ICT leader challenges industry

Johannesburg, 27 Oct 2005

Professor Basie von Solms has challenged the ICT industry and government to boost the quality and quantity of research facilities in the country.

Von Solms received the ICT Leadership accolade at an industry awards ceremony in Sandton last night.

Ntsundeni Madzunya, CIO the SA Post Office, was named IT Personality of the Year 2005.

The newly introduced ICT Social Responsibility Award went to Kobus van Wyk, manager of the Khanya Technology in Education project at the Western Cape Department of Education.

The awards were presented by the Computer Society of South Africa (CSSA) in association with ITWeb, Gartner Africa and the Gordon Institute of Business Science, at the CSSA president`s annual banquet.

Others shortlisted for the awards were Barry Dwolatzky, professor of software engineering, School of Electrical & Information Engineering, Wits University; Thoko Mokgosi-Mwantembe, CEO of HP South Africa; and Masedi Molosiwa, executive director of Cape IT Initiative.

[VIDEO]Speaking on behalf of the judging panel, Rene Jacobs, MD of Gartner SA, said the selection was a daunting task for the judges, given the finalists` spectrum of talent.

"They all share a passion for industry transformation, education and skills development, and believe SA has the talent to become a provider of world-class ICT solutions."

Serving SA

"This award has elevated what we are doing at the Post Office and is now a challenge for us to do more through this recognition. In order to achieve something of this nature, one must work hard but also work smart," said Madzunya on receiving the IT Personality award, which recognises exceptional individual contribution in the past year.

[VIDEO]He admitted that overhauling service delivery systems at the Post Office had not been an easy task, but was very rewarding. "My dream is to bring services closer to the people of SA. We need to realise that technology is only a tool with which we can make our lives easier. My vision is to have a single architecture through which all our services can run," he said.

Madzunya`s achievements led to the SA Post Office winning the technology accolade at the World Mail Awards in 2004. He spearheaded the development of the Post Office`s new banking, electronic mail delivery and e-billing systems. He says the new biometric payment system is now used by 180 000 social grant beneficiaries and before the end of October, every Post Office in the country will be online.

Issuing a challenge

[VIDEO]Von Solms, on receiving the award for "exceptional thought leadership qualities and sustainable contribution to the development and growth of the South African IT industry", immediately took the platform to challenge academia, industry and government, also committing himself to improving the quality and quantity of research facilities in the country.

A self-proclaimed advocate for the inclusion of academia in the development of the local ICT industry, Von Solms believes industry, government and academia should form a body that would serve as a platform for all three entities to discuss the issues facing the industry, enabling them to work together in filling critical gaps.

"I am challenging industry at large, myself included, to do something about the lack of research recourse in SA and I intend to use this platform that I have been given to highlight that and ensure there is a change."

[VIDEO]At the helm of the Academy of Information Technology at the University of Johannesburg, Von Solms has researched the skills gaps that have to be filled in the industry. He has concluded that SA has talent that needs to be given time to grow and mature.

Social responsibility prize

Van Wyk, winner of the ICT Social Responsibility Award, echoed Von Solms` call for industry to do more in ensuring skills gaps are filled through education.

[VIDEO]"This award is a stamp of approval that we are doing something right. It has highlighted our mission and given us an opportunity to include corporates in what we are doing in terms of social responsibility."

Through the Khanya project, Van Wyk has contributed towards using technology to enhance the level of education that learners in the Western Cape are receiving, "in the poorest of the poor communities in the Western Cape".

Historically, implementation of ICT in schools in Africa was not successful, said Van Wyk. "Khanya`s biggest achievement is that we have proven it can work.

[VIDEO]"I have learnt over the years that the only way to ensure the sustainability of a community-based project is to ensure the community has ownership of that project."

Khanya has helped 400 schools to build computer facilities; 13 000 PCs have been deployed, 10 000 educators have been trained and 340 000 learners are assisted by the use of technology to improve in maths, science and other school subjects.