The State Information Technology Agency (SITA) has decided to host government's flagship technology conference (GovTech) in Durban for three years. This was revealed yesterday during the GovTech 2017 opening address at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre.
GovTech, an initiative facilitated by SITA, was hosted in Durban back in 2015. The conference, which is an annual meeting between private and public sector stakeholders, is now in its12th year and Durban has cemented its place as its host city.
Delivering a welcome address, Durban executive mayor Zandile Gumede described GovTech as a festival of ideas and a space to unlock possibilities to build a functional society.
According to Gumede, the choice of eThekwini as host of the next GovTech conferences cements its vote as the best conference city in Africa.
"Thank you for bringing this conference back to Durban during the year when we celebrate the legacy of our own president OR Tambo...We recognise president Tambo as the most innovative leader of our time.
"We welcome the partnership we are forging with the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services and SITA through GovTech. The partnership seeks to find sustainable solutions to our everyday lives."
Gumede asked delegates to recognise the potential of ICT as a backbone for the economy, service delivery and development of South Africans.
Durban is a smart city maximising fibre-optic and broadband. The available ICT infrastructure will assist it in service delivery and also create more job opportunities for the city's youth, she said.
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