While government faces the ambitious and all-embracing task of getting SA's ICT infrastructure up to scratch, scarce skills in the country could impact the state's programme.
This was one of the issues raised in an address by president Jacob Zuma in response to the debate on the State of the Nation address (SONA) at the National Assembly, in Cape Town, yesterday.
“Government set itself the task of increasing broadband penetration, reducing ICT costs, developing national broadband legislation, developing wholesale backbone infrastructure, rolling out digital terrestrial television and local loop unbundling,” said Zuma. He pointed out, however, that minister of economic development Ebrahim Patel has called attention to the lack of skills in, among others, engineering, technology and science - which “could impact on the infrastructure programme”.
Zuma said it is for this reason that government introduced programmes such as the 'Youth into Science Strategy', aimed at encouraging learners to pursue science, engineering, technology and mathematics studies at a tertiary level. “In particular, we need to increase the numbers of graduates in engineering and the sciences.”
The Department of Higher Education, added Zuma, is working with deans of the relevant faculties at SA's tertiary education institutes in order to determine short- to medium-term strategies to reach the 2014 graduate output targets for these insufficient skills.
“I will meet with the principals of Further Education and Training Colleges in April to discuss their role in producing the skills that will make our economy grow faster and be sustainable.”
Money matters
Zuma said the investment in infrastructure must leave more than just power stations, rail-lines, dams and roads. “It must industrialise the country, generate skills and boost much-needed job creation.”
While this focus on infrastructure development was seen as an encouraging step by the Black IT Forum, the opposition party questioned government's capacity to source the funds needed for the projects.
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