Cisco sets record straight

Global networking company Cisco is still participating in president Thabo Mbeki's International Advisory Council on Information Society and Development (PIAC on ISAD).

This statement follows a report in Business Day last week that the company had decided to pull out. The article speculated the company had decided to withdraw from the group as ex-GM Clive Flynn felt advising the government on policy and then trying to service its technology requirements posed a conflict of interests.

The report also suggested the withdrawal may have been influenced by frustration that the council's advice had not been turned into action.

The PIAC on ISAD was set up in 2001 to advise the president on trends within the ICT sector. It aims to provide input on strategies that could enable the country to take advantage of opportunities presented by technologies to promote economic growth and eradicate poverty.

The council is made up of a mix of local and international representatives, including Mark Shuttleworth, Cisco, HP, IBM, SAP, Oracle and Intel.

In an exclusive interview with ITWeb, Cisco SA GM Steve Midgley said Mark De Simone, Cisco VP for Middle East and Africa, continues to serve the president as the company's corporate authorised representative.

"We want to set the record straight. We are fully committed to SA and its government. We have not pulled out of the president's technology advisory group. While we have had healthy debates, at no time have we clashed with government," he clarified.

Midgley added the purpose of the Cisco advisory board is twofold: help the company manage its corporate social investment (CSI) initiatives and provide a removed governance intermediary.

"As an international company, we need to be sure we remain squeaky clean. In the last year, Cisco invested $4.2 million [about R30 million] in CSI and enterprise development within SA. Having the advisory board means we can hand over that funding to a group of senior people who are able to identify the best investment opportunities that unlock the maximum in benefits for the people of SA. It also provides the local company - as with other regions - a way in which to remove itself from conflicts of interests," he explained.

Earlier this year, Cisco SA appointed businessman Dudu Kunene as chairman of the advisory council. Midgley expects further appointments to follow shortly.

"We want SA and its people to be clear that we are very committed to the country's agenda. SA is listed as an 'A' country within our emerging market theatre. As a company, we have facilitated between 1 800 and 2 500 jobs through direct and indirect channels.

"Our internal transformation agenda has progressed rapidly and we are still investing in the country's skill requirements through the Nepad e-Schools initiative and our own Networking Academy, which has already graduated 5 000 students," he concluded.