Keynote address delivered by the Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Dr. Siyabonga Cwele (MP) at the 11th edition of the Government Annual Technology Conference (Govtech) at Gallagher Convention Centre, Midrand, Gauteng
Thank you programme director,
Let me start by acknowledging Premier David Makhura,
Hon. Deputy Minister, Professor Hlengiwe Mkhize,
Hon. Barbara Crecy, Gauteng MEC for Finance and e-Government,
Hon. Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Telecommunications and Postal Services, Ms Mmamoloko Kubayi,
Hon. Members of Parliament,
The Acting Chairperson of the SITA Board, Mr. Zukile Nomvete and all the Board Members in attendance,
The CEO and the Managing Director of the State Information Technology Agency, Dr Setumo Mohapi, and all members of his Executive Committee in attendance,
The Directors-General, and all other government top managers here today,
The captains of the industry, fellow delegates,
Distinguished guests,
Good morning. Bonjour, Thobela, Bom dia, Dumelang, Buenos dias, SanibonanI, Molweni manene namanenekazi.
From its humble beginnings just over a decade ago, the Government Technology Conference popularly known as GovTech has been the salient feature on the government’s ICT calendar. Over the years the conference has grown in stature and substance to become the thought leadership platform wherein the government, private sector and civil society engage to reflect on technological innovations designed to improve governance and service delivery.
We must anticipate societal changes, and timeously formulate solutions to our present-day problems using the agility and the flexibility of the Information and Communication Technologies to build an information society and knowledge economy.
In accordance with the historic mission of this conference the government and society must embrace the use of the ICTs to promote sustainable development.
Eleven years later we are called upon again to convene under one roof as interested stakeholders to reflect on the journey we have travelled and to begin to pose to ourselves the difficult questions of ownership, accessibility, affordability, enablement, empowerment and impact. The of the 2016 conference of “ICT for Access, Development, Growth and Innovation”, compels all its participants to take stock of how we can use ICTs to improves services delivery for citizen empowerment and to achieve the goals of the National Development Plan, African Union Agenda 2063 and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The vision of the African National Congress since its formation in 1912, has always been freeing the country from the shackles of its racist and divisive history, building a national democratic society and a developmental state. The essence of it was to progressively improve the quality of life of all South Africans. It is no wonder that in 1994 the aptly named Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) was the centre-piece of the new government policy.
In 2012 we as a nation adopted the National Development Plan which states that “by 2030 we seek to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality. We seek a country where all citizens have the capabilities to grasp the ever-broadening opportunities available. Our plan is to change the life chances of millions of our people”. In 2013 we came out with South Africa Connect, which is our national broadband policy and implementation plan. On the 28 September 2016 we approved the National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper as a mechanism for ICTs to facilitate the objectives of the NDP.
It was within this context of consistent policies that the platforms such as GovTech were conceptualized, to give inflection to the development, assimilation and adoption of technology to make the government to function better and for the citizen to be empowered and enabled – both qualitatively and quantitatively.
Regarding accessibility, we must applaud that today there is a cell-phone handset in the hands of almost each and every South African. It is even more encouraging that government has picked up the challenge of beginning to connect all the critical sectors of the public service to the internet to e-enable how people can expect, and receive government services. We deploy internet or digital services not for the convenience of public servants but all these milestones beg the question – How can these technologies improve the quality of life of the majority of the citizens?
It is against this backdrop that our ICT Whitepaper sets out a framework of how government wants to provide access to modern communications infrastructure and services to facilitate the entry of new players and meaningful participation of all citizens including those in the rural areas.
In addition, the conference subtheme “Towards inclusive Digital Agenda” is aligned to the Integrated ICT Policy White Paper as it talks to access, e-astuteness, e-government, digital economy, e-commerce, promotion of small businesses and innovation.
The goal is promote the use of ICTs to transform the relationship between citizens and government, facilitate active citizenry and achieve full potential of South Africa’s developmental goals of inclusive growth and digital society where all South Africans can safely access and create affordable and relevant content and services in the language of their choice.
The digital government or e-government is innovative use of the ICT services and platforms to link citizens and the public sector to make government processes more efficient and improve service delivery through active participation of all citizens. We have to move away from mere websites with downloadable content to interactive and responsive platforms. The success is not just moving government online but requires a change of approach, process and culture across government and making citizens aware of the benefit of using ICTs for their development.
It talks to promotion of open government and design of digital services to be accessible even to those with least digital skills and limited access devices. We must use open standards and open technologies. We must improve trust and protect personal information. We must provide citizens with digital addresses and authenticate digital signature.
There must be a single online access point for all government services. This is a task that is officially assigned to SITA. The information must, as far as possible, be in the relevant language for the citizens. The services must be progressively accessible and affordable to all. There must be massive national digital literacy and e-astuteness programme.
In short, digital inclusion talks to digital economy, e-commerce, financial inclusion and the development of relevant digital content and services.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Smart government, smart cities, smart provinces as a result of smart technologies gives an indication of the level of development we have traversed as the people and GovTech 2016 will be encouraged to explore further the nuances behind the smart revolution, in the face of growing complexities of managing and delivering of modern societies expectations.
Behind the ICT lies the potential to develop and grow. The preponderance of the internet has given rise to one of the fastest growing nodes, making the medium the most important global tool or resource at the hands of the nations to advance the socio-economic development of the people.
We must encourage all businesses to adopt ICTs. We must promote the development of SMMEs though active measures such as funding assistance, incubation, reduction of barriers to entry, BEE requirement, compliance with codes and procurement set-asides.
All barriers to entry must fall because they result in stunted growth for the small and emerging enterprises and as government we have been standing resolute in our decision to remove these barriers to entry because of unfair or anti-competitive behaviour, particularly for the SMMEs and start-ups.
Issues of economic transformation are non-negotiable and the agenda for small business development should always feature by design than by default and we are pleased that the GovTech 2016 has heeded the message and took efforts to elevate the issues of SMMEs to the fore. I thank the Chair and SITA for the increased participation of small and medium sized businesses.
Collusion by the bigger role players to restrict the market potential of the SMMEs will continue to be frowned upon by government because either way you may want to justify collusion the outcome is anti-competitive behaviour and this is explicitly corruption. Market bullying by the top players at the expense of others is a complete no-no and the involvement of the Competition Commission in the GovTech programme is a welcome relief and the message we believe will be succinct, pinpointed and strong, without fear or favour.
It is for this reason that our ICT White Paper recognizes the role that robust and fair competition can have in facilitating universal service and access by among others addressing the market inefficiencies, promoting investment in the ICT sector and facilitating innovation.
Inherent in the ICT space is the ability to manage the countless rims of data, some of which are very personal and private. Like with any new economic frontiers, the ICT brings with it the technology that is attractive to the would-be cyber criminals.
From the terrorist networks and the ganglands that deal in human trafficking, to the geo political state of affairs complete with their accompanying global armed conflicts, and other cross-border crimes, the ICT have become attractive to the anti-social elements many with heinous agenda intent on unleashing wanton suffering on the innocent and the law-abiding.
The efforts by government to develop the cyber security capabilities to withstand any onslaught of cyber-attacks, which we have conceded that they are real and require a collective and coordinated response by all sectors of society otherwise we shall all be left vulnerable to the whims of hackers and other havoc-wreakers. Often it is the poor and the least literate that fall prey to the internet scams, forcing them to part with their hard earned cash, often subsidized by the state as part of a social security safety net.
I have in the past called on all our cyber soldiers to be mobilized in the face of this threat which knows no colour, nor creed nor class and will prey on our people indiscriminately with malicious intentions.
In conclusion,
We have made significant progress as a nation since the introduction of internet in South Africa 25 years ago. Our global ICT rankings are improving but we have a potential to leapfrog to the top 20 if we focus in improving utilisation, particularly in the public sector. We will make significant progress if we improve access to all our citizen and increase confidence in the use of internet.
We will shine if we develop local content and applications through promotion of domestic innovation to solve the most pressing challenges facing South Africa and the African continent. We must direct our efforts towards the development of ICT SMMEs as they offer the best prospect for relevant innovation, job creation and economic growth.
Which global company that exist today started as a big company? I guess none, as most started small or even at the back yards but soon define their solution niches and quickly grew into giants of tomorrow. Today’s giants that do not innovate will also land in the increasing graveyard of stale innovators or in the wilderness of irrelevance for not responding to the consumer needs and preferences.
I applaud the Board and the executive of SITA to keep the GovTech vision alive and thereby continue to contribute to the ongoing narrative on the issues of ICT research, development and innovations. I thank all the participants for their undying zeal to enrich our sector and make the ICT the biggest contributor to growth and development of South Africa.
I thank you!
