The information and communications technology (ICT) empowerment working group says it hopes the first draft of the sector`s black economic empowerment (BEE) charter will be ready by the end of February.
Dali Mpofu, chairman of the empowerment working group, says an internal research team and two research houses, which have yet to be appointed, will research the different sections that will make up the charter.
"Broadly speaking, the mandate of the research teams will be to research BEE indicators, like ownership and quotas. This will provide us with scientific evidence of the state of the sector for the setting of realistic targets for transformation," he says.
Along with the research, a mini-summit will be held on 16 February at the Eskom centre in Midrand to discuss the issue of bridging the digital divide.
"While the research teams work on the various sections of the charter, we felt there needed to be further thrashing out with key players on the bridging of the digital divide. Although there is some effort to bridge the divide within the sector, it is uncoordinated.
"Therefore, we need further discussion to be able to place two or three measurable milestones in the charter as targets for bridging the divide," he says.
Mpofu says once the first draft is ready, the working group plans to take the charter on a road show around the country to create awareness about the charter and get further consultation from the sector.
It is hoped that the final draft of the charter will be unveiled at Futurex at the Sandton Convention Centre on 18 May. "It is not finalised as we are not sure whether the charter will be finished by then. But if possible, we would like to unveil the charter at Futurex because most of the sector will be represented there," he says.
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