South Africa Goes for Open Standards and ODF
The South African government has decided on the Open Document Format (ODF) as its standard for internal communications.
South Africa defines its requirements in its Mininimum Interoperability Standards for Information Systems in Government (MIOS) document. The latest release version 4.1 of MIOS (PDF) includes the ISO-certified ODF and a definition of open standards in general. ODF Version 1.0 or newer is the recommended format for texts, spreadsheets and presentations.
The Minister responsible for MIOS, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, defines open standards as managed by non-commercial organisations among other criteria. Third parties should be involved in all decisions on ongoing development. South Africa also includes free access and free distribution among its requirements.
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