| The SADC
Consultative Confer-ence was held in Lusaka from 11to 12 February 1999. The Conference was
attended by representatives from all SADC member states and international cooperating
partners… The conference was also attended by representatives of the private sector,
non-governmental organisations and civil society. The conference was convened under the
theme “SADC in the New Millenium: Opportunities and Challenges of Information
Technology”. The theme was chosen in recognition of the fact that as the region
enters the next millennium, information technology would be a necessary tool for our
regional integration process.
The Conference expressed concern at the ongoing conflicts in both the Peoples Republic
of Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which are causing great human suffering
and threatening to engulf the whole region in political turmoil. In this respect, the
Conference noted that economic recovery can only be realised with the restoration of peace
and stability. The Conference therefore called upon the international community, including
the OAU and the UN to assist in the process of finding a lasting and peaceful solution to
the conflicts in Africa as a whole.
Regarding the debt burden, the Conference noted that the external debts of the poorest
developing countries, including those of SADC, had become unsustainable with grave
consequences for social and economic development. The Conference therefore appealed to the
international community to find ways of relieving developing countries of the crippling
debt burden in order to ensure their sustainable development.
The conference noted that humanity stands at the threshold of the 21st century, with
profound expectations for a future that is accommodating to the aspirations of all the
members of the international community. The conference also noted that as the region
enters the next millennium, it is still being faced with several challenges, including the
provision of quality education and skills on global competitive standards. The Conference
further noted that there was a role for international cooperating partners in promoting
the transfer of science and technology to developing countries, but that this was
dependent upon SADC creating a supportive framework to facilitate such technology
transfer, including the mobilsation of internal resources for development. |
Emphasis was placed on the
need for technologies to advance the economic performance of most SADC Member States. The
conference concurred that information technology should be brought into the SADC regional
integration agenda. It is important that Member States find the resources to enable them
to do so. The Conference noted that the world was in the throes of an information
revolution and that as SADC stands on the dawn of the next millennium the core of the
world economy was becoming the creation of information, its packaging into services and
the distribution of these services to the consumers.
The conference also noted that in the last decade, technological
advances had resulted in dramatically lowering costs of electronics, a borderless world as
a result of globalisation, increased competition, privatisation and multiplicity of
operators as a result of liberalisation and the convergence of broadcasting,
telecommunications and information technology. |
On the
millennium bug, YK2 the Conference recognised the devastating consequences that the region
faces if urgent action was not taken especially on critical sectors such as electricity,
telecommunications, transport, and financial services. The Conference urged SADC Member
States to urgently identify critical systems for compliance, draw up contingency plans to
minimise the impact and to mobilise resources to establish task forces to assess the
compliance as well as to take corrective measures... The conference endorsed conclusions
and recommendations by the working groups including the need to:
- develop an information society in southern Africa;
- improve and broaden equitable access to Information and Communications Technology;
- reduce Costs related to IT;
- develop SADC wide infrastructure;
- encourage the growth of software and hardware development facilities in SADC; and
- improve human resources capacity.
The conference also endorsed the following policy issues:
- the development of a regional policy on IT to assist with the harmonisation of national
policies;
- the development of National Information and Communication Infrastructure;
- the Creation of a favorable regulatory environment;
- acceleration of the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector;
- reduction of IT related taxes and tariffs;
- elimination of costly bureaucratic barriers;
- facilitation of shared communication facilities, telecentres and co-operatives;
- build greater human capacity for IT; and
- strengthen educational facilities at all levels of education and training.
Elections in southern Africa: A test for
democracy
Around the region
Community building
Books and publications
SADC Diary
Is SADC ready for trade reciprocity with
the EU?
Co-operation between SADC Central Banks
SADC in pictures
Information technology to propel SADC into
next millenium
technology
DRC: Stalled peace talks
Conflict in Angola
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