Remarks by the Honourable Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Dr. Siyabonga Cwele at the DST Ministerial Imbizo

The Honourable Naledi Pandor, Minister of Science and Technology,

Honourable Premier of the Free State, Mr. Ace Magashule,

The Mayor and the Speaker of the Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality,

The Mayor and the Speaker of the Nketoana Local Municipality,

Local Councillors from all over the Thabo Mofutsanyane

The Chairperson’s and CEO’s of our State Owned Entities,

Senior Government officials,

Learners present here today,

Community members,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to see that community members from all over the Thabo Mofutsanyane District have come out in numbers to engage with their government and make their challenges and

inputs heard. I am excited that in these numbers there is a high number of high school learners from schools all over the district. All citizens of South Africa, both the young and the old,

need to play an active role in government’s efforts to improve service delivery.

The ANC government has introduced a nine point plan to grow the economy, create more jobs for our people and improve the delivery of services to all South Africans. The 8th pillar of the

plan includes rolling out broadband infrastructure in order to modernize government service delivery and the economy. The roll-out of broadband infrastructure will ensure that all South

Africans will have reliable and affordable access to the internet.

In our broadband rollout plan called SA Connect, we have set ourselves a target that by 2020, we would have connected all government facilities and all South Africans will be connected

At this year’s State of the Nation Address, President Jacob Zuma announced the first phase rollout of the broadband plan.

Eight district municipalities all over South Africa have been chosen for this phase. The Thabo Mofutsanyane District has been chosen as one of eight district municipalities where most

local government facilities including Post Offices are targeted to be connected to broadband.

We will connect all 6 local municipalities in the district which include Maluti-a-Phofung, Dihlabeng, Setsoto, Nketoana, Mantsopa and Phumelela. The connections will be at initial speeds of 10 megabytes per second and will increase to 100 megabytes per second by the year 2030. Frontline service delivery government institutions and departments such as schools, clinics, police stations and Home Affairs offices will take priority. A total of 74 health facilities, 480 schools, 30 police stations, 101 government offices and 30 Post Offices have been identified in the Thabo Mofutsanyane District. We are engaging the private sector alongside provincial and local government to partner with us to ensure that we are able to reach our targets. We need to ensure that by 2020, we have a vibrant e-society with a strong emphasis on e-education, e-health and e-government.

The ANC government has begun to modernize the way in which government services are delivered through e- government for faster, convenient and more efficient service delivery. We are striving to deliver as many government services as possible through the internet and other online platforms so citizens do not always need to visit a government office and stand in long queues for services.

A total of 109 government offices have been identified in the Thabo Mofutshanyane District. This includes 8 government offices in Phumelela, 21 in Setsoto, 10 in Mantsopa, 34 in Maluti-a-Phofung, 19 in Dihlabeng and 9 in the Nketoana local municipality. The Roads Office here in Reitz is among those that have been identified. At the beginning of this year, the Deputy President launched paperless classrooms connected to the internet for enhanced learning and teaching in Tembisa. We want all classrooms in South Africa to be paperless. Ensuring access to the internet in schools is the first step to ensuring that ultimately, all our schools will move in that direction.

We have identified a total of 480 schools all over the district which include 55 schools in Phumelela, 58 in Setsoto, 38 in Mantsopa, 177 in Maluti-a-Phofung, 89 in Dihlabeng and 63 in

Nketoana which do not have a connection to the internet. We will ensure that we connect all schools to ensure that the district is able to rollout e-education for our learners.

We are engaging our sister Departments at all levels of government and our entities such as SITA and USSASA to partner with us to ensure that as we provide connectivity, we have tablets and laptops to connect with training provided for educators and learners on how to use these technologies. Local schools such as Itekeng Primary Farm School and Kgotso-Uxolo Secondary School will be connected as a part of this programme. In support of the Department of Health’s National Health Insurance pilot, we will be connecting all clinics in the Thabo Mofutsanyane District. A total of 74 clinics will be connected which include 5 clinics in Phumelele, 12 in Setsoto, 9 in Mantsopa, 33 in Maluti-a-Phofong, 9 in Dihlabeng and 6 in Nketoana Local Municipality. We will be connecting the Reitz Clinic to broadband as well. This means that community members can now access better healthcare as nurses can link

up with a Doctor who can treat patients via video link. The South African Post Office has been facing challenges. We have stabilised operations and we are finalising a turnaround strategy that will ensure that the Post Office is once again able to deliver, whatever it takes. We aim to use the extensive footprint of the Post Office to provide access to government services by making the Post Office a centre for the provision of government services and internet access. We will connect 30 Post Office branches all over the district which include 3 branches in Phumelela, 4 in Setsoto, 4 in Mantsopa, 9 in Maluti-a-Phofung, 6 in Dihlabeng and 4 in Nketoana. When all Post Offices are connected, an unemployed graduate from Meqheleng will be able to visit their

nearest Post Office either in Clocolan or Ficksburg to access government and other job opportunities online.

The ANC government believes it is very important that these services reach all South Africans, specifically those who were previously disadvantaged by the Apartheid government. We need to bridge the gap between the urban and the rural areas of South Africa. People in Phuthaditjhaba, Fouriesburg, Clocolan and Reitz must have access to the same government services as any person in Bloemfontein or Johannesburg. In the words of former President Nelson Mandela, access to the internet is the single most powerful tool we have to advance. The presence of broadband infrastructure will also benefit local Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises. In future, a car wash, hair salon or spaza shop right here in Petsana will be able to connect to the internet using the infrastructure through a service provider. These SMME’s would then be able to use internet based tools such as email and also create websites for

marketing purposes to grow these businesses and create more jobs for local people. The cost to make calls, send sms’s and connect to the internet on cellphones is still very high in South Africa. We will continue to work with ICASA as the regulator to ensure that we lower the cost of these services. We want to make sure that our people do not only send “Please Call Me” messages but they can also call, sms and even use WhatsApp to communicate. I am pleased that ICASA is present and will be a part of our discussions as we look into how these issues are affecting ordinary South Africans.

I am confident that as we discuss your challenges, you will participate actively and speak to the issues that affect you the most. The ANC government is here to listen to ensure that as

we implement various service delivery programmes, we are able to speak to your real needs and address your everyday problems. I believe that all communities in the Thabo

Mofutsanyane District share in the vision that working together we can achieve radical socio-economic transformation and move South Africa forward.

Ke a leboga.