Inputs by the Deputy Minister of the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Honourable Prof. Hlengiwe Mkhize
During The GovTech Conference
At Gallagher Estate, Midrand
31 October 2016

Theme – “ICT FOR DEVELOPMENT, ACCESS & GROWTH: “How Technology Improves Service Delivery for Citizen Empowerment”

Introduction
Programme director, allow me to first acknowledge the presence of our senior government officials from near and far as well as our private sector delegates. It is in a setting such as GovTech that we get an opportunity listen to one another and share with each other our bold action plans to positively impact the lives of our people including the poorest of the poor.

This year we are in the 11th iteration of GovTech and we are pleased as the department about the consistency and the professionalism that our State Information Technology Agency (SITA) has always shown when organising these conferences.

The given theme for this year’s edition of GovTech is: ICT FOR Development, Access & Growth – “How Technology Improves Service Delivery for Citizen Empowerment”.

In contrast to the 2015 theme which emphasised the importance of partnerships between the government and the ICT industry to improve service delivery and promote social development and economic growth; this year we are going back to the basics, putting an emphasis on the importance of research and innovation. The two can go a long way in developing our sector as seen through the positive impact of technologies in facilitating better planning, excellent service delivery, sustainable development and growth of inclusive economies.

Summary of the Outcomes of the Executive Session
Yesterday we have had an opportunity to meet in a workshop with private and public sector leadership. This session was an eye opener oncemore reminding us of critical aspects which needs our joint careful attention in order to realise greater social and economic dividends.

Infrastructure Rollout
During the discussions what came as a greater challenge was infrastructure rollout, in a sense that there are still disparities when you compare the infrastructure in urban areas and the one in rural areas.

Digitization Opportunities
The digital economy brings with it economic and social opportunites however some innovations turn to have a negative undertone towards social issues; therefore from a policy perspective we need to come up with innovative regulatory frameworks to manage this change.

Also when we go about digitization we need to be careful not to widen the digital divide. The mobile penetration in our country is well above a 150% mark, which tells you that everybody has a mobile phone. There is however differences in terms of the usefulness of these mobile phones to our communities based on rural and urban settings. The enjoyment and appreciation of technology in these settings is different. Awareness programmes are critical in stimulating appreciation of technology as well as uptake and usage of ICTs.

The Role of Universities in Research, Development and Innovation
We assess the role of our institutions of higher learning in Research, Development and Innovation. As we prepare for this digital age we need to develop a critical mass of skills in the areas of cloud computing, big data, Internet of Things and mobile innovation. This is an area where our Universities can play a role in ensuring that we position our country to compete globally and also participate in the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Creation of Rural ICT Innovation Hubs
We need to look into the creation of ICT Innovation Hubs in rural areas. This has also been highlighted as a need area in our National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper. The focus of these of these hubs shouldn’t be for the sake of consumption of ICT services but should be our little Silicon Valleys whereby ICT Innovators are incubated and supported to create indegeneous content and applications. The White Paper is calling for the develop of at least one technology hub in each metro and one each in provinces without metros over the short to medium term. We are calling for the private sector to assist us in achieving this vision.

People Centeredness ICT Sector Focus

Although there is no scientific proof, there is however a general understanding that Information and communications technologies (ICTs) have the potential to improve the lives of millions of people in disadvantaged communities. This has been evidently seen in developed countries which has taken the advantage of digital revolution to improve their citizen’s lives whilst also propelling their countrys’ gross domestic product (GDP).

We have always as government put people at the center of our policy making and provision of services. Evidently, this can be seen developmental policies as well as our sector specific policies. This has to however stop being only limited to the policy making stage to continue being visible even through the implementation phase.

Just to pick on a few examples, both the New Growth Path and the National Development Plan which the critical need to addressing inequality; states that:

“All people, regardless of who they are, their social or economic status or where they live, should access communications services and content and therefore be able to participate actively in society and realise the benefits and opportunities of ICTs”.

Even now when we were developing the National Intergrated ICT Policy White Paper we had this broad objective: “A people-centred, development-oriented and inclusive digital society”. This was then broken down into the following sub-objectives which are still people oriented:

• Equality: All South Africans must have affordable access to communications infrastructure and services and the capacity and means to access, create and distribute information, applications and content in the language of their choice.
• Accessibility: Services, devices, infrastructure and content must be accessible for all sectors of the population, including persons with disabilities, so that all can equally enjoy and benefit from communication services
• Social Development: All South Africans must benefit from the ability of the ICT sector to facilitate social development and improve the quality of life for individuals and communities.
• Economic Growth: Policy must facilitate access by all South Africans to quality communication infrastructure and services to enable economic growth, employment and wealth creation.
• Investment: Policy must promote and stimulate domestic and foreign investment in ICT infrastructure, manufacturing, services, content, and research and development.
• User Protection: End-users, from the most disadvantaged individual to the largest corporate, must be at the centre of ICT sector-related policies. Effective protection and empowerment of end-users.

The benefits associated with the creation of a people centered approach to policy making and implementation, far outweighs the costs. It should therefore challenge us as government and the private sector to redirect our focus, this time with good intentions. We must do away with compliance mentality and get into the business of serving our people with ernest.

Smart Partnerships for an Inclusive Service Offering

In yesterday’s discussions we also talked about the importance of public-private partnerships. Some of the key benefits of engaging in public-private partnerships includes:

• Exploring PPPs as a way of introducing private sector technology and innovation in providing better public services through improved operational efficiency
• Incentivizing the private sector to deliver projects on time and within budget
• Utilizing PPPs as a way of developing local private sector capabilities through joint ventures with large international firms, as well as sub-contracting opportunities for local
• Using PPPs as a way of gradually exposing state owned enterprises and government to increasing levels of private sector participation and structuring PPPs in a way so as to ensure transfer of skills leading to national champions that can run their own operations professionally and eventually export their competencies by bidding for projects/ joint ventures
• Creating persification in the economy by making the country more competitive in terms of its facilitating infrastructure base as well as giving a boost to its business and industry associated with infrastructure development.
• Supplementing limited public sector capacities to meet the growing demand for infrastructure development
• Extracting long-term value-for-money through appropriate risk transfer to the private sector over the life of the project – from design/ construction to operations/ maintenance

We should all work together as government and the private sector to address challenges such as high cost to communicate and the last mile connectivity.

Conclusion
In conclusion, I would like to encourage you, public sector and private sector alike; as you are going to be engaged in various sessions and tracks please make sure to always visualise how the life of a citizen is going to be positively affected by the technology you are proposing. It is also never too late to go back to your already existing strategies which are not people-centred to review them and customise them according to the citizen’s needs. I wish you all productive deliberations throughout the conference

I thank you.