ICT to 'transform society'

Communications minister Dina Pule yesterday announced there will be an ICT Policy Colloquium in March.

The Department of Communications (DOC) says the colloquium will provide input into the National ICT Policy Framework, which is intended to ensure a competitive local ICT industry.

Pule emphasised that her aim is to provide the policy framework that will enable ICT to transform society, while also building up a strong ICT industry in SA.

The minister, along with deputy minister Stella Ndabeni, met the ICT industry working group for the first time yesterday.

The working group was formed in order to craft a systematic response to the call by president Jacob Zuma when he declared 2011 the year of job creation, says the department.

It adds that the working group has, therefore, committed to implement the ICT Industry Competitiveness and Job Creation Compact, which was signed by the industry and the Department of Communications (DOC) in July.

The compact commits to delivering 100% broadband penetration across the whole country and creating a million additional jobs in the ICT industry by 2020.

Pule asked the working group to help identify issues for consideration by the colloquium.

She also announced the release of the policy directive focusing on high-demand spectrum for broadband and the digital dividend spectrum resources.

The minister committed herself to the 2020 goals that were agreed to by former minister Roy Padayachie.

She paid tribute to the work ICT industry leaders are doing to make the compact a reality, and said the working group has the potential to inaugurate a new era of co-operation between the department and the ICT industry, to the benefit of both, as well as SA as a whole.

“We are very conscious of the fact that the vision for 2020 can only be attained through effective partnerships.”

Pule outlined a new policy paradigm, based on the participation of both the industry and the public at large, to revolutionise access to services and infrastructure.

She emphasised the key role ICT would play in helping to realise the economic growth paradigm identified by the National Planning Commission.

The minister encouraged industry to support the fulfilment of these objectives, and stressed the importance of demonstrating actual achievement and progress in short to medium term.

The minister also asked the members of the working group actively to look for ways of empowering both the youth and rural people through ICT. She also called on the industry to work towards gender balance.

Pule said it is particularly important for the industry to find ways of lowering the cost of communication in order to ensure that ICT's ability to transform and empower the lives of people is realised.

Pule reminded the working group members about the department's six flagship projects.

The first is the development of a national broadband plan to guide the roll-out of high-speed Internet access in the country.

There needs to be a successful migration from analogue broadcasting to digital broadcasting; the Postbank must be established as a subsidiary of the South African Post Office; the ICT Rural Development Strategy must be finalised; and one million jobs must be created in the ICT industry by 2020.

The final project focuses on the development and implementation of the e-Skills Programme.