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Cisco lauds SA's ICT ranking

Admire Moyo
By Admire Moyo, ITWeb's news editor.
Johannesburg, 01 Sept 2014
I believe that the government has realised the true potential of ICT and the impact it can have on a country and its economy, says Alpheus Mangale, MD, Cisco SA.
I believe that the government has realised the true potential of ICT and the impact it can have on a country and its economy, says Alpheus Mangale, MD, Cisco SA.

Cisco has applauded SA for maintaining 70th position in the World Economic Forum's Global Information Technology Report (GITR) 2014, recognising the country's ability to use information and communication technology (ICT) to drive growth and enhance social and economic well-being.

The GITR, sponsored by Cisco, measures the capacity of 148 economies to leverage ICT for growth and economic and social transformation. According to the report, SA's ranking in the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) is second only to Mauritius in the sub-Saharan Africa region. It also improved its NRI score to 4.0, from 3.9 in 2013 - the highest possible score being seven.

"South Africa's increase in Internet access numbers, is leading to many important innovations that provide more and better services, such as financial services, that were previously unavailable," Alpheus Mangale, MD Cisco SA, says. "ICTs are a key source of new opportunities to foster innovation and boost economic and social prosperity, for both advanced and emerging economies."

Mangale points out that in his state of the nation address, President Jacob Zuma highlighted that the government is focusing on expanding, modernising and increasing the affordability of information and communications infrastructure and electronic communication services, including broadband and digital broadcasting.

ICT potential

"I believe that the government has realised the true potential of ICT and the impact it can have on a country and its economy. This is evident in the way government is approaching broadband access, skills development and getting a seamless information infrastructure in place," he says.

He adds that the National Broadband Policy is one of the developments that helped SA maintain its position. Through actively working towards government's vision that by 2020, 100% of South Africans will have access to broadband services, we are seeing an increased number of South Africans gaining access to broadband each year, Mangale.

Another factor that had an impact on SA maintaining its position is the National Development Plan (NDP), Mangale notes.

"Through the NDP, the government is working towards specific outcomes that will help to build SA's economy by 2030 - that includes having a seamless information infrastructure by 2030. By continuously working on building SA's information infrastructure, it enables, for example, better access to broadband. We still have a long way to go to reach these targets, but we are definitely heading in the right direction."

In order to improve on its current standing, Mangale believes that SA must continue to place the growth of information and communication technologies at the forefront of its agenda. Cisco believes that SA is at the threshold of the Internet of everything age - an era where interconnectedness will deliver incredible beneficial changes to all areas of everyday life, he notes.

SA needs to adopt an innovative new mindset to embrace the endless possibilities presented by connectedness on an unprecedented scale, says Mangale, adding that through consistently working towards achieving the 2020 broadband vision and the 2030 NDP objectives, the country will be able to improve its network readiness.

"I believe that in order to achieve the 2020 vision of 100% broadband penetration, collaboration between government and the private sector, as well as having the right policies in place, are crucial. Technology companies need to actively search for those partnerships and engagement opportunities to provide government with the expertise and direction needed to make this vision a reality."

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