THE ICT CHARTER

5.7. Residual Category
6.
Overview
The industry has identified the need for industry specific initiatives,
which will result in the formulation of co-ordinated and sustainable
programmes to bridge the “digital divide” and to ensure that corporate
social investment is implemented within a set of sustainable long term
objectives. It is therefore intended that enterprises appropriate more
resources in an effort to drive and/or support these industry specific
initiatives.
Objectives
The main objectives of this Charter as it pertains to this indicator are
to:-
• identify and align initiatives with national priority programmes;
• improve ICT skills to previously disadvantaged communities
and individuals with special emphasis on rural communities
• support the provision of universal access to ICT infrastructure;
• co-ordinate various initiatives to enhance their collective
impact; and
• take full advantage of traditional corporate social investment
and promoting the allocation of corporate social investments to
initiatives that aim to “bridge the digital divide”.
Challenges
The following are some of the major challenges facing the sector:-
• Absence of supportive infrastructure – Projects aimed at
bridging the digital divide can only be implemented in
conjunction with other infrastructures such as buildings,
electricity, roads, etc
• Lack of Co-ordination –lack of co-ordination results in
duplication of resources and clamouring for limited resources by
NGO’s.
• Sustainability and Impact – Projects are implemented with
short-term objectives in mind. The results and impact of some
of these projects are minimal and seldom monitored.
• Contribution by SMMEs to Sector Programs – Due to their
relative size and the lack of available resources, SMMEs often
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