F Morule: Launch of Free State Public Safety, Security and Liaison
website

29 March 2006

Programme Director
Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS: Free State
Police Managers and Members of the SAPS
Members of the media
SITA Representatives
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

Programme Director,

At the opening of the second National Telecommunication Colloquium held on 2
February 2001, the Minister for Communications, Honourable Ivy
Matsepe-Casaburri, pointed out, among others, that:

“The national priorities demand that we contextualise South Africa it is a
country where the economic and digital divide are a reality and not a dream. It
is a country located in an underdeveloped region of an underdeveloped
continent. Our efforts to bridge the [digital] divide are primarily about
people and not primarily technology”.

As we speedily move onto and into what is often referred to as information
super-highway or the information society, we need to guide against the
unintended consequences of perpetuating societal polarisation.

For example, internet has the tendency of extending the power of the already
powerful while further marginalizing the less powerful within the same
geographical areas. As the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
observes:

“The internet is creating parallel communication systems; one for those with
income, education and literally connections, giving plentiful information at
low costs and high speed; the other for those without connections, blocked by
high barriers of time, cost and uncertainty and dependent on out dated
information. The voices and concerns of people already living in human poverty
lacking incomes, education and access to public institutions are being
increasingly marginalised.”

Most concretely, the majority of people not connected to the internet are
disadvantaged by not having access to the services and applications that
dependent on it.

This is especially so as electronic means of access to services are growing
progressively more dominant, leading to the downgrading or curtailment of
traditional, face-to-face, physical or paper-based ways of delivering them.

People without internet access can therefore face extra costs and barriers.
They tend to lack skills, knowledge, equipment, infrastructure access, capital,
money, electricity and telephone access necessary to access and fully exploit
the online resources.

Even when the internet service itself is ‘free’, users still need a phone
line, a computer, a modem, electricity supply, software, skills and money to
pay for phone and electricity.

Societies are becoming more separated into the ‘on-line’ and ‘off-line’ in a
complex tapestry of inclusion and exclusion. Such trends are multiple,
super-imposed and complex. They are clearly starting to affect the physical,
technological, social and economic structures of human development in very
important ways.

Programme Director,
The launch of this website bears testimony to the fact that our new South
Africa was founded on the principles and values of an open government. An open
government is the lifeblood of democracy because it enhances transparency,
equity, responsiveness and public participation.

In fact, our national Constitution demands that:
* Transparency must be fostered by providing the public with timely, accessible
and accurate information;
* Services must be provided impartially, fairly, equitably and without bias;
and
* People’s needs must be responded to, and the public must be encouraged to
participate in decision-making.

Knowing what government is doing should be valued as a paramount right for
any individual in any free society. Thus, Article 21 of the United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights guides as follows:

“Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country,
directly or through freely chosen representatives.”

Programme Director,
At this stage, our public education, awareness and mobilisation programme will
consist of a three point multi-media strategy that employs the radio, print and
Internet in order to inform the public on various ways to reduce their chance
of becoming victims of crime.

Radio series, thanks to Lesedi FM and Vodacom, will continue to comprise
different spots that address certain crime prevention topics. We may even
decide to rotate the spots on all targeted radio stations, giving special
attention to morning and afternoon drive times.

Print advertising in local publications will continue to assist the
department to reach the largest sector of our society persons under 35 years of
age. Attempts will also be made to target local school newspapers.

Such publications will carry professionally developed print advertisements
designed to stimulate discussion, raise awareness and modify risky
behaviours.

The launched department’s website will provide general information about the
department, crime prevention strategies of the department as well as helpful
items to download and use for school posters, special projects, community
meetings and newsletters.

Conclusion

The launch of this website should be expressive of our intention to
increasingly mobilise the masses of the people to govern themselves in the
context of the objective that “the people shall govern”.

This we believe in because of the conviction that the will of the people
shall be the basis of the authority of government.

Thank you.

Issued by: Department of Public Safety, Security and Liaison, Free State
Provincial Government
29 March 2006