South Africa - a minister, eventually

Matsepe-Casaburri to step down

Communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri will not be part of the next Cabinet, after the 2009 general elections.

After delivering her department's budget speech in Parliament today, the 70-year-old Matsepe-Casaburri said a combination of her age, a desire to do non-governmental organisation work, and not having asked to be part of the next government means she will step down.

She has been minister of communications since 2000.

Matsepe-Casaburri is the third cabinet minister to indicate she will not be part of the next government. Minister of the presidency Essop Pahad and public enterprises minister Alec Erwin have both said they will not be part of any new government.

Both of these ministers have had considerable influence in the overall ICT sector, with Pahad being credited with the formation of the government's communication and information service, and Erwin having championed the creation of Broadband Infraco.

Matsepe-Casaburri said: “I am at an age where I say I ought to go and sit back, but there is a lot of work I could do better outside of where I sit. In particular, with NGOs and children, and teaching about the advantages and disadvantages of ICTs.

“In particular, I want to encourage an appreciation of cyber terrorism and threats that go with it.”

She said that, because of her struggle background, the communication need of the poor was always foremost in her mind.

“Because ICTs change their lives fundamentally and statistics show that something is happening and, while it may not be at the fastest rate, change is happening.”

Matsepe-Casaburri said her two biggest achievements, while in office, were to increase the broad availability of ICT and getting other government departments on board to use ICT in delivering their mandates.