Commentary with the Collaboration on International ICT Policy-making for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)

South Africa is celebrating ten years of democracy — a period during which the country has shown progressive leadership, including explicitly targeting information and communications technology (ICT) as an enabler of socio-economic development. In its re-election campaign this year, the Government promised to focus on poverty alleviation and job creation. But, ironically, the Government's legislative efforts affecting new technologies like Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) are actually working against the development goals it seeks to achieve.