INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION SECTOR SUMMIT

A highly successful Sector Summit was held on 3-4 June in Midrand. The summit, which was chaired by Nedlac Executive Director, Phillip Dexter, brought together over 600 key stakeholders in information and communications to find ways to ensure that the sector contributes to economic and social development in South Africa.

The Summit was the culmination of months of intense negotiations at Nedlac between representatives of business, labour, government (represented by the Department of Communications) and community. However, the process does not end with the Summit. The Steering Committee will continue to meet to ensure that the agreements that were reached are taken forward.

The Minister of Communications, Dr Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, addressed the summit on behalf of government. She captured the challenges facing the ICT sector in 2002, as the fastest growing sector of South Africa's economy. One of these challenges was to reduce the digital divide between rural and urban communities. Another was to try to match the skills needed to fill the many vacancies that exist in the sector for highly skilled engineers, software developers, IT managers and technicians, whilst accepting that in some companies, workers in the sector were being retrenched as companies restructure and re-engineer their operations.

Speaking on behalf of organised labour, General Secretary of Cosatu, Zwelinzima Vavi also highlighted the importance of the industry helping the bridge skills gaps that exist. "All too often, we hear from employers that there are not enough skills in the labour force. We expect employers to abide by the agreement and ensure that they adhere to skills legislation as well as train workers at all levels. According to one of the SETAs in the sector - the ISETT - only 8% of funds available for reimbursement of levies are being claimed by companies. This is shockingly low for a sector that is supposed to be built on a high skills base."

Sipho Masuku of the South African Youth Council spoke on behalf of the Community Constituency and emphasised the need to focus on the integration of women, people with disabilities and the youth into the main stream of the sector. Community also highlighted the need for more financial support for small business development and cooperatives, and the promotion of Black Economic Empowerment in the sector.

Adrian Schofield, President of Information Industry South Africa spoke on behalf of organised business. He alluded to the difficulty that business in the sector faced, as it there was a plethora of associations representing the interests of companies operating in the sector. It was therefore difficult to ensure that all views were captured in the Nedlac negotiations. Despite this difficulty, however, he urged participants to combine their resources positively to grow the sector to the benefit of all.

DECLARATION

The Summit laid a basis for future co-operation

• by establishing agreement on overarching objectives for development in the sector
• by committing the stakeholders to continued social dialogue, facilitated by Nedlac
• by developing proposals for joint research and information to generate viable plans and strategies

The parties agree that ICT must increasingly contribute to economic growth, equity and social integration, job creation and overall development.

Communication and information are critical for a host of reasons.

• They link together economic activities, both at home and abroad
• They support social integration and interaction
• They form the basis for sound decision-making in all fields
• They are essential for democracy at all levels, by letting people input to decisions as well as making more informed decisions themselves
• They help give people access to government services
• They underpin the development of our culture and our nation

The parties agree that to monitor progress, they will develop broad targets, with realistic timeframes, so as to ensure:

• Reliable, efficient infrastructure for business
• Affordable access for poor communities, including women, youth, and people with disabilities, rural areas, key government institutions throughout the country, SMMEs and co-ops
• Increased use of ICT, based on broader access to skills, throughout our society
• That ICT contributes as much as possible to the direct and indirect creation of quality jobs and decent work

The parties have already reached agreements in the run up to the Summit. Through these agreements, the parties have committed to:

1. On-going dialogue to develop ever-stronger strategies
2. The development of targets and timeframes to monitor progress
3. Working together to identify key areas for growth and employment creation - specifically in hardware and software development, the roll out of services to all our people, broadcasting and cultural industries, and skills development for ICT
4. Joint research into additional issues such as skills needs and the impact of the market structure on universal access
5. Efforts to ensure that government and business programmes support domestic production and employment as far as possible, including through a code of procurement
6. Common action to accelerate skills development, including improving interactions with the sectoral SETAs,
7. A social plan to establish active labour market policies for the sector, minimising the burden of unemployment and ensuring broader access to jobs

The summit further resolved the following:-

1. To lend support to government plans for universal internet service and access. The details of this programme will be discussed in the post-Summit process, including developing detailed targets.
2. The development of ICT strategy should cover specific sectors such as health, education, criminal justice system and agriculture, and all spheres of government.

Based on the work so far, the parties here commit to support the spirit of these agreements in order to contribute to social and economic development in our country. To that end, they will engage in the post-Summit Nedlac process. They commit themselves to ensuring increasingly representative engagement; on that basis, improved capacity for social dialogue; and to assess all proposals on the basis of evidence on their impact on our overall objectives.

In the modern world, ICT must build the future. This process will ensure that South Africa can take on this challenge.