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6 November 2008

Expected ministers:
Honourable Alain Kouala Atipault (Congo)
Honourable Louise Munga Mesozi Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Honourable Metsing Mothejoa (Lesotho)
Honourable Patricia Kaliati (Malawi)
Honourable Joel Kaapanda (Namibia)
Honourable John O Odey (Nigeria)
Honourable Abdou Aziz Sow (Senegal)
Honourable Ministers from the New Partnerships for Africa's Development (Nepad) countries
Executive Director of Nepad Secretariat Dr Chasia and your learned officials
Members of the diplomatic community
International community and partners present
Distinguished guests
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen.

Introduction remarks
I have great pleasure to welcoming you all to South Africa. Hope you will have a pleasant stay and fruitful interactions as well as networking. South Africa has just successfully hosted World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly (WTSA) and launched Broadcasting Digital Migration, and now this first meeting of the commission.

Historic process
Historic moment, as it was in 2001 the vision of e-Africa Commission was born. The Nepad e-Africa Commission was established in October 2001 by African Ministers of Communications under the auspices of the Ministerial Oversight Committee (MOC) of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU). MOC was a continental body that South Africa chaired since 1999. It sort to restructure and revamp Pan-African Telecommunications Union (PATU), so we could eventually declare telecommunications/Information and Communication Technology (ICTs) a tool for socio-economic development. Chairmanship of MOC moved to Mozambique when South Africa ceased to be the first African Union chair.

Founding Principles of e-Africa Commission
The decision to establish a new continental body was due to the paradigm shift in the development of the information and communications technology (ICT) sector in Africa. The objective was to address policy and strategy as well as implementation of projects at continental and national level. The vision is to harness infrastructure development (including large continental broadband and satellite projects), develop ICT policies and tackle ICT applications so as to ensure human development, improve government operations and business development, create and see public e-awareness local content and software development on the continent.

Adoption of e-Africa Commission as a Nepad Task Team
This vision was shared equally by the Nepad steering committee, as at its meeting in September 2002, where it adopted the e-Africa Commission as its ICT task team. The Nepad Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC), at its meeting in Abuja in November 2002, endorsed the action of the Steering Committee.

The e-Africa Commission thus became the Nepad Task Team responsible for developing policies, strategies and projects at the continental level, as well as managing the structured development of the ICT sector in the context of Nepad.

South Africa's commitment to supporting the Nepad Programme and implementing Nepad projects
As the government of South Africa, we are committed to the principles of Nepad. South Africa has, in collaboration with key African countries, been at the forefront in developing Nepad as Africa's premier development programme mobilising African and international support for Nepad, and in supporting Nepad structures and processes.

In looking forward, it is crucial that we, as Nepad countries, strengthen our efforts to accelerate Nepad to higher plane of action and implementation, maintaining both internal and external focus. Department of Communications has over the years supported the e-Africa Commission in three spheres, Administration support (offices, secondment of officials, etc), programmatic support (providing support to the 10 programmes as well as participating in executive committee and hosting of Nepad ICT meetings), Department of Communications has also participated and supported the implementation of the Nepad ICT flagship projects, namely the Nepad ICT Broadband Infrastructure Network and the e-Schools initiative.

Commitment needed from Nepad Countries
The future of the whole African continent lies in our hands. The Nepad leadership espouses the principle that the transformation of Africa should be by Africans for Africans. We need to ensure the development and sustainability of a robust, reliable and affordable ICT infrastructure that supports and enables the
provision of a multiplicity of applications and services to meet the needs of the continent and its people. Talking about it will not deliver but action will.

As we approach a new dawn (reference to the Kenya, Zambian, RSA and United States election), we need to ensure development and utilisation of Africa's own resources and the resourcefulness of its people, especially the children and youth. The future of our continent looks bright, thanks to ICTs and the e-schools project. We can indeed guarantee that, "Never again should an African child feel ashamed to be African".

Importance of private-public partnership
We acknowledge the role played by the private sector in the support of African projects. We however still need to come up with creative ways in which we can fully harness this important partnership. As South Africa, we remain committed to ensuring that the lives of all Africans improve for the better, through ICTs. Nepad is the vehicle for that change!

With those few words, I welcome you and wish us all fruitful deliberation.

Nepad principles (as reference)
* Good governance as a basic requirement for peace, security and sustainable political and socio-economic development
* African ownership and leadership, as well as broad and deep participation by all sectors of society
* Anchoring the development of Africa on its resources and resourcefulness of its people
* Partnership between and amongst African peoples
* Acceleration of regional and continental integration
* Building the competitiveness of African countries and the continent
* Forging a new international partnership that changes the unequal relationship between Africa and the developed world.
* Ensuring that all partnerships with Nepad are linked to the Millennium Development Goals and other agreed development goals and targets.

Issued by: Department of Communications
6 November 2008
Source: Department of Communications (http://www.doc.gov.za)