A civil society petition to push government to act on the National Open Source Strategy is being compiled, not as a criticism, but as an encouragement, says Alan Levin, chairman of the Internet Society of SA.
"Government IT managers are in a very difficult position. Many want to implement an open source strategy. However, local businesses, many of which represent large international firms, have a 'schizophrenic' view towards open source. Therefore, civil society is saying to government, 'you have our support'," he says.
According to a statement issued by the SA Non-Governmental Network (Sangonet), which is compiling the petition, ICT procurement by government accounts for more than 50% of the South African market and significantly influences the types of systems being supplied and supported in the country. With government spending approximately R3 billion per annum on a single proprietary software vendor, the dominant position of proprietary software remains entrenched.
The statement says various government, private sector and civil society stakeholders unanimously adopted a declaration in support of a National Open Source Strategy at the end of the Go Open Source Conference, held on 22 and 23 August 2005, in Johannesburg. The declaration recommended that the National Cabinet formally adopts a policy on free and open source software and open content (Foss/OC).
Sangonet says a year has passed since the declaration was adopted and little progress has been made in meeting the commitments emanating from the conference.
Levin says a briefing minute has been compiled to give to Cabinet on the National Open Source Strategy and it would dovetail with the petition.
"A change in government behaviour, policy and practice is a prerequisite for the benefits of Foss/OC to be realised across society. Government intervention is needed to enable Foss/OC to become more readily available and to compete equally with proprietary software," says the Sangonet statement.
This civil society petition calls on the minister of public service and administration to adopt an open source policy and honour the government's commitments to the declaration.
The petition is available on the Sangonet NGO portal.
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