Subscribe

R1.1bn allocated for Joburg ICT upgrades

Simnikiwe Mzekandaba
By Simnikiwe Mzekandaba, IT in government editor
Johannesburg, 31 May 2016
Joburg will spend over R1 billion on modernising software and ICT infrastructure during the 2016/2017 financial year.
Joburg will spend over R1 billion on modernising software and ICT infrastructure during the 2016/2017 financial year.

The City of Johannesburg will spend R1.1 billion on ICT infrastructure upgrades and renewals for the 2016/17 financial year.

This was revealed during the city's budget vote speech by member of the mayoral committee responsible for finance, Geoffrey Makhubo.

Last year, R1.2 billion was allocated to the city's group corporate shared services department, while R1.1 billion has been allocated for the 2016/17 year.

Despite reducing the operating budget for the group corporate shared services department, which focuses on software and ICT infrastructure modernisation, renewal of computer hardware citywide and WiFi hotspots, the city says it will continue to raise economic democracy by bridging the digital divide.

Commenting on whether this year's funds will be enough for ICT infrastructure upgrades, BMI-TechKnowledge MD Denis Smit says: "There is never sufficient money but this is a significant investment and very welcome."

Smart city in the making

At last year's budget vote speech, Makhubo noted the importance of creating a smart city and said Joburg would prioritise its smart city agenda. The City of Joburg plans to become smart by 2040, with the City of Tshwane following 15 years later.

Executive mayor Parks Tau also noted during his State of the City address the effectiveness of smart policing in the city. Tau stated the City of Joburg will continue to invest in smart policing to help build a safe city.

According to Makhubo, part of the this year's R1.1 billion will be used to accelerate the roll out of smart city initiatives like smart policing by increasing the penetration of WiFi hotspots.

The City of Joburg pales in comparison to metros like the City of Tshwane in terms of free WiFi hotspots that have been rolled out around the city. There are more than 700 connected free WiFi hotspots in Tshwane, while Johannesburg has just over 408 free WiFi hotspots.

Smit says the City of Tshwane has amply demonstrated the benefits of WiFi rollout and the take-up by residents has been remarkable. "WiFi is a technology that can be rolled out very fast at low cost and is increasingly seen as a rewarding service for residents of these cities.

"We believe investments in public WiFi will increase as a quick way of closing the digital divide," he says.

George Kalebaila, IDC senior research manager for telecoms and media in Africa, says although Tshwane has a much more advanced WiFi rollout plan, Johannesburg's broadband network is much greater.

"The City Joburg has been very aggressive in rolling out broadband infrastructure, integrating ICT citywide and using IOT [the Internet of things] for various basic services like bin collection, parking and crime prevention," he says.

This shows evidence that Johannesburg has a clear plan in creating a smart city and providing basic connectivity for citizens to bridge the digital divide, states Kalebaila.

Share