Deputy Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services Ms Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams calls for increased co-ordination of CSI investment to create opportunities for the youth
The Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services Deputy Minister Ms Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams met with Information and Communication Technologies State-Owned Entities as a first step in aligning the sector's Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiatives for greater impact.
"We are in an economic cycle that is characterized by low growth. The sector spends millions of Rands each year on CSI programmes. The country can benefit if we pull all our resources together to create economic and developmental opportunities for the youth in undeserved communities. We need to derive greater impact from the money that is spent on these programs , " said Ndabeni-Abrahams.
The meeting was attended by representatives from Telkom, Sentech, Broadband Infraco, SA Post Office, SITA, USAASA,. ZADNA, NEMISA and Icasa.
Deputy Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams said the CSI programmes should be aligned such that they can open opportunities for SMMEs that can create jobs.
This is one example of an immediate challenge that can be addressed by improving the coordination of CSI investment.
The Department views CSI as one of the levers that can be used to prepare the country to meaningfully participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This can be achieved through providing digital and ICT skills to as many people as possible.
"We need to rollout CSI programmes in a way that shapes the career choices of our youth, especially young girls. An investment in the young and fresh minds will help us because the youth tend to be innovative and can solve some of our unique problems as a country and a continent, " said Deputy Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams.
She said the next step will be to engage the entire industry to jointly plan interventions through CSI programmes.
"We need to come up with a sectoral plan of how the sector is contributing towards achieving the goals of the National Development Plan," she said.
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