Thank you, Program Director
Representatives of various associations
Ladies and gentlemen
Good morning to you all
On the 1st of April 2021, the Department published a draft data and cloud policy for public comments for a period of 30 days. We receive a request to extend the closing date for public comments – which we agreed to. Since the extension, the Department to date has received over 17 000 submissions which the Department is currently reviewing and analysing. To enrich the discussions, the Department has called this colloquium so that we can engage further. Please allow me to convey our sincere appreciation for the interest and contribution that you have made and still going to make towards the development of this policy.
Program Director;
On 5 November 2020 ITWeb reported on key findings of the Harambee Mapping of Digital and ICT Roles and Demand for South Africa Survey to the effect that South Africa’s digital economy can unlock 66 000 jobs in 2021.I believe this number can easily be exceeded if as a country we focus our efforts and energies on building a digital economy, because it is largely an area where new jobs and job opportunities can be created as it does not rely on old manufacturing strategies but is rather driven by digital technologies and innovations. It is in this context that the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies has identified lever to strengthen and sustain South Africa’s evolution towards the Digital Economy.
Let me first express my appreciation for all those who took time to draft detailed input to the policy as part of the public consultation process. Inputs received represent all stakeholders in our sector, as well as other community interest groups. We have also noted that about 90% of the input came from DearSouthAfrica though we wish the participants could have provided details about why they are unhappy with interventions outlined in the policy, instead of largely indicating they cannot trust government with their data. It suffices to say that we do not intend, through this policy, to expropriate anyone’s data or spy on anyone.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have picked up few glaring issues that you have raised about the policy. These are:
- The proposal to establish a High-Performance Computing Data processing Centre, mostly arguing that we are trying to create another SOC, that government does not have the capacity to run it and that it is government’s attempt to compete with the private sector to provide cloud services, which is not sustainable due to limitations of the fiscus. Other concerns relate to the data security threats relating to the centralization of government data in one place.
- The proposal to establish the State Digital Infrastructure (SDIP) Company, with different perspectives expressed, among which is that the role of connecting government and government institutions should be played by the private sector.
- The proposal relating to the Open Data Strategy, with concerns about data security, likely based on the belief that everything will be open, which is not the case.
- Localization and cross-border data flows- There are concerns about the issue of Critical Information Infrastructure (CIF), specifically that the definition of such infrastructure is too wide and could be an impediment to investment as most of the infrastructure could be unnecessarily classified under this definite, prohibiting free flow of information. Under localisation there is also concern about the obligation to keep a copy of the data transferred outside South African borders domestically. The concern is that this could impose an unnecessary cost burden to many multinationals and might therefore also discourage investment. Lastly, there is a perception that this intervention can also have a negative impact on the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.
- Competition- There is an argument that there is no strong reason to push for the change in competition law because there have not been clearly identified competition issues around which there could be concerns.
- Governance and institutional mechanisms- There are different perspectives about the Data and Cloud Governance arrangement, which might be inadvertently agreeing to our proposal to establish the Data Advisory Committee comprising people from inside and outside government.
Lastly, some inputs raise content and format issues that require consideration by our Policy Team, and I am sure they will consider them to enhance the quality of the policy document.
The above is not an exhaustive list of inputs, but rather the types of inputs that come frequently in many of the representations. There are also inputs supportive of the policy and providing additional proposals on the strengthening of our policy interventions. All in all, we appreciate the fact that you seized the opportunity to have your name/organization to engage in this process of participative democracy.
Many of you will know that I have consistently led a campaign towards a digital skills revolution even before I became a Minister. Immediately after taking over the Ministry office, I worked closely with the President to establish the 4IR Commission, whose work has been concretized into the PC4IR Strategic Implementation Plan. In support of the Economy Recovery Plan initiated by the Presidency we further developed the Digital Economy Masterplan, which sets out the aspirational vision of what the digital economy can deliver in South Africa and a practical action plan for achieving this vision. The sector has been and continued to be consulted on all these initiatives because they are anchored on collaboration with stakeholders in both our sectors and other sectors of the economy.
The Digital Economy is driven by digitalization, which is the use of digital technologies and digitized data to impact how work gets done, transform how customers and companies engage and interact, and create new (digital) revenue streams. Digitalization relies primarily on data, which explain why we embarked on the draft Data and Cloud Policy as one of the important enablers for the Digital Economy. It might sound like a cliché by now, but we believe data is the critical asset to set the digital economy in motion. We therefore did not decide to develop the Data and Cloud Policy to control and direct how it should be used, but rather as an enabler for social and economic development.
Similarly, this draft policy is about reinforcing the acceleration of the rollout of digital infrastructure to reinforce a connected society. It is also about the storage and, processing and digitization of government data to create access for citizens, emerging businesses, government and even the private sector. The government data referred to must be accessed data in useable form to innovate, develop digital products and services that improve the way we do business, interact with government and each other, support evidence-based policy-making and ultimately enhance service delivery by government. Furthermore, it is about creating a feasible environment for data sharing and interoperability to strengthen cooperation and collaboration among government departments and state-owned enterprises to satisfy the unlimited needs of government and citizens. The cooperation and collaboration is done through optimization of existing capacities and capabilities of other government and government institutions to create required capacity for data collection, storage and processing.
The draft Policy also recognizes the need for data security and protection, hence its reinforcement of Cybersecurity protection of personal information, including the recommendation for review where necessary to support data protection and security and a data driven economy. It is about recognition of what already exists and implementing necessary enhancements to make it better.
At the beginning of my speech I spoke about skills development, which I believe is a critical intervention to enable economic participation and inclusion, as it not only increases the prospect for employment, but also creates capabilities for entrepreneurship and self-employment. This policy again reinforces the issue of skills and capacity development at different levels, including government to create a digitally transformed society through the implementation of National Digital and Future Skills Strategy published by the Department in 2020.
As government we also recognise the importance and availability of skills that exist outside State institutions, hence the policy proposal about the Data Advisory Council that will draw experts from government, private sector and academia, among others, to contribute towards certain aspects of data governance, including the development of standards relating to the management of data.
The Digital Economy evolves at a faster pace and has the potential to render many innovations obsolete within a short period. The policy asserts the role of the Department of Science and Innovation to lead South Africa Research and Development in collaboration with DCDT to accelerate inclusive economic growth, make the economy more competitive and improve people’s daily lives. The Policy further, propose the establishment of a dedicated research and development capacity which is critical for the development of human capital to derive value from data and cloud and the establishment of world standard and reliable cyber-infrastructure.
Lastly, I would like to clarify the issue of Data Localization. It is important to recognize that we have a responsibility to protect the security and sovereignty of our Republic, and as such we unapologetically insist that Critical Information Infrastructure data (all ICT systems, data systems, data bases, networks (including people, buildings, facilities and processes), that are fundamental to the effective operation of the Republic) be stored within the borders of South Africa.
Kindly also note that there is no intention to force the private sector to store their data in the High-Performance Computing Data Processing Centre. We are clearly indicating that government data will be stored there, while we will strengthen and preserve the confidentiality and security of the stored data in a manner that will encourage other parties to store their data there.
There are other specific aspects of the policy intervention that the team will articulate as they present. It will however be important, and I am not saying this to block any critique, that as you engage on this Draft Policy, you also provide constructive suggestions as to how it can be better positioned to serve the purpose for which it was developed: “To enable all South Africans to derive socio-economic value out of data”.
Hence, we saw it fit as government to organize this virtual colloquium so that we do not singularly examine your input and decide what to discard, but rather to understand the rationale for the positions you are taking in respect of this policy.
I thank you
