South Africa has been elected onto the executive council of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the Radio Regulations Board (RRB) at the Plenipotentiary Conference in Dubai. 

Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services Dr Siyabonga Cwele led the SA delegation at the ITU conference, which is the highest decision-making body of the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector in the United Nations (UN).

South Africa, which will serve in both structures until 2022, received a lot of support from the 179 member States that attended the conference, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. 

“We are excited to be elected onto the ITU Council and the RRB. We accept this enormous task with humility. We shall use the positions to push for the developmental agenda alongside the African Union’s Agenda 2063,” Cwele said after he successfully guided the country through the election onto the ITU and RRB.

The ITU Council has oversight of implementation of decisions of the Plenipotentiary Conferences and manages the affairs of the union between these conferences.

South Africa will use its position in the 48-member organisation to promote development, "including the acceleration of broadband roll-out to support the Sustainable Development Goals, advocating for support of developing, least-developed, land-locked countries and small islands", the ministry said. 

The country, among others, will lobby against monopolisation in the manufacturing and software industries, work to influence the agenda for spectrum, which is significant in the roll-out of universal broadband and broadcasting services to reach all citizens of the global community, the ministry added.

Mandla Mchunu will represent South Africa in the RRB, which, among others, approves procedures for applying radio regulations and  addressing matters that cannot be resolved through the application of the Radio Regulations and Rules of Procedure.  

Mchunu has over 20 years of experience in spectrum management and regulatory activities and has worked on domestic and international telecommunications/ICT matters, the ministry said.