SA has been at the forefront of technological innovation in the past, but has allowed itself to fall behind and is now forced to play catch-up to the rest of the world. This was the message from minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel, during the opening keynote of this year's GovTech conference, in Cape Town.
Pointing out a number of technological innovations that took place in the country in the past, Manuel said: "A decade ago, the president had a wonderful ICT advisory council who invited heads of major global IT companies to join in the conversation. But since then we have allowed for slippage."
He noted there are a number of instances where SA is still excelling in the ICT industry, but said in the greater scheme of things "innovation in SA is miniscule".
Manuel said while technology could be a great leveller, it can also be a great divider if not kept abreast of. "The rest of the world will not wait until we are ready. We need to understand that and engage with them.
"We must never again allow ourselves to be delayed by silliness," said Manuel. "How long will we continue to debate the format of our set-top boxes before we actually start with implementation? What do we think the rest of the world is doing while we have time for this endless debate?"
According to Manuel, there are eight key areas that need to be focused on during the GovTech conference. These include e-government and the way technology can help government to deliver public services more effectively; ICT in education; smart ID cards and the security thereof; healthcare, including telemedicine and research, development and innovation; billing such as the municipal billing crisis that took place in Johannesburg; general information; citizen information, ie using geospatial information to enable every South African to have an address; and open source software.
"Our Constitution says we must raise the quality of life for every citizen and free the potential of every citizen. It does not give us the option to wait around. We must recognise that information technology, the great enabler, will help us free the potential of each person," he says.
"[Technology] is very much a part of how we live," said Manuel. He noted that six billion people globally have access to mobile phones, while only 4.5 billion people have access to working toilets. He called on the public sector to assist government to address its challenges. "Debate the problems, decide on the way forward and commit to being held accountable for the decisions you take."
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