Communications minister Mondli Gungubele on Tuesday lamented what he described as the slow pace of “digital transformation” in South Africa.
“This conference is in its 15th year but what’s happened in the interim?” he said during a keynote address at the GovTech public sector IT conference in Durban on Tuesday.
“Where is the universal coverage? Where is the manufacturing? Where are the digital skills and digital access for SMEs?” he asked. He also that there was no point penetrating the country with internet if some people were “left behind”.
“The digital economy is a young person’s economy, but 51% of our youth are unemployed and there is a clash between the old and new ways of delivering services. What is happening with rural connectivity?” he asked.
He said SA Connect – the government’s broadband project aiming since 2013 to ensure universal access to digital connectivity for all South Africans, prioritising rural and underserviced areas – has been granted R3-billion for the 2023/2024 financial year.
Phase 2 of the project is meant to ensure that South Africa achieves the goal of universal internet access. Government’s National Infrastructure Plan 2050, published in March, intends to make up to 50GB of data per month available to every home by 2025.
The plan shows that only 10% of the population currently has access to the internet at home or access through public facilities, and internet penetration varies significantly by region, with Limpopo having the lowest level of broadband.
‘Not enough’
And while the budget granted is “not enough” to achieve digital transformation and promote broadband in rural areas, he said there is enough leadership to make the best of what the department has been given.
“There is a challenge in the fiscus, but we need innovation and creativity, we need partnerships. We need an urgent session to audit the networks and optimise them. We have had lots of interventions this year but watch this space. We intend to implement plans this very month, partnering with Telkom, to increase the scale and pace of transformation.” — © 2023 NewsCentral Media