Private, public ICT partnerships best for govt

ICT industry experts agree that private and public partnerships and bringing down the cost of technologies will help African governments to enhance service delivery to their citizens.

Local and African delegates at the 2005 ICT in Government Conference in Vanderbijlpark last week all shared the same vision for the private and public sector to work together to enhance government service delivery through cost effective IT technologies, technology convergence, and comparing strategies.

They also agreed that while the variety of technology innovations and solutions has grown, none of them could be 'all things to all people`.

Microsoft SA MD Gordon Frazer said the public and the private sector needed to work together, to maximise the use of technology in government, for the benefit of citizens, as well as enhancing economic growth.

"The idea is to build information technology (IT) as a means to ensure digital economic success, co-operation between private and public sector, and to improve productivity and service delivery, locally and globally," said Frazer.

IT companies had a choice - to either innovate or stagnate, said Frazer. "The obvious would be to innovate, move forward and create a healthy competitive environment."

He added: "There`s a need to build a healthy knowledge economy through fostering innovation, protecting intellectual property rights, IT training and education, removal of trade barriers, and digital inclusion."

Telkom CEO Sizwe Nxasana, said: "From Telkom`s point if view, we are looking at convergence of IT solutions, formulating partnerships and transformation, to help the government provide better service delivery to its citizens, as well as offering services to African governments at large."

[VIDEO]Telkom chief sales and marketing officer, Nombulelo Moholi said Telkom has already geared up for convergence in terms of implementing new technologies.

Asked about Telkom`s "slow" service delivery and satisfying customer needs, Moholi admitted the telecoms giant is facing challenges regarding customer loyalty and quick service delivery, but she added that they are making daily improvements.

She added: "It doesn`t make sense for new companies to involve Telkom late in the conception of their projects and expect to get a quick response, as installing new lines requires digging up infrastructures to accommodate new buildings."

"We advice everyone to involve us early in their projects, thus giving us ample time to respond to their needs as quickly as possible, by the time they are ready to do business."

NEPAD e-Africa programme commissioner Peter Kinyanjui told delegates to the conference: "African countries need to accelerate roll-out of their ICT infrastructures and skills development through initiatives like the NEPAD e-Schools, in order to bridge the digital divide."

"African governments, the corporate sector, development agencies and civil society organisations, need to partner to enhance education through learnerships, skills developments and teacher training, added Kinyanjui.

Kinyanjui urged African governments to act faster. "We are tired of pilot projects that never go beyond the pilot stage. Now is the time for demonstration projects that are cost effective and can improve ICT skills in the African population."

Kinyanjui said "a partnership model is what African governments need, as ICT is not cheap".

"Collectively a lot can be achieved by implementing NEPAD e-Schools. Therefore in partnership with African governments we have developed the Information Society Partnership for Africa`s Development (ISPAD)."

ISPAD is made of 15 partners, including HP, Microsoft, Oracle, and others, and aims to offer an end-to-end technology solution to develop the NEPAD e-Schools, which will provide advanced training to both learners and teachers.

Kinyanjui said that with 60 000 schools participating in the e-Schools initiative throughout Africa, NEPAD could not drive the process alone and needed African governments to help.

In support of skills development and training locally, ISETT SETA CEO Oupa Mopaki said they are happy with the development strategy in the latest ICT Empowerment Sharter, as the document addressed their concerns.

"The issues regarding skills development and training are well reflected in the ICT charter document," said Mopaki.

"In terms of equity representation, we hope that the new National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS) will empower or meet equity targets, in terms of numbers," said Mopaki.

He however admitted that this will create a big challenge for ICT companies to reflect and meet this targets,"

Director of research and consulting at ForgeAhead, Pierre Venter, said in his closing remarks: "What this conference has taught us is that there is a need for private and public sector partnerships, to compare notes and strategies, as well as inter-governmental initiatives to meet and solve challenges facing government`s service delivery."