Jo-Ansie van Wyk reported that the South African delegation wishes to express our gratitude to address the Committee on this agenda item. The South African government places great importance on the link between space and society. It is for this reason that our government is leading the way in the application and development of space technology for the benefit of our society. In this regard, we would like to report on the following activities and achievements that our country has accomplished during the past year. Chairperson Space technology enables us to reach remote rural areas in our country to improve human development. Since March 2000, the South African government has established 86 tele-medicine sites across the country. At the inaugural Southern Africa Telemedicine Conference in Cape Town in September 2010, the South African government indicated that these telemedicine sites offer services such as tele-radiology, teleultrasonography, telepathology, teleophthalmology and teleeducation. Apart from these national sites, South Africa has also signed telemedicine agreements with other Africa states, including Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo DRC. Chairperson Few institutions in South Africa exemplify the positive link between space and society such as Sentech Limited - hereafter Sentech, a government-owned entity. Through the provision of telecommunications services to public, private and community radio and television broadcasters, Sentech daily touches the lives of millions of South Africans. Nowhere was this more vividly illustrated than during South Africa’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 2010 when Sentech also performed an expanded service, that is to the international community through its provision of communications services to FIFA and broadcasters of the event.
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