Cybersurf

No Cybersurf this Monday - Sorry!

Hello, good morning and welcome to Cybersurf – your very own weekly look at the Internet. I am your Cybershost Steven Lang.

About nine years ago, President Thabo Mbeki first spoke publicly about the building of an information society. He took it a step further in his 2001 State of the Nation address when he created the Presidential Internet Advisory Council on the Information Society and development.

This weekend the same Internet Advisory Council held its fifth meeting in Madikwe in the North West Province - where Sherwin Bryce-Pease asked the president if he was pleased with the meeting:

INSERT Thaboone

IN: “Yes, indeed, I am very happy . . . .

OUT: . . . . of the people

DUR: 0’21”

While it is all very well to roll out computers and connectivity all over the country, it appears that language is still a problem.

INSERT thabotwo

IN: “It is but . . . .

OUT: of the people.

DUR: 0’25”

Government has said that it wishes to use ICTs to alleviate poverty and to provide more employment.

And to test methods of working toward this goal, President Mbeki said there was a pilot project underway in Limpopo province. But he recognised that such outreach projects presented their own sets of problems:

INSERT Thabothree

IN: How do you train . . . .

OUT: . . . . as a business person.”

DUR: 0’30”

It is clear that the President believes in the value of the Internet for the country, and we know that he shares his thoughts with the world in his weekly internet column on the ANC web site – but does he have much time for surfing?

INSERT Thabofour

IN: Yes, I mean it’s . . . .

OUT: . . . it helps.

DUR: 0’21”

That was President Thabo Mbeki speaking to Sherwin Bryce Pease on Weekend Live.

Now before we sign off – two quickies.

First - Telkom has withdrawn its case against the spoof site hellkom.co.za. – Moneyweb reports that the communication giant has agreed to drop its suit and cover legal expenses. A Telkom spokesman said it took this decision for “strategic reasons”

And finally, next week, Cybersurf will be coming to you “live” from the Abfab university town of Grahamstown where the largest single gathering of African journalists will meet at the Highway Africa conference .

More on this in next week’s Cybersurf.

Till then – remember to keeeeep on surfing.