Some of government's plans concerning various sections of the ICT sector were detailed earlier this week, including the satellite programme and the importance of business process outsourcing (BPO).
In two separate parliamentary media briefings by the economic cluster of ministries on Monday, the ministers of trade and industry, science and technology and communications detailed various initiatives that have become core projects of government's programme of action.
Trade and industry minister Mandisi Mpahlwa said BPO had become one of three key areas for strategic intervention within the Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative for SA, along with a national bio-fuels strategy and an airlift strategy aimed at serving the tourist industry.
Mpahlwa said his department had developed a National Industrial Policy Framework, which Cabinet has approved, in which BPO plays a key role in obtaining government's target of halving poverty by 2014.
The minister also said while government policies had gone some way in liberalising the telecommunications industry (a key cost element in the BPO sector), more needed to be done to reduce costs.
Beef up regulators
Mpahlwa said there was a need for systematic regulation of administered prices (those set by state entities).
"The strengthening of economic regulators, including a focus on concurrent jurisdictions especially in network industries (electricity, telecommunications, rail and ports) is a high priority in the cluster's programme of action."
It was unclear from Mpahlwa's statement if it specifically referred to, or broadly included the telecoms regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA).
However, communications director-general Lyndall Shope-Mafole, later in the day, said ICASA's capacity and budget would be beefed up to ensure it meets its obligations under the Electronic Communications Act.
Satellite science
Science and technology minister Mosibudi Mangena said the Sumbandila satellite, due to launch in May, is SA's "first but certainly not the last" satellite. He added that the frequency of such launches would increase.
Mangena said SA was in discussions with other countries on the continent regarding an African constellation of satellites, although nothing confirmed had come out of these discussions yet.
Asked by the media whether it was wise for the country to fund a high-cost high-technology project such as a satellite, while the National Research Foundation struggled to get sufficient money, Mangena said it was important SA also focused on the higher end of science and technology.
During the media briefing, government said it was committed to moving the country towards a knowledge economy through increasing research and development.
Its media statement said the Department of Science and Technology had led a consistent project to increase research and development funding expenditure as a share of gross domestic product (GDP). Such funding has risen from 0.76% of GDP in 2005 to 0.87%, and should reach 1% of GDP by early next year, the statement said.
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