Statement on the appointment of Mr Andile Ngcaba into the Panel on the Future of Global Internet Cooperation

20 November 2013 

The Ministry of Communications congratulates Mr Andile Ngcaba, the former Director-General of the Department, on his appointment into the Panel on the Future of Global Internet Cooperation.

The Panel was formed by multilateral institutions that have an interest in the Internet, including the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. The Panel will look at complex and cross-national issues such as principles for global Internet cooperation, proposed frameworks for such cooperation and a roadmap for future Internet Governance challenges.

“Andile Ngcaba’s appointment into the Panel ensures that South Africa and the continent have direct access to important discussions on future of the Internet. We all recognise that the internet can improve the efficiency of delivering Government services and improve the lives of citizens across the world. International platforms such as this Panel, will help all of us to deal with challenges that include governance and cyber threats,” said Deputy Minister of Communications Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams.

She said that given that the internet is borderless, only collaboration between States, Civil Society and the private sector can ensure greater online security where people have more confidence in transacting online.

“We, as African member-states, have realised the great contribution internet brings and therefore agreed to collectively promote and protect Africa geographic and heritage names, traditional knowledge and cultural expressions, and use of country top level domain (ccTLDs) as they are critical national resources and economic assets that will bring financial, economic and social-cultural benefits to Africa. We will continue to support the registration of DotAfrica by ICANN, which is pioneered, led by, owned by and operated by Africans.”

“We wish Ngcaba well as he champions the interests of the continent on the global stage,” said Ndabeni-Abrahams.