The African National Congress (ANC) has listed 'information and communications technology resolutions' as one of the key topics to be discussed when it meets with alliance partners Cosatu and the South African Communist Party at its National General Council (NGC) next week.
NGC meetings take place between the ruling party's national conferences. These meetings allow the party to review progress and challenges since the last national conference, the ANC says. The ANC's 2010 NGC takes place from 20 to 24 September, in Durban.
In the run-up to the event, the party prepared eight discussion documents to brief delegates on the direction the discussions would take. The ANC has included ICT alongside high-importance topics, such as 'Leadership renewal, discipline and organisational culture' and 'Media diversity and ownership'.
Targeting coherent policies
The 16-page ICT discussion document reveals the party is not satisfied with the progress made within this sector.
Few of the resolutions made and targets set at the party's 2002 Stellenbosch National Conference have seen satisfactory progress, the document points out. Progress against resolutions made at its 2007 National Conference, in Polokwane, has been even more disappointing, it points out.
“The sector lacks a coherent national ICT policy that supports the developmental path for the benefit of our people, especially the historically-disadvantaged and those in the rural areas of our country,” the ANC states.
“In addition, the ICT programmes currently pursued by different tiers of government are uncoordinated, do not work in tandem and at times have conflicting objectives,” the party adds.
This lack of coherence is compounded by “institutional misalignment” and duplication of mandates of government departments, tiers of government, state-owned enterprises and agencies, it continues.
“Therefore, the situation contributes to the failure to bridge the digital divide and the perpetuation of a situation in which significant numbers of people do not have access to government, government services and information communication technologies,” it says.
Promising development
The ANC's ICT discussion document has received little media attention as it is through the same set of documents that the party's controversial suggestion of a media tribunal was first revealed.
As a result, few people within the ICT sector - unless ANC members intent on participating at the meeting - are aware of the document.
Says World Wide Worx' Arthur Goldstuck: “The document doesn't hold any new revelations that the ICT sector has not been aware of for some time. That said, it's encouraging that the ANC is not only aware of these, but evidently determined to address the issues which hold the sector and its customers back.
“Nevertheless, determination may not be enough to bring us through and the proof of the pudding will only be evident in actions that take place afterthe conference,” he adds.
Independent telecoms analyst Richard Hurst agrees: “The ANC document admits that government missed its ICT objectives. What it doesn't reveal is how it expects to transform the sector to be empowering, effective and profitable. Next week's discussions will guide us on whether the party is engaging in more talk or looking to action delivering outcomes.”
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