Statement on the North West Provincial public hearings on the National Integrated ICT Policy Green Paper
The Department of Communications kicked off the provincial public hearings on the National Integrated Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Policy Green Paper in Rustenburg in the North West.
The public hearings seek input from all South Africans about how legislation can be changed to take into account the sweeping changes in ICT in recent years and lay a foundation for a more established knowledge economy.
“It has become increasingly clear that if you want to grow the economy and develop, you have to strengthen ICT. But we must strive to create a digital economy that serves our developmental goals and creates rather than loses jobs. Of course we have to update our legislation, but we must also have a measure of flexibility to take account of changes in ICT that take place all the time,” said Communications Minister Yunus Carrim.
The North West Finance MEC Paul Sebegoe encouraged the delegates to contribute to the hearings because their ideas might end up in the final legislation.
“The public hearing is an opportunity to close the short comings of existing legislation. We need to identify ways in which we can use ICT to improve the economy of the province in areas such as tourism, agriculture and mining. The provinces still has significant ICT services gaps in the rural areas and this hampers the ability of people in villages to access ICT,” said MEC Sebegoe.
Sebegoe said the North West Government has several initiatives to bridge the digital divide in the province over time. The public hearings discussed ICT skills shortages at municipal level, the strategic positioning of ICT within government and collaboration between government and institutions of higher learning to encourage innovation in the North West.
Other provincial workshops will be held on the following dates:
1. Mpumalanga - 14 March 2014
2. Eastern Cape - 20 March 2014
3. Limpopo - 20 March 2014
4. KwaZulu-Natal - 24 March 2014
5. Western Cape - 25 March 2014
6. Northern Cape - 27 March 2014
7. Free State - 27 March 2014
