At the Futurex conference in Johannesburg yesterday, a panel of IT practitioners discussed SA`s aim of accelerating economic growth to 6% by 2010, and the role ICT needs to play to achieve this.
Government has already begun rolling out a programme to attract foreign ICT skills to the country, in line with its plans to accelerate growth. The panel, however, maintained that government`s 6% target is somewhat modest, and agreed the country should be aiming for a more ambitious target of 10% by 2010.
"SA needs to consolidate its ICT sector. It also needs improved co-ordination between stakeholders and capacity of infrastructure. ICT is the enabler for all other activities," said Adrian Schofield, president of Information Industry SA.
"Other countries are aiming for 6% growth," said Schofield. "And we are a developing country. We should be growing faster. What SA needs is a national ICT strategy."
Schofield believes government should drive the ICT plan. "All successful countries have an ICT plan and a minister that drives it," he stressed.
Mthunzi Mdwaba, chairman of Torque IT, agreed that a national ICT strategy is key.
"But let`s not forget that there is a lot we are doing very well. We have all agreed that 6% is not enough; we need to be aiming for 10% at least. And we need to achieve this though a constructive point of view, not a critical one."
Focus on action
However, Andr'e Wills, MD of Africa Analysis, pointed out that achieving growth in the ICT sector is a long-term issue and was adamant that implementation needs to start at school level.
"We need to inculcate ICT and the desire for ICT in our youth," he explained.
While panellists agreed that developing ICT skills should be seen as a long-term goal, it was generally agreed that more should be done to upgrade the country`s ICT infrastructure in the short-term.
Kevin Lourens, CEO of Cambrient, said: "We need to focus on action. Skills development will take time, but it is possible to change the ICT infrastructure tomorrow. What is the hold up?
"My business is dependent on the Internet for its lifeblood. According to the world competitiveness report, SA has the highest Internet costs in the world. So how are we supposed to grow if we`re placed in a stranglehold to deliver?"
However, Wills said there is no magic "silver bullet".
"But the capacity to implement infrastructure is not such a big challenge as the willingness to implement it."
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