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80 000 phones handed out

Pretoria – In a bid to beef up health services and safety and security over the World Cup and beyond, the communications department on Tuesday handed 80 000 cellphones to the police and health ministries.

The initiative was part of government's aim to improve communication to address the country's health issues and the police's ability to fight crime, Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda said at a ceremony in Pretoria.

"These units will be allocated to officials who will be part of the FIFA 2010 World Cup Soccer operations. This forms part of the department of communication's contribution towards the World Cup event in support of the safety and emergency services operation," he said.

The 80 000 phones were part of about 250 000 the department expected to allocate in the long term.

The department would also be improving access to many rural schools, hospitals, clinics and police stations to provide internet connectivity.

Providing services

“All these obligations were tied up with the granting of 3G (third generation) spectrum to provide services to the people of South Africa.”

Nyanda said the programme would also help pin down actual HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and crime statistics.

“This allocation provides an opportunity to assign units to our officials in these areas and to assist them as a communication tool for speedy and reliable information.”

Receiving the 10 000 initial phones for the health department, Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said 9 000 lay councillors, 2 000 nursing volunteers, among others, needed connectivity.

“All of a sudden we are now going to work smoothly. I am very excited, I just want to grab my share and run away with it.”

Significant hand-over

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said the hand-over was particularly significant only days before the kick-off of the world cup.

“It is here and police have gone beyond feeling it, but are touching it… as police we are confident that the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be safe and secure.

“To us this is more than donation of mobile phones, it is a motivating factor and a boost in the fight against crime.”

He said the donation could also be seen as a catalyst for improved confidence in the police by society at large and foreign visitors.

The initiative, spearheaded by the communications department, was a joint one with MTN, Cell C, Vodacom and number of other "strategic partners".
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