At the inauguration of HP's Mogalakwena iCommunity project last night, Mbeki joked that he feared the meeting because he had to report back on the progress made since the last meeting a year ago.

“She is very sharp,” he said of Fiorina.

The high-powered council was established because Mbeki believes he needs high-level advice to make full use of the capability that technology has to help SA in its development. It has representatives from companies such as Cisco Systems, Ericsson, Siemens and Nokia.

The meeting, at Fancourt in the Western Cape, is to deal with the establishment of an information and communication technology (ICT) institute that government has long planned, and general issues such as e-government and IT research and development.

Its local equivalent, the National Commission, will also meet to focus on the development of a three-year action plan. At the same time, the government Department of Communications is to host a meeting to discuss the ICT/e-strategy demanded by the recently enacted Electronic Communications and Transactions law which has been in operation since the end of August.

“It is envisaged that the input received from the council will guide SA in its endeavours to bridge the digital divide, build a sustainable human resources base, and attract local and foreign direct investments,” government says.

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