The ICT sector must contribute to high-level discussions around developing government's response to the world economic crisis and what should be done about it, says deputy communications minister Roy Padayachie.
The South African government is developing its overall strategy on how the country can deal with the world economic crisis and mitigate its effects through a sub-committee of Nedlac (National Economic Development and Labour Council). The body includes representatives of the departments of trade and industry, finance and public works, as well as business and organised labour.
While other sectors, such as the automotive industry, have been successfully lobbying government about their needs, the ICT sector needs to make its presence felt, notes Padayachie.
“We need to develop a three-year strategy for the sector that will include how to minimise potential job losses, deal with the issues of the drying up of foreign investment, and the lack of overseas and domestic capital expenditure.”
Padayachie says the ICT sector must assert its role as a strategic enabler and look at how, even though there is an unfolding economic crisis, opportunities can be exploited.
No documents concerning the ICT sector's role in helping the country to survive, or even prosper, through the current economic crisis have been formally tabled by either government agencies or the industry sector.
Heal the rift
Dominic Cull, of Ellipsis Regulatory Solutions, says the high-level discussion as proposed by the deputy minister would be useful for the industry, if only to heal the rift that has developed between it and the Department of Communications.
“Essentially, the policy muddling of the past has meant that [the ICT] industry has lost confidence in the department and it wants someone there who can help heal the rift.”
Cull says it is high time senior government officials say: “The ICT sector is a GDP [gross domestic product] multiplier and this is gospel. How do we enable that to happen?”
Andrea B"ohmert, co-managing partner of Hasso Plattner Ventures Africa, says SA is well positioned to capitalise on the current economic climate.
GDP enabler
“The country is cheaper and we have good skills. I have come across a number of American companies looking to outsource to SA for various reasons. However, the two big issues that government really has to deal with are the development of skills and broadband,” she says.
B"ohmert says there are a lot of one-on-one discussions within the industry on the way forward, but no formal discussions, including all stakeholders such as government, have been held or proposed yet.
Dot Field, chief communications officer for Vodacom, says: “We will participate in any strategic conversation with government to deal with any challenges, particularly economics and technology, especially if these conversations seek to find ways of propelling economic development for the benefit of all South Africans.”
She says Vodacom has always taken the view that access to telecoms services has been proven to be one of the greatest enablers of economic development.
“It is now an established fact that for every 10% increase in telecommunications penetration, there is a corresponding contribution of 0.6% to GDP,” Field says.
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