Communication - a fundamental human right

The UN Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) took place in 2002. Those who were involved in organising and hosting the WSSD were very concerned that when it finally took place, the Summit would proceed without any major hitches, and produce commendable results.

When all the statistical and other information about the WSSD was collated, it became possible to tell an extraordinary story about this World Summit. One element of this story was that the Johannesburg WSSD was the biggest conference that the United Nations Organisation had convened ever since it was established in 1945.

The Johannesburg WSSD also took place after various international conferences, from the WTO Seattle Conference onwards, had had to contend with large and militant demonstrations, some of which turned violent. Many participants believed that the Johannesburg WSSD would face the same challenge.

The demonstrations took place, enabling various non-governmental domestic and international organisations to express their views. Nevertheless there was no violence.

Those who wanted to take to the streets to communicate their views, took to the streets without let or hindrance with regard to their right to express the views. They had no need to resort to violent forms of protest, provoked by unreasonable restrictions on their right to protest.

After its close, we were immensely proud and relieved that the WSSD had taken place without any major hitches, and had produced commendable results. We felt especially privileged that we had hosted an unprecedented international gathering that had succeeded to unite the peoples and countries of the world around a common programme of action focused on the challenge of achieving the sustainable development of human society.

But, of course, memory fades as time passes and new and more recent developments impose themselves on the domestic and international human consciousness. We too, begin to forget the WSSD and what it meant to us.

Our own activities, host of the WSSD, unavoidably confirm the relevance of the expression - out of sight, out of mind! Nevertheless, significantly, we have incorporated the outcomes of the WSSD in our national agenda and our system of international relations.

Time has ensured that these outcomes have become an inherent part of the domestic and international agenda of our democratic state, losing their exceptional identity as a distinct stand-alone sustainable programme alien to, or otherwise discrete from the overall reconstruction and development programmes that define the new South Africa.

We are also fortunate that we have had the possibility to participate in a distinct programme that arose out of the WSSD, thanks to the dedication of some to do everything possible to contribute to the realisation of the objectives agreed at the WSSD.

I refer here to the initiative taken by the information technology (IT) company, Hewlett Packard (HP), the Limpopo Provincial Government and the Mogalakwena District Municipality in Limpopo to launch the "i-community" project in this municipality.

The website dedicated to this initiative says: "The first South African i-Community - in Mogalakwena municipality, Limpopo - was launched in September 2002 by President Thabo Mbeki and former HP chairman Carly Fiorina as a part of the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development. The intention is to transform Mogalakwena into a thriving community where information technology empowers individuals, families and the community at large - and shapes their future in an economically and environmentally sustainable way."

The website also explains: "Despite the enormous worldwide impact of the Internet, over 90% of the world's population has never used the technology and the 'digital divide' between the developed and developing nations is growing.

"(Here we introduce) the HP i-Community programme,...an innovative initiative that sees private sector companies, developing nation governments, NGOs and local community stakeholders partnering to create the ICT-enabled solutions necessary to bridge that divide. HP i-Communities are founded on Public-Private Partnerships. And the goal is to establish breakthrough models of sustainable social and economic development that can then be replicated in similar communities around the world."

The Mogalakwena i-community initiative, which has also been supported by many other government and private sector institutions, has as one of its central goals the spread of the use of modern information and communication technologies (ICTs) in rural communities to bridge the digital divide and use ICTs to help rural communities successfully to address the challenges of sustainable development.

Just over three years after it was launched, with HP playing the leading role, the i-community initiative has now been formally handed over to the Limpopo Provincial Government to manage and develop. The Provincial Government has taken over a multi-faceted programme that gives great hope to the residents of the largely rural District of Mogalakwena.

As reflected in the HP i-community website, this programme includes:

• Community Computer Camps, which run ICT literacy programmes for children and adults. So far these have trained over 3,000 Mogalakwena residents.
• Basic PC literacy courses dealing with the fundamentals of operating a PC as well as the basics of running commonly-used applications such as word processors, spreadsheets and Web browsers. These training courses are run over a period of five days.
• Advanced PC and application training, involving technical courses conducted to enable members of the community to support the new ICT infrastructure and systems in place at the HP i-community. This training also includes application support for end users.
• A PC refurbishment programme, which teaches local community members to refurbish old PCs so that they can be resold. The purpose is to enable those taking the course to gain skills which have a commercial potential. Some of those who have completed the course have either established businesses using their PC refurbishment skills, or have added this service to supplement their existing business.
• A business resource centre which provides access to technology, information and requisite services to support schools, community projects and local businesses. The resource centre is also active in enabling local entrepreneurs to start their own businesses and a New Venture Creation Learnership programme which began in January 2004, focused on the principles of business development. Learners were given coaching on developing their own business plans, and conducted practical work supervised by the HP i-community. They are now in an advantageous position in terms of either starting their own businesses or finding employment elsewhere.
• A call centre and help desk currently staffed by 25 ISETT SETA learners -the work forming the practical element of their studies. The skills being learnt by the trainees will prepare them for vocational life after their studies are complete. It is expected that the call centre will also be a major contributor to the long-term sustainability of the i-community.
• Promotion of digital culture through the development of skills focused on Internet and broadcast radio, audio-video recording and editing, web site design, and digital photography. Additionally, the staff are testing and integrating open source software tools into a complete multi-media desktop training and implementation solution. One of the key programmes launched as part of the digital culture initiative is "D-Naledi tsa Mokkies" (Digital Stars of Mokopane) - an initiative that provides soloists and/or groups of musicians, poets, writers and performers the opportunity to have their material recorded professionally and cost-effectively in Mogalakwena. For a nominal fee, budding artists can walk away with a CD or DVD of their performance that they can market, distribute or showcase by leveraging the i-community's many resources.
• Preparing Mogalakwena residents to obtain the International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL), which is recognised internationally as the benchmark for measuring end-user computer skills. This qualification certifies that the holder is competent in the use of a personal computer, common software applications and understands the essential concepts of ICT. The Mogalakwena HP i-community took this one step further early in 2004 by becoming the world's first ICDL training and testing centre for Open Source Software. Courseware was co-developed with the ICDL foundation and the first ICDL for Open Source class of trainees graduated in June 2004.
• Provision for ISETT SETA learnerships in terms of which 100 students entered a year-long sponsored learnership programme in January 2004. This is the largest ISETT SETA learnership in a rural setting in South Africa, with the students divided equally among technical support, systems development, call centre and venture creation courses. Early this year, learners received nationally-recognised qualifications upon graduation and are already being integrated into many of the existing i-community programmes.
• Demonstration projects addressing the challenge of sustainable livelihoods, showcasing innovative solutions for water, sanitation, waste management and recycling, food security (via drip irrigation and eco-circle farming), indigenous medicinal gardens, forestation, alternative energy sources (including SA-developed solar panels), and a prototype "HP i-centre": a computer-based development suite that supports the range of HP i-community services.
• Other programmes involving the development and use of Open Source technology in rural areas, the first of its kind designed specifically to meet the needs of developing economies, the introduction of an HP multi-user desktop that allows four people to work simultaneously and independently, the training of sports instructors who are also trained in the PC literacy and sustainable livelihoods programmes, specialised libraries on ICTs, and providing examples of e-government to help the District and Local Municipalities to use the ICTs to improve their capacity to serve the people.

These programmes illustrate the enormous impact the Mogalakwena i-community project is making and will make on this largely rural population. When we revisited the district to participate in the ceremonies to pass on the project to the Limpopo Government, we were very inspired to see that Mogalakwena residents who had graduated from the training programmes of the i-community had taken over leadership of most of the i-community projects.

At the end of this visit, we had an opportunity to address the thousands of residents of Mogalakwena who had gathered in the Dipichi Local Municipality to witness the handover. We urged them to treat the i-community programme as their own, and take advantage of everything it offered, from PC literacy to growing vegetables for household food security and commercial purposes. The people listened to this address in respectful silence.

However, representatives of the Provincial Government had told us that there was a widespread complaint in Dipichi Local Municipality that the mobile phone companies had not built the communication infrastructure that would enable the residents to use their cell phones.

Accordingly, when we addressed the people, we told them that together with the Premier of the Province, we would immediately take up this matter with the mobile phone companies. This resulted in very warm applause from the thousands that had gathered for a purpose other than gaining access to wireless telephony!

As part of the effort to ensure that the i-community addresses the needs of the people, the i-community project had conducted some research to understand the socio-economic profile of the least developed villages within the Mogalakwena District. This study produced some very interesting information.

Among other things, it showed that:

• only 44% of the people in these villages earned an income;
• 142 households said that pensions and government grants were their main source of income, compared to 91 which derived their income from wages, salaries and their own business activities;
• 47% of the households had a bank account, with 94% of these being savings accounts;
• 26% of the households own a TV set, while 69% have a radio;
• of great interest, 49% of the households in these highly deprived rural areas had cell phones: on average, residents had to walk 2,7 km to reach the nearest fixed line public telephone.

As we have said, the people gathered in a public meeting in Dipichi, one of the least developed areas in the Mogalakwena District, warmly welcomed our announcement that we would work urgently to bring them into the mobile telephone signals network.

Fortunately, within a week of our communicating this undertaking to the mobile phone companies, they put up the masts that now allow the people of Dipichi to use their cell phones! We thank them for the speed with which they acted to respond to the needs of the least developed areas of the District of Mogalakwena. They will be pleased to know that their speedy action has produced great happiness among the thousands that live in the least developed villages of Mogalakwena.

The socio-economic survey conducted by the Mogalakwena i-community, some of whose results we have cited, makes the important statement that: "Statistics demonstrate that the lack of information in all areas is one of the key reasons (which keeps the residents in the least developed villages of Mogalakwena) in poverty. Urgent thought should be given as to the most sustainable, effective and integrated options (to provide information), covering all identified areas. A specific communications programme needs to be planned in detail."

At Mogalakwena, we learnt the lesson that even communities living in the least developed rural areas in our country understand the imperative to bridge the digital and information divide, as an essential part of the struggle to provide a better life for all.

The Mogalakwena i-community has provided us with a base we must use to respond to this challenge. But perhaps our starting point to achieve the sustainable development addressed by the WSSD must be to ensure universal access to affordable telephony!

International Affairs

Progress in building a better Africa and world

South Africa remains firmly engaged in the effort to build a better Africa and world, working to strengthen international and continental organisations and contributing to the achievement of peace, stability and post-conflict reconstruction in several parts of Africa.

Briefing the media this week on progress in the programme of action of government's international relations, peace and security cluster, Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Aziz Pahad outlined the areas in which progress had been made since the previous quarterly report, and highlighted some of the challenges ahead. We publish below edited extracts of the briefing.

United Nations Reform

The UN Millennium Review Summit has taken place with some progress made, but agreement on a number of areas affecting the African continent and the developing world was not forthcoming. South Africa continues to contribute to the resolutions of these issues as part of the progressive movement for change in the world.

It is disappointing that there was not enough agreement with regard to developmental challenges facing Africa. The latest UN Social Development Report indicates that, at the current pace, Africa will be the only continent that will fail to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

Among the issues that need finalisation are some that were considered pillars of the overall reform package namely, the operational modalities of the Human Rights Council, the Peace-building Commission, reform of the Security Council, and UN Secretariat and management reforms.

This is a serious indictment of the developed countries in their lack of political will to deal comprehensively with issues that affect the underdeveloped countries. South Africa has participated actively in the various negotiating forums leading up to the UN Millennium Review Summit, including the Africa Group, the Group of 77 and China, and the Non-Aligned Movement.

To proceed on the outstanding issues, Sweden, the current President of the UN General Assembly, has invited South Africa to join a new core group to lead the consultative and negotiation processes. We hope that the various committees established to deal with the outstanding issues would be able to successfully complete their tasks within the next 12 months.

Many of the outstanding issues are of great importance to Africa. An extraordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly that convened in Addis Ababa on 31 October 2005 concluded that sufficient support exists for Africa's original position of demanding two permanent seats with veto rights on the UN Security Council and five non-permanent seats.

It was also agreed that the support for this position should be tested by requesting the UN General Assembly to vote on the resolution. After such a vote, African Union members will then determine what steps, if any, to take next. It is still uncertain when the resolution will be presented at the UN General Assembly.

We continue to take a multilateral approach to world affairs and to be guided by our decisions in the AU on the matter of UN reform. South Africa will continue its active and positive engagement in efforts to reform and revitalise the United Nations to ensure that the organisation is able to adequately meet the global challenges of the 21st Century.

Consolidation of the Africa Agenda

The African Union is in the process of consolidating its organs of governance through reorganising its resources to strengthen capacity within its various institutions.

The fourth session of the Pan-African Parliament will take place from 21 November to 2 December 2005 at its headquarters in Midrand. South Africa continues to fulfil its obligations in terms of the Host Agreement and provides additional personnel and logistical support. Issues on the agenda for this session are:

• Strategic Plan for 2006-2010,
• consideration and approval for the Pan-African Parliament budget,
• consideration and adoption of the commission reports, and debates on the oversight of the Pan-African Parliament,
• reports of the AU on peace and security in Africa,
• Debates on the Great Lakes Region Declaration,
• Report on the Pan-African Parliament Mission to Mauritania,
• Debates on the reports of the Blair Commission on Africa in relation to the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and the African Peer Review Mechanism.

African Peer Review Mechanism

Rwanda and Ghana have been assessed in terms of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) process. Reports were finalised in June. A detailed discussion will take place at the African Peer Review Forum Summit in Abuja in December.

It is now South Africa's turn to be assessed. The first national consultative conference took place from 28-29 September 2005 and will be followed by a series of provincial consultative conferences and community level workshops where many constituencies will have the opportunity to make their inputs. A national governing council of 15 members (civil society, government, business) has been established. The Secretariat of the APRM will interact with this body during the process of assessment. There has been engagement with representatives of higher education institutions and bodies that protect the constitutional rights of South African citizens and residents.

In line with the APRM guidelines, the review process will culminate in a country assessment report and a Programme of Action. The APRM questionnaire has been posted on the website of the Department of Public Service and Administration.

Peace, stability and post-conflict reconstruction

Elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been scheduled for March/April 2006. Preparations for these processes are at an advanced stage to ensure successful implementation. However, insufficient funding remains one of the major obstacles to the successful implementation of these processes.

Cooperation agreements have been entered into between various government departments and their DRC counterparts with the objective of building capacity and strengthening service delivery in that country. This includes bilateral cooperation in education, immigration, migration, local government, and training of personnel in the public and police services.

However, safety and security challenges are still prevalent in the eastern part of the DRC, where foreign armed groups, mainly from neighbouring Rwanda, have infiltrated that part of the country causing instability among the local population. There are 859 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members supporting the UN Mission in the DRC and 28 SANDF members supporting the DRC government with the integration of the armed forces. There have been reports by UN forces of sexual misconduct among South African troops. This matter is being investigated by the Department of Defence, and a report is being awaited.

Burundi is now in its post-conflict reconstruction and development phase. This must be the emphasis of the international community. There are 924 South African troops deployed as part of the UN Mission and 378 offering VIP protection under the auspices of the UN.

An outstanding challenge is to integrate the FNL rebel group, which is refusing to join the negotiations. The new Burundian government has offered to enter into negotiations, and a committee has been established to conduct these negotiations, led by the current chair of the ruling party, accompanied by four cabinet ministers. The deadline for the FNL to disarm and join the peace process expired on 31 October 2005. The government has announced its intention to forcibly disarm the rebel group. The FNL has issued a statement saying they do not recognise the current government. However, there are divisions within the FNL because of this movement by the government with some factions refusing to negotiate.

On the development front, the new President has been visiting provinces and has come up with a new plan for development - part of which is the promise to provide free education to primary school learners. South Africa has indicated it will deploy inter-departmental teams of experts to Burundi to investigate government-to-government cooperation projects to implement post-conflict and reconstruction.

Less than a week after UN Secretary General Kofi Annan warned that a serious deterioration between Ethiopia and Eritrea could lead to "another round of devastating hostilities," the UN mission monitoring a ceasefire between the two countries reported this week that the situation on the ground is tense.

The UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) said restrictions on its freedom of movement were continuing in both the central and western sectors on the Eritrean side following the ban imposed by the Asmara government on UN helicopters. Night movement of patrols is also being curtailed, seriously limiting the mission's ability to monitor the remaining 40% of the Temporary Security Zone and adjacent areas.

The previous media briefing of this cluster in September mentioned that on 31 August the South African Minister of Defence presented a report of the mediation team on Côte d'Ivoire to the Security Council. The report outlined progress made by the mediation team in its engagements with the various Ivorian role-players. A central concern was that the disarmament and demobilisation of 50,000 fighters, that was due to start on 31 July 2005, had yet not commenced. The disarmament of militias had also not started.

Although President Laurent Gbagbo had, at the request of the Mediator, effected amendments to the laws on nationality, immigration and the independent electoral commission to bring these into line with the Pretoria Agreement, Former President Henri Konan Bedié of the Parti Democratique' de Côte d'Ivoire continued to promote the broad opposition strategy of establishing an interim government, which excludes President Gbagbo.

The AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) meeting on 5 October in Addis Ababa decided the following:

• President Gbagbo shall remain Head of State during this period.
• A new Prime Minister acceptable to all the Ivorian signatories to the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement shall be appointed. The Government, which he will lead, shall be composed of personalities proposed by the Ivorian signatories to the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement.
• The Government shall continue to discharge the responsibilities and tasks assigned to it by the Linas-Marcoussis and Accra III Agreements. The Ministers shall be accountable to the Prime Minister, who shall have full authority over his cabinet.
• The Prime Minister shall not be eligible to stand for the elections to be organised, in accordance with the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement.
• To assist the Government in the implementation of its programme and consolidate and strengthen the existing follow-up mechanisms, an International Working Group (IWG) will be established at ministerial level, which shall meet once a month in Côte d'Ivoire to evaluate, monitor and follow-up the peace process.

Food Security

Nearly 10 million people in six southern African states face severe food shortages and many will die unless the international community provides aid soon. The region is still $157 million short of the estimated $400 million it needs to help Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The six countries, which are facing their fourth consecutive year of food shortages, have been hit by a combination of poor rains, inadequate fertilisers and seeds, and the devastating AIDS epidemic.

The worst affected areas were Zimbabwe, where some 4.3 million people needed help, and Malawi where 2.9 million require assistance. The United States has been the biggest donor so far, giving more than $104 million, while European Union states have contributed $64 million.

These engagements on the African continent are taking place alongside the South African government's broader work on issues of South-South cooperation and trade negotiations within the WTO to improve access for developing countries to global markets.

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