South Africa has made
considerable progress in ICT development in all fronts. The South Africa IT Strategy
Project (SAITIS) was developed by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department
of Communication, in consultation with the private sector and other stakeholders. SAITIS
has four fundamental objectives: (1) to create a robust, growing and sustainable ICT
sector; (2) to increase use of ICT as an enabler for socio-economic development; (3) to
create a knowledgeable and growing ICT workforce; and (4) to create a world-class culture
of ICT innovation. Specific initiatives sponsored by SAITIS include: providing Internet
access in schools; creating an academy for software development training; providing
community Internet access points; and installing public information terminals for access
to government services.
South Africa has been able to extend its base of ICT usage with the development of
infrastructure and applications made available through government community initiatives,
as well as by the private sector, which have extended both usage as well as training to
its employees. South Africa has the largest GSM market outside Europe and is ranked among
the top 20 globally in terms of Internet users. The government has also increased the
degree of computerization of its own operations: it has become the standard for every
government official to have access to a computer and to use email to communicate with
other departments. However, not every citizen is enabled to use ICT because access and
technology are only available in primary and secondary towns and not in remote and rural
areas. ICT education is improving in some instances but not all schools have
infrastructure and computers, and even when they do, they fall into disrepair without
maintenance. There is a shortage of IT-literate staff to use and maintain them.
South Africa has also launched a number of high profile projects in ICT innovation. The
Gauteng provincial government announced the set up of innovation hub between Johannesburg
and Pretoria with active involvement of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
(CSIR) and the University of Pretoria. The project aims to encourage high-growth,
innovation-led and knowledge-based businesses, to stimulate and support technological
entrepreneurship and to provide access to regional knowledge. It focuses on Spatial
Development Initiative (SDI) and installation of infrastructure and high-bandwidth
networks for demonstration and piloting for cutting-edge technologies. South Africa has
also announced the Cape Information Technology Initiative (CITI) that intends to build
Cape Town as an intelligent city.
A development that has received a recent global attention was the announcement by
President Thabo Mbeki of the establishment of two high-profile task teams to assist the
government in closing the "digital divide". Members include: Larry Ellison of
Oracle, Carly Fiorina of Hewlett Packard, Esther Dyson of Edventure Holdings, Craig McCaw
of Teledisc, Prof Manuell Castell of University of California, Serge Tchuruk of Alcatel,
Rajendra Pawar of NIIT India and David Potter of Psion. The group is expected to advise
local experts in expanding use of ICT for competitiveness in South Africa. South Africa
recently established an e-Africa commission to promote the use of ICTs for social and
economic development in Africa. |
