Former minister of post and telecommunications Jay Naidoo yesterday called on the private sector to overcome the "paralysis of analysis" on the digital divide and start on concrete projects to overcome it, and profit in the process.
[VIDEO]"The whole issue of the digital divide presents a huge opportunity for innovative entrepreneurs," he said, speaking at the ITWeb-sponsored keynote address at Computer Faire.
Naidoo is chairman of the Development Bank, a member of the United Nations Secretary General`s ICT (information and communications technology) Advisory Committee and the chairman of Consilience Technologies. He was also minister for posts, telecommunications and broadcasting between 1996 and 1999.
He urged South African businessmen to be courageous and act boldly in investing in technology projects instead of engaging in endless discussion on the correct course of action.
[VIDEO]"We have had enough documents put on the table to destroy a couple of African forests." Individual action could not endlessly wait for regulations to be put in place, he said.
The problem of uneven information distribution also needs a new kind of person to respond to it, someone with the vision and foresight to profit from development while maintaining ethical standards. He described this person as "half yogi, half commissar".
Naidoo also argued that government must play an interventionist role in creating an environment conducive to development. Regulatory conditions must lead to the opening of the marketplace and "catalyse the partnerships we need". He laid the responsibility of ensuring the affordability of communications squarely on the shoulders of legislators and regulators.
[VIDEO]He praised infrastructure projects such as the GautengOnline.com initiative, which aims at providing all Gauteng schools with computers, but said the issue of access costs had to be addressed.
While he would not be drawn to comment on the current telecommunications regulation process, he said that intense scrutiny was needed to determine the viability of telecommunications licences.
Prism group marketing director Duncan Todd will deliver a keynote address at Computer Faire tomorrow.
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