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President Mbeki Hosts a Meeting of
International ICT Executives
President Thabo Mbeki will on 6 to 8 September host
the second meeting of the Presidential International
Advisory Council on Information Society and Development
at Lake Pleasant Hotel in Fancourt, Western Cape. The
President will be accompanied by Ministers and the Directors
General involved in the ICT sector.
This meeting follows on the inaugural meeting which
was held in October 2001, in which members of the advisory
council and the President deliberated on a wide range
of issues aimed at enhancing the growth of the ICT sector
in South Africa. Last year's meeting focused on amongst
others: ICT infrastructure and services, skills development,
software applications and ICT content development.
Following on the developments of the past few months
since the meeting such as the Presidential State on
the Nation Address and the budget votes of various departments,
this year's meeting will deal with the establishment
of the ICT Institute, the implementation of e-government,
Research and Development, economic growth and competitiveness.
Carly Fiorina of Hewlett Packard, Thierry de Beauce
of Vivendi Universal, Rajendra Pawar of NIIT, Esther
Dyson of Edventure, Reza Mahdavi of Cisco Systems, Sten
Fornell of Ericsson, Veli Sundback of Nokia, Valentin
Chapero of Siemens and Masood Jabbar are some of the
members of the council who will be attending the meeting.
The meeting of the Advisory Council will be preceded
by the second ordinary sitting of the Presidential National
Commission on Information Society and Development, which
was established to bring together all key stakeholders
to share ideas on how the ICT sector can be harnessed
to contribute to sustainable development. The meeting
will focus on the development of a three-year programme
of action for the commission.
Taking place at the same time as the Presidential National
Commission would be a meeting to be hosted by the Department
of Communications to discuss the development ICT/e-strategy
as mandated in the Electronic Communication and Transactions
Act. The process was given a boost when the President
signed a proclamation to bring the entire e-commerce
legislation into operation with effect from 30 August.
It is envisaged that the input received from the council
will guide South Africa in its endeavors to bridge the
digital divide, build a sustainable human resource base,
attract local and foreign direct investments, etc.
The meeting will be closed by a press conference to
be addressed by President Mbeki at 12h00 on Sunday 8
September.
Issued by: Government Communication Information System
(GCIS)
4 September 2002
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