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Charter should promote deregulation

Paul Vecchiatto
By Paul Vecchiatto, ITWeb Cape Town correspondent
Cape Town, 14 Sept 2004

The ICT empowerment charter should promote further deregulation as a matter of great urgency because this would allow for greater bandwidth access for all, say non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Last week, a number of ICT NGOs met at the Institute for a Democratic South Africa`s Cape Town offices to discuss the black empowerment ICT charter, particularly how civil society could be more involved and represented. Bridges.org organised the public meeting.

A list of 10 points was drawn up by the 15 individuals who attended the meeting - most of whom represented NGOs that recognise the importance of ICT as part of their efforts for socio-economic development.

Organisations represented included the Computer Society of SA, the Black IT Forum, the Western Cape Schools Network and several open source advocates.

The deadline for public submissions for the charter is Wednesday, 15 September.

The 10 points drawn up during the meeting are:

* The role of civil society in the charter debate.
* The global context of the charter.
* The ICT council`s composition.
* The ICT council`s function.
* Language as a factor in achieving empowerment.
* ICT in the context of sustainable development.
* Legislative barriers to bridging the digital divide.
* Corporate social investment.
* Development in ICT.
* The challenge to Internet service providers to service underserviced communities.

Delegates at the meeting said the charter should acknowledge the importance of civil society. They also felt the charter is not as inclusive as it should have been.

Delegates said the charter should acknowledge the relevance of the World Summit on the Information Society and form working partnerships with SA`s New Economic Plan for Africa`s Development ICT working group. There was also a call to have more youth representation on the charter council.

Language as a barrier to development was also addressed and delegates called for the charter to be made available in all official languages. It was suggested that a national information campaign be organised to promote the charter in order to ensure broader participation in the 2010 review.

Open source technology was cited as an important component in achieving sustainable development and delegates said its use should be encouraged.

Delegates also noted that restrictive legislation, such as regulation on the licensing of WiFi service providers and satellite service providers in the VSAT band, creates a barrier to ICT access and hinders empowerment efforts.

Delegates say corporations have been known to "dump" old equipment on communities in the name of corporate social investment; this "dumping" practice should be acknowledged in the charter and declared to be unacceptable.

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