Langa is set to get on the right side of the digital divide - with a new R500 000 online business centre that promises to change the face of e-development in this underprivileged community.  To be opened officially on September 30, the centre is a joint effort between the City of Cape Town, represented by Tourism Development, Arts and Culture, and the IS & T - e-Governance Office, as well as external partners including Cape Town Tourism and Microsoft SA.

Its home will be the Guga S'thebe Arts and Culture Centre, where it will add a vital new dimension to the initiative which is aimed especially at the youth, addressing their artistic, cultural and recreational needs.  It is a well-known reality that if ICT for development is not addressed, the digital divide widens; those with access and skills benefit from technology and access to information, while those without become increasingly marginalised.

Councillor Gawa Samuels, Deputy Executive Mayor of the City said:  "It was against this background that the new digital business centre would enable personal learning, but also boost skills development and offer support to entrepreneurs and small businesses in Langa".

"The importance of providing such a facility is not in the computers themselves, but about the empowerment and access opportunities that will consequently be created".  These include personal growth through learning, skills acquisition, support for entrepreneurs, and the overall contribution towards local social and economic development, as well as the consequent contribution to a stable community," she said.

Congratulating her organisation's partners on the collaborative initiative, Cape Town Tourism General Manager Mariette du Toit says the initiative is the latest in the expanding Cape Town Tourism network.  "In partnership, we're bringing visitor and membership services to the doorstep of communities of Cape Town to ensure improved access, transformation and to offer the visitor authentic and meaningful experiences," she says. 

Guga S'thebe Arts and Culture Centre opened in September 2000 and runs many successful programmes in music, dance, drama, visual art and photography, along with cultural clothing projects.

It is an ideal location for the new business centre, in an area that is home to 200 000 people and grossly under-served in terms of computer access.  A total 20 computers will be available to community members at a nominal charge of R10/hour and the centre will be open eight hours a day, six days a week.  A dedicated manager will oversee operations and provide first-line user support.  Other services on offer will include:

* Accounting services for small businesses

* Secretarial and typing services

* Business support services

* Information searches using the Internet to assist pupils and businesses with research.

* Provide information about government and other tenders to the local business community.

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Nirvesh Sooful, the City's Director Information Systems and Technology said:  "The Digital Business Centre will also be equipped with a fax machine, photocopier, scanner, document binder and digital projector.  Guga S'thebe is an ideal location for the computer centre which will provide the local community with communications, learning, skills development and business support opportunities.  We're extremely excited at the possibilities this online world will open up for the residents of Langa".