The outcomes of deliberations on ICT at the ANC's National General Council could position SA among the leading countries in the knowledge and information economy.
This is according to the deputy minister of communications, Dina Pule, speaking at the gala dinner of the ICT Career Expo 2010, last night.
She said the ruling party is calling for greater government co-ordination of ICTs through a lead government department and the conducting of a performance audit of government's ICT resources and capacity by integrating all its investments in the ICT sector. “This would have a developmental impact on our sector,” she added.
It also calls for capacitating its regulatory agency, The Independent Communications Authority of SA, to enhance the sector, stepping up government's role in the sector as well as using ICTs to increase and improve service delivery, she said. “This will create the most conducive conditions for collaboration between government and all other stakeholders in the sector,” the deputy minister said.
According to Pule, in a world where technology is developing at a speed faster than society can keep pace with, opportunities abound. “I think we are on the right track to double up our efforts to make more productive our intellectual property, which resides in the hearts and minds of our people, rather than the mineral resources laden within the bowel of our countryside,” she said.
She added that the ICT charter, a document which would represent the consensus of all ICT stakeholders, including those who participated in the e-Skills Summit, would help SA to commit to transforming the ICT landscape, by empowering the population with the necessary ICT skills and entrepreneurship.
Pule said that once approved by Cabinet, it would encapsulate both the will and capacity of government and the private sector to work towards making SA a deserving member of the ICT community of nations excelling in the knowledge and information economy.
The ANC president, Jacob Zuma, when briefing the media on Sunday, said the NGC was successful with regards to refining policies and charting the way forward on how the ANC can use state power to drive socio-economic transformation.
“There will now be a renewed focus on improving the performance of government, to enable the ANC to speed up the delivery of services.”
He also said the renewal of the ANC will run concurrently with the renewal of its government. “We will put more energy into changing the way government works. We spent the past year and a few months speaking to various sectors of the public service to share our vision.”
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