Widening the digital divide: A study on the possible impact of the convergence Bill of 2003 on the South African cybereconomy

Business does not exist in a vacuum. The external environment is either conducive to or stifles business growth. Van Rooyen (2004: 399) points out that ‘E-business has important implications for South Africa as an emerging economy, as it creates the possibility of better access to various financial resources and eventually increased economic activity. This will affect all sectors in the economy and may lead to generally improved business infrastructure for the country as a whole and for individual business, local authorities and government treasury departments. This is especially important for South Africa as a developing country, which in turn, will make an important contribution to rapid alleviation of private and more rapid reform in the long run’. A major determinant of the external environment in which business operates is legislation and regulation. It therefore follows that any regulation or legislation pertaining to E-business must be conducive to growth. The draft Convergence Bill of 2003 is to be tabled in Parliament during its next session. In this paper it is argued that in its present form, the proposed Convergence Bill is in fact detrimental to organisational growth, a potential kiss of death for E-enabled organisations.