Programme Director
Premier Ace Magashule
Esteemed guests
Ladies and gentlemen
I consider it a very special honour to be invited to address the Free State Provincial Government ICT Summit. I have no doubt that the discussions and interactions over the next three days will be fruitful and will set this province on the path towards an information revolution.
This eminent gathering of industry experts, trend-makers and influencers from the South African communications family will undoubtedly be to the benefit of the people of the Free State.
Friends,
My task is a relatively simple one. I hope to give you all food for thought and to get our collective neurons firing about the infinite possibilities that ICT can bring. I have noted with interest some of the topics that will be discussed today, namely:
- Advancing Service Delivery through ICT
- A Case Study on the rollout of Free WiFi in Tshwane
- The Role of ICT in Education
- ICT Security in Government
And last but by no means least the Future of Digital Broadcasting.
The final topic on the Future of Digital Broadcasting is of particular interest to me and my department. I am sure that most of you are aware that South Africa will this year make the switch from analogue to digital television.
Our march towards digital migration is nothing short of ground breaking, and it will open the exciting world and possibilities of communication to millions.
Our Digital Migration Policy will see a rollout of public services channels for youth, women, and education and egovernment services. We are most excited about the potential of egovernment services which will unlock access to basic internet services and digital information for millions of our people.
The process is well advanced and the migration process will begin to take shape in the next few months. Later this year we will be launching our digital migration awareness campaign in the Free State to explain the benefits of digital television beginning with the rollout of STB’s to identified poor households and areas bordering Lesotho which may experience broadcast interference.
In keeping with government’s policy to grow small businesses, STB installation companies will be drawn from local communities in the Free State creating work opportunities for our youth to enter the ICT sector.
In March 2015 Cabinet approved the final amendments to the Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy which paved the way for the implementation of digital migration.
Cabinet further approved that government should provide free set-top-boxes to the five million households who cannot afford to buy the set top boxes.
The migration will release valuable spectrum which will allow for more television channels, and will also result in job creation in the communication and creative industry sectors and better quality broadcasting.
Programme Director,
Information and Communications Technology or ICT as we all know is a dynamic and rapid technological field. In ICT change is constant and what was yesterday’s breakthrough is tomorrow’s reality.
When we attained our democracy in 1994, South Africa was opened to a whole new world of technological possibilities. The ICT sector has been at the forefront of this revolution and continues to lead the way in uncovering new frontiers.
Governments all over the world are grappling with how to use the ICT benefit to the betterment of their people. We too must find ways to make ICT work for all South Africans.
We dare not allow a new divide to develop between those with access to information and technology, and those who don’t enjoy access.
The recently released Statistics South Africa General Household Survey 2014 shows that 48.7 per cent of South African households had at least one member who had access to or used the internet either at home, work, place of study or internet cafes. It shows that access using all available means stands at 48.7 per cent in the Free State. It also found that only one-tenth of households had access to the internet at home. Predictably it found that access is much wider in metropolitan areas as opposed to rural areas.
These statistics are encouraging on the one hand but deeply troubling on the other. Too many of our citizens are still denied access to information and the life changing benefits it brings.
Therefore government in partnership with industry and civil society has to find ways to make ICT relevant and accessible to more South Africans. The roll out of free Wi-Fi across large metro areas is a start, but we cannot stop there.
It is our duty as national and provincial government to ensure create an enabling environment for communication services to contribute more effectively towards improving people’s lives in the workplace, in their homes, and communities.
We must create platforms for South Africans to access information, education and cultural content in the language or languages of their choice.
This Summit provides an opportunity for all of us to address the pressing need of ensuring that ICT is used to improve service delivery by Government. It also cannot just be a one-way street. We are a caring and listening government, therefore we must find ways to use technology to give citizens a greater voice in determining their service needs.
We can all agree that the media sector plays a key economic, social and cultural role in bridging the gap between government and citizens. New technologies are transforming the media landscape and creating new opportunities for the ICT industry. However this growing synergy between traditional media, internet and social media has highlighted the need to address the twin issues of ownership and content in both print and broadcasting media.
Since the advent of democracy the print media in particular has remained dominated by a few companies with insignificant participation by historically disadvantaged individuals and companies. Management, control and influence on content therefore must be diversified to allow new market entrants.
We intend to develop policies and strategies that will transform the media industry so it more accurately reflects the aspirations of the public. These will include, amongst others, the development of a media transformation policy and a community media support strategy. This is to strengthen government’s current commitment to support community media through capacity building, infrastructure and advertising.
Diversity and plurality at an ownership level, content development that reflects the South African story – particularly news, language, information and analysis – will continue to inform the key principles underpinning our policy and legislative work.
Esteemed colleagues,
Humankind is standing on the cusp of an information and technology revolution. The question remains how we harness this potential to the benefit of all. It is often said that completion drives invention, we must therefore ensure that our ICT sector is both competitive and robust as this will boost investment by the private sector.
I have no doubt that sustained investment will give rise to greater innovation and development of the ICT sector to the benefit of us all.
Friends,
Let me assure you Government has already identified the communications sector as a critical growth sector. The National Development Plan recognises that the ongoing development of quality communications infrastructure, services, content and applications, is key to the rapid economic, social and cultural development of the country.
Together with our partners in BRICS, we are beginning to put in place the building blocks of relevant development communication to reach the masses of our citizens, driven by our respective ICT industries. I am looking forward to inviting some of the participating organisations here today to accompany a delegation to the Russian Federation to explore partnerships with your counterparts in the ICT industry.
I therefore urge all delegates assembled here today to use this platform as a roadmap for the further rollout of ICT in the Free State.
During my engagements with fellow South Africans through the izimbizo process, I have been fortunate enough to hear first-hand what our people want. South Africans are crying out for information and the social and economic benefit it brings.
Let us not leave our people wanting; let us use this platform to build an ICT legacy that will help to unleash the inherent educational, social and economic capital of our people.
Together we can put the Free State on the path to an ICT revolution and move South Africa forward.
Over the next three days the ICT professionals, industry leaders, academics, government officials, policy-makers and thought leaders gathered here have a unique opportunity to find solutions to the challenges we face.
Thank you for listening, I look forward to exciting and well informed deliberations.
