SA's new minister of communications will have a larger focus on education and training, following the country's general elections on 22 April.
This is according to transport minister and ANC policy head Jeff Radebe, who was speaking to journalists at the funeral of communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, in Kroonstad, Free State, yesterday.
Matsepe-Casaburri died at a Pretoria hospital on Monday last week, at the age of 71.
Radebe said the ICT infrastructure projects that were started during Matsepe-Casaburri's tenure have laid the foundation to enable South Africans to access communication.
The logical progression from this is to begin training South African youths to use these ICT tools, he said.
Strong legacy
Radebe was among the many dignitaries, including Lesotho communications, science and technology minister Mothetjoa Metsing and South African president Kgalema Motlanthe, who praised Matsepe-Casaburri for leaving Africa with a strong legacy in terms of ICT development.
In his keynote address, Motlanthe described the late minister as “selfless, hard-working and dedicated to the cause of improving the lives of others”.
He said she was committed to using ICT to uplift SA and the African continent.
“More than just being a minister, she was also a mother and a teacher to many who crossed her path.
“Will there ever be another Sis Ivy to whom the cause of dignity for all humanity, especially the poor, the oppressed and the disabled, defined her life?”
Solid foundation
Sentech CEO Dr Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane said Matsepe-Casaburri played a pivotal role in educating, especially women. She said Matsepe-Casaburri believed that in this way she could reach children and help lay a solid foundation for their future.
Matsepe-Casaburri left SA as a political exile at the age of 28, returning 25 years later. She served as chairman of the South African Broadcasting Corporation, as well as premier of the Free State, the first women in the country to fill such a post.
She was appointed as minister of communications in 1999, a post she filled until her death 10 years later.
Minister in the Presidency Manto Tshabalala-Msimang is serving as communications minister until the elections.
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