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Gauteng invests R1bn in broadband network

Martin Czernowalow
By Martin Czernowalow, Contributor.
Johannesburg, 03 Mar 2015
The Gauteng government plans to connect all government buildings, hospitals, schools, clinics and Thusong centres and economic hubs to high-speed broadband.
The Gauteng government plans to connect all government buildings, hospitals, schools, clinics and Thusong centres and economic hubs to high-speed broadband.

The Gauteng provincial government has invested just over R1 billion in the full realisation of the Gauteng Broadband Network over the next four years.

Delivering her Gauteng budget speech this morning, Gauteng MEC for finance Barbara Creecy noted ICT is no longer ancillary to government work, and is essential to enhance democracy, accelerate service delivery and maintain the public's trust and confidence in government.

She stated that, in a smart modern province, there is no reason why residents should not in future access government services, including learning and health, through online channels and transact with government by electronic means.

"It is for this reason that the Gauteng government is planning to connect all government buildings, hospitals, schools, clinics and Thusong centres and economic hubs to high-speed broadband over the next five years," Creecy said.

"The programme will involve digitising public services to improve the frontline experience of users and modernise the back-end systems and processes of government."

Creecy also noted the modernisation of classroom practice is critical to achieving quality education.

"The [Gauteng education] department is focusing on bringing education into the 21st century by ensuring all teachers and learners have progressive access to broadband and smart learning and teaching tools.

"Six schools were connected to the Gauteng broadband network in December 2014, with a further 80 schools being connected by March 2015. In 2015/16, we will connect a further 150 schools."

Bankable proposals

Creecy also mentioned that the province's key vehicle for sourcing alternative funding for strategic investment is the Gauteng Infrastructure Financing Agency (GIFA), which has been working to assist the Gauteng city region to develop bankable proposals to take to the market.

"In the coming financial year, GIFA will be engaging the private sector and development funding agencies for investment in some of our game-changer projects. We have already issued the request for proposals for the roof-top solar panels project and the same will follow suit for the tri-generation project," she stated.

Creecy noted that among the projects that will be included in the province's investment memorandum for potential investment would be the Gauteng ICT Smart City project, in Nasrec.

The MEC touched on the controversial issue of e-tolling in the province, revealing that once the intergovernmental team has completed its work, the Gauteng government would include a provincial contribution towards meeting the costs in the provincial adjustment appropriation later this year.

"Our premier [David Makhura] shared with us last week his confidence that the new dispensation should provide major financial relief to motorists, while simplifying the payment system to make it easy for road users to pay.

"We note that the advisory panel recommended a hybrid funding model that affirms the user-pay principle and suggests contributions by national and provincial government to ease the financial burden on motorists."

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