Our special guest, the Director of ITU BDT, Mr Brahima Sanou,
Southern African Development Community (SADC) Director of Infrastructure, Mr Remi Makumbe,
Chairpersons of Communications Regulators Association of Southern Africa (CRASA), CRASA and Southern African Postal Regulatory Association (SAPRA) SAPRA and the respective committees,
Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) Chairperson, Councillors and other officials present,
Chief Executive Officers and other heads of delegations,
Representatives of South African Tuna Association (SATA) and Southern African Postal Operators Association(SAPOA),
International and local guests,
Members of the media
On behalf of our government and the people of South Africa, it is my honour to take this opportunity to deliver this keynote address in this important occasion. After many years of tireless efforts to promote regional and continental integration, we continue to witness tangible results, towards the right direction, although a lot still need to be done.
All the developments we are witnessing today are as a result of our collective victory against colonialism and the continuous solidarity between our countries under the banner of Southern African Development Community (SADC).
In particular, the heroic solidarity shown by the people of our region against apartheid and colonialism should remain in our collective memory as we seek new answers to the challenges of the modern epoch.
Our fraternal relations founded on sweat and blood have now reached a new trajectory, which should be measured by the delivery of services to all our people, especially the poorest of the poor, in both urban and rural settlements.
As you will agree with me, there are no people who can develop without information and the ability to communicate with each other in their daily endeavours to find the means for survival. Throughout history, development has always been shaped by human interaction, which, today, is made easy by the advent of ubiquitous information and communications technologies (ICTs).
ICTs and postal services have made it easy for us to interact across borders without the constraints of distance and time, yet the opportunity of these sectors to facilitate development on a wider scale continue to be limited by the lack of access to communications facilities and services in many parts of our region and the continent.
Understandably, the quest to achieve full access has been one of the cornerstones of regional ICT and postal policies. Almost all our countries have instituted mechanisms to achieve full access and service to ICTs and postal services with varied results. This calls for us to identify best practice models within the region so that we develop local solutions to address local challenges.
Achieving universal access will also depend on how we manage the radio frequency spectrum. Spectrum is a strategic national resource that, if manage effectively and efficiently, will usher in immense social and economic changes in all countries.
In addition to the existing radio frequency plan for the region, we also need clear policy guidelines on spectrum audit, licensing, refarming, pricing, and cross border co-ordination. In particular, the use of auctions to licence broadband spectrum should be examined carefully to ensure that we do not lose out on strategic national and regional priorities to achieve universal service and access for all.
At the regional level, policy makers have delegated significant powers to regulatory institutions to take the lead in the harmonisation of ICT and postal policies for the good of all our people. Over the years, the Communications Regulators Association of Southern Africa and the Southern Africa Postal Regulators Association have been at the forefront of the development of policies, focused on national growth and regional integration.
Since the launch of CRASA in South Africa about fourteen years ago, a lot has happened in the regional ICT policy front. The introduction of the ICT Model Policy and Bill, over a decade ago, and various ICT policy guidelines, in the last few years, has owed the region to work within a common policy framework. A harmonised policy environment makes it easy for investors to seek opportunities across all countries.
Indeed, these regulatory interventions have also received more impetus from the support of operators organised under the Southern Africa Telecommunications Association (SATA), which is also a SADC organ. SATA has been at the forefront of the regional infrastructure initiative which include the successful deployment of the EASSY undersea cable system. I trust that the changes in the regulatory structures will not affect the complementary role played by SATA and other SADC organs.
At the same time, SAPRA, after experiencing some teething challenges, was beginning to show serious commitment to the development of harmonised postal policies in the region. We also wish to commend the role played by postal operators through the Southern Africa Postal Operators Association (SAPOA) which is hosted by the SA Post Office in Pretoria.
We extend a hand of gratitude to the governments and people of the Republic of Botswana and the Republic of Malawi for hosting CRASA and SAPRA, respectively, under conditions that have allowed all of us to discharge our mandate in the service of our people.
Further advances in ICTs and postal sectors have necessitated that we look at the kind of structures we need to confront new and emerging challenges as we seek to bring ICTs closer to the people. In response to convergence and the heightened uptake of ICTs by the postal sector, SADC Ministers responsible for ICTs and postal services, took a decision to merge CRASA and SAPRA into a single, harmonised entity.
The drive to establish a single communications regulator in the region is in line with trends sweeping across individual countries. A number of countries have established converged regulators, making it easy to develop a comprehensive approach to the growth and development of the sector.
Experience tells us that organisations exist to serve a particular purpose. As much as the establishment of converged regulators is informed by rapid technological changes, we must not lose site of the actual programmes to be implemented. We thus expect this august occasion to emerge with clear programmes and projects to help us move with speed to achieve universal access for all.
More work still need to be done to facilitate the reduction of high communications charges within and between countries. The reduction of high charges within countries will spur on the uptake and usage of broadband across the region, while by reducing intra country roaming charges, we will facilitate economic and social interaction of the people of the region.
Digital broadcasting is another flagship project that deserve our attention. In November 2010, we made a significant strides by reaching an agreement on the adoption of a single standard for the region, while not closing the door on those who seek to take advantage of other innovations. The resolution of this matter means that the region should progress with speed to meet the 2013 deadline. As we move forward with speed, we should not loose site of the social and economic benefits that should accrue to the people.
Our countries will also need to collaborate in efforts to combat cyber crime. SADC needs a harmonised framework to deal with this critical challenge of our time. Such a harmonised framework should also form the basis of our engagement with other African countries and the rest of the world, especially within the ITU.
On the postal side, more work is needed to upgrade the infrastructure to ensure that it responds to existing communication needs of our people. In particular, the postal sector should accelerate the rollout of addresses to ensure that all households have access to addresses, thus empowering them to participate in economic activity.
We hope that at the end of your deliberations you will make tangible recommendations on our approach to the next ITU World Radio Conference as well as the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and the Pan African Postal Union (PAPU) activities.
As ICASA takes the chairpersonship of the new converged regulator, the Ministry commits itself to render its support to the regulatory fraternity in all your endeavours. As we have done before, we will continue to make avail resources, at our disposal, to assist processes towards the full harmonisation of ICT policies in the region and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa.
Source: Department of Communications
