The IT industry has been cautious, but nonetheless generally supportive, of the news that government is to ask for consultants to assess the level of black participation in the industry, with a view to imposing specific transformation targets.
Yesterday`s announcement that the state is to issue a tender for consultants to study the levels of black participation in the various sub-sectors of the ICT industry follows recent sharp criticism of the industry.
Among those critical of the present levels of transformation is the Black IT Forum (BIT4M), whose empowerment initiative, the Accredited BIT4M Company (ABC) scheme, aims to do away with tokenism and figureheads. To qualify as an ABC company, an IT firm must be black-owned and be scrutinised by an independent audit committee before being approved.
"Up to now, transformation has been happening at a snail`s pace and the BIT4M has been frustrated, as what we`ve communicated to the industry hasn`t really been taken seriously enough," says BIT4M chairman Hasmukh Gajjar.
"So far, the government has steered away from dictating to the industry, preferring to try to work with it instead. This new directive is not as stern as dictating, but it is showing the ICT players that there is a need to transform, and it must happen quickly."
He says the BIT4M supports the government move as it will create a baseline from which to work, and it will allow proper transformation targets to be set, because there will be a better understanding of what is required across the various segments of the industry.
"In terms of our ABC scheme, I don`t believe it will fall away. Rather it will be one specific element of the transformation programme and will assist with a collective overall effort."
While several of the major ICT players - including AST Group and Datatec - declined to comment until they had a better understanding of where this new directive would lead, most were cautiously optimistic.
Annette van der Laan, CEO of CS Holdings, says the company supports the concept fully, and is prepared to commit to the process. "We have already made our position in this regard very clear, and we are already seeing the fruits of our transformation policies, having recently won the ForgeAhead BMI-T award for the most progressive company.
"However, we must work together as an industry to make sure that we kick off this initiative properly - we must not make the same mistakes as some of the other charters of a similar nature, such as that of the mining industry."
She believes government will also have to collaborate with the industry when setting the transformation targets. "It won`t be any good if totally unrealistic targets are set, or if the goalposts keep getting moved. We must all work together to achieve what is best for both SA and the ICT industry."
"This initiative is in line with Dimension Data South Africa`s strategy, as transformation is at the top of our agenda," said CEO Allan Cawood in a prepared statement.
"We are transforming internally and are in discussions with representatives from both the public and private sectors in order to ensure the formation of the appropriate structures and partnerships going forward."
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