This Toolkit provides relevant background and related resources specifically targeted to support policy-making in Africa. The toolkit promotes an approach that aligns FOSS policy and strategy with broader objectives for social and economic development. The toolkit is split in two parts.

The Cape Gateway Project is the first step to providing government services through an electronic medium to citizens in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The project centers on developing an information resource which will be accessible to the public through an online portal, a telephone contact centre and a centrally located walk-in resource centre in Cape Town. Bridges.org was engaged to conduct an independent evaluation of the Cape Gateway Project, specifically whether the portal element employed best practice in e-government and delivered “real access” to online government information to citizens.

Information and communication technology (ICT) policy in South Africa incorporates telecommunications and e-commerce. While discrete policy and legislative processes, the two are intertwined within the joint national strategies of equitable development and economic growth. The current state of ICT policy in South Africa is that the Telecommunications Act, Act 103 of 1996, is under review and e-commerce policy and cyberlaw is evolving. The resultant ICT policy will have a direct effect on the infrastructure, communications and applications segments of the market as well as the nature of e-government services. It is this uncertain policy context that this brief addresses.

Consultation report with the South African Development Community (SADC) and the World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum Steering Committee on Policies and Strategies was invited in June 2001 by regulators from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to participate and share perspectives in a consultative e-readiness process. The result of the process is this action framework entitled, which was presented by the Steering Committee on Policies and Strategies as a deliverable to the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting 2002.

South African telecommunications policy-making is at a crossroads.  The path towards national economic growth and equitable development within the information, communication and technology (ICT) sector has been tortuous, given the difficult and sometimes conflicting tasks of liberalization. The critical question is how the government should approach changes in the telecommunications sector to foster the emergence of a globally competitive information economy in South Africa that will encourage the use of ICTs to improve people’s lives. 

The bridges.org/IICD Case Study Series on ICT-Enabled Development sets out to illustrate how ICT contributes to development in Africa. The aim of this series is to help ground level initiatives imagine the possibilities of what can happen if they use ICT successfully to overcome development obstacles, and to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the digital divide.

The bridges.org IICD Case Study Series on ICT-Enabled Development sets out to illustrate how information and communication technology (ICT) contributes to development in Africa. The aim of this series is to help ground level initiatives imagine the possibilities of what can happen if they use ICT successfully to overcome development obstacles, and to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the digital divide.

Civil Society representatives met in Cape Town on 8 September to discuss their needs and concerns regarding the ICT Empowerment Charter. The importance of the Charter has been recognised by bridges.org, the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA), SANGONeT and many other Civil Society and non-governmental organisations in South Africa that use ICT as part of their efforts for socio-economic development. There has been little opportunity for organizations like these to participate, and many people were simply not aware of the process. The meeting highlighted several areas which it hopes will be addressed at the next meeting of the ICT Charter working group.

ICT Unit, Department Of Education
Attention: Ms. Trudi van Wyk
Room 619, Sol Plaatje House, 123 Schoeman Street
Pretoria, 0001 SOUTH AFRICA

Dear Ms. van Wyk,

Bridges.org would like to take the opportunity afforded by the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Unit of the Department of Education to make written representations on the Draft White Paper on e-education approved by Cabinet on 27 August 2003. The White Paper sets out Government's response to a new ICT environment in education. The overarching goal of the White Paper is to equip every basic and Further Education and Training (FET) learner with the knowledge and skills to use ICT confidently, creatively and responsibly by 2013.

Ms. M. Msimang
Senior Manager: Policy Analysis and Development
ICASA
Private Bag X1
Marlboro 2063 SOUTH AFRICA

Dear Ms. Msimang,

The provision of wireless Internet access using Industrial, Scientific and Medical frequencies

We tend to think about convergence in terms of technology alone, but convergence in information and communications technology (ICT) does not solely involve technological innovation, it also has a real impact on everyday lives that can potentially create further imbalances in terms of the digital divide, especially in the developing world. As an evolving concept, convergence encompasses a combination of opportunities and challenges, not only for the ICT industry, but also for regulators, policy makers and society at large.

Two recent announcements in South Africa raise sharp issues that characterize the raging debate between open source and Microsoft operating systems -- a debate that will ultimately affect developing countries around the world. Last Friday President Thabo Mbeki announced in his state-of-the nation speech to Parliament that Microsoft will provide free software for all of South Africa's 32,000 government schools. Previously, the South African Government's National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) declared its strong support for open source software, saying that it "has the potential to empower people in ways that proprietary software (such as Microsoft's) simply does not allow". For a nation that is counting on information and communications technology (ICT) to help address monumental social and economic problems, Microsoft's generous offer can make a real difference. However, many argue that open source software is more appropriate for the technology realities in developing countries. The Government -- and public -- should be aware of the implications of adopting the proprietary operating system in schools, and plan wisely to gain the benefits without suffering the consequences.

Ms R. Schaafsma
The Secretary to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications
PO Box 15
Cape Town 8000

Dear Mr. Kekana,

Bridges.org Analysis and Commentary: Telecommunications Amendment Bill number 65 of 2001

14 August 2001

An independent commission that would serve as a watchdog to oversee implementation needs to be established before the proposed Interception and Monitoring Bill becomes law.
This comment was made by bridges.org, a Cape Town based NGO promoting laws and policies fostering technology use in its written comments on the draft Interception and Monitoring Bill submitted to Parliament on Monday, 13 August.

On 13 August 2001, bridges.org submitted the following comments on the proposed South African "Interception and Monitoring" bill:  

13 August 2001

Ms. C. Herzenberg
The Secretary to Parliament
P.O. Box 15
Cape Town
8000