered here.
At this Telecentre, the community of Muden is able to access internet, computer training, photocopying and facsimile services. The availability of these services has made it possible for the community to make contact and stay in touch with the rest of the world.
Computer training as a service has provided this community with what is perhaps the most valuable exposure and has given birth to a new market for the Telecentre. Computer training is a critical tool in the quest to bridge the digital divide and towards the creation of a knowledge economy.
The Ministry of Communications, working with our state agencies like USAASA and SENTECH, will strive towards mobilising resources to ensure that we increase the capacity of this centre to be able to deal with the demand from the community. I am also made to understand that the centre has faced some challenges such as network connectivity.
Service levels are also said to be quite low due largely to a lack of market competition but also the challenges of the rural landscape in which this community is located. These challenges can be overcome with the introduction of wireless technologies and the determination to train as many people towards varying proficiency levels.
Our country will be hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup in two months time.
My ministry has been tasked with ensuring that all the football games and other related events that would be taking place from 11 June are properly captured and transmitted to billions of television households throughout the world.
There’s no shadow of doubt in my mind that this will be the most memorable world cup ever, the first to be hosted on African soil. I understand that this community has requested a public viewing area to be able to share in the special moments that would be presented by this major spectacle. We are giving this request our attention and we hope, together with other parties involved, that we will be able to find a solution.
I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate the leadership and people of this community, the Zibambeleni Development Trust, USAASA, SENTECH, NYDA, Microsoft, my ministry and all stakeholders involved in making this project the success it is today.
Congratulations to the graduates who have passed their courses. I’m sure that the feeling of triumphalism has served as testimony that hard work does pay off. Knowledge is an eye opener and it will without doubt expose you endless opportunities. Go out and utilise the knowledge gathered during your studies to empower yourselves and in turn empower your communities.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Communications
31 March 2010
Source: Department of Communications (https://www.doc.gov.za.)
