South African ICT charter at an impasse

Fresh doubts have arisen over the progress of an empowerment charter for the ICT industry, since the empowerment charter steering committee, South Africa appears to have no leader. The charter, which has been three years in the making, has suffered a series of setbacks. It was hoped the charter would be operational by mid-2005, but key players indicate the final product is still some way off. Among the latest setbacks are delays in completing the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI's) Code of Good Practice, which will impact on the final charter document, and the fact that the charter steering committee currently has no leader. In addition, there have been complaints that the charter, along with the rest of SA's empowerment charters, has not yet been gazetted and still has to be approved by the government. Mthunzi Mdwaba, Torque-IT executive chairman and steering committee member, says the working group, which originally drove the charter process, has not dissolved and that Dali Mpofu, now South African Broadcasting Corporation chief executive, is still chairman. Andile Tlhoaele, president of the Communications Cabling Association of Southern Africa and member of the steering committee, says the Department of Communications is stalling the process by not appointing a councillor for the steering committee. Tlhoaele explains that part of the principal officer‘s duties would be to deal with outstanding issues and keep the industry informed of the latest developments. “I for one have an industry to account to and thus far no one knows what is going on.” There has also been concern from some quarters that the charter has not been registered by the government. Roger Dawes, Electronics Industry Federation executive director and ICT charter steering committee member, says it appears Cabinet has not yet gazetted nor approved the ICT charter, along with the rest of the charters. He says it appears the charter document has been shelved. “The steering committee and the working group have not yet been made aware of this. The secretariat is busy formulating a response, which we will take up with the DTI.” He maintains that the only thing holding back the ICT empowerment charter now is the finalising of the DTI's Codes of Good Practice. Mdwaba agrees that the charter was taken through the portfolio committee and referred to Cabinet, which in principle approved it, subject to public comment. “We strongly believe that the charter qualifies as such as per the BEE Act, as quickly as possible – transformation delayed is transformation denied.” “There's no way the charter can be approved by Cabinet,” says Luanne Grant, American Chamber of Commerce executive director and member of the working group. “It first has to be brought in line with the DTI's codes. “However, I can confirm that the charter was presented to the communications minister. As we speak, no one knows when the charter is expected to be ready,” says Grant. More

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