The IT industry is facing an empowerment investigation, with government to issue a tender for consultants to assess the level of black participation in the IT industry before imposing new transformation targets.
Government spokesmen and industry leaders have been sharply critical of the ICT sector lately, saying that it is the least transformed of SA`s industries. Last month Department of Communications director-general Andile Ngcaba called the Internet community "an enclosed group of white people that must accept the need for transformation and make it a priority".
"No transformation has yet happened in the Internet community when compared with other industries. There are very few black people in the area of Internet," he said.
Business Day reports today that the government has called for consultants to help overhaul the sector. The consultants will determine black participation in various sub-sectors of the ICT industry, and policies and strategies will be devised based on this information.
According to the report, the Department of Communications will hold a briefing session for potential consultants this week and, once the winning bidder is appointed, all private and listed companies will be surveyed.
Once the survey is completed, government will fix empowerment targets which companies will be required by law to reach.
Labour Department figures have shown that whites - mostly males - hold the majority of top jobs in the IT industry and it is this that government seeks to address.
Roger Dawes, executive director of the Computer Society of South Africa and executive director of the Electronics Industry Federation, is cautiously positive about the move, saying government co-operation with industry is always welcome.
Dawes does not foresee a situation in which government will impose unmanageable transformation targets. "It is a positive move that the government is first investigating the situation before devising a strategy. One would also hope that any guidelines were set out in consultation with the industry."
He feels that organic transformation is taking place within the ICT sector and that the "pale male" syndrome will disappear naturally over time.
Business Day reports that the Black IT Forum has welcomed government intervention as the only way to initiate change, as up to now, the organisations working towards transformation have had no clout to enforce compliance.
The forum believes that government has considerable influence over the industry, as it is the largest procurer of technology in SA.
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