Speech by the Deputy Minister of the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Honorable Prof Hlengiwe Mkhize
During the Occasion of the Next Generation Local Government Round Table Discussion
At Cape Sun Hotel
07 February 2017

Program Director; Mr Buyane Zwane
Mayors from various municipalities
Representatives of Software AG
Representatives of Statssa
SALGA Representatives; Mr. Moses Msizi & Mr. Lwazi Ndzema
EOH Representatives
PwC Representative; Mr. Jon Williams
Representatives from COGTA
Representative from Aurecon; Mr. Louis Fourie
Representative from ARMSCOR; Mr. Kevin Wakeford
Representative from ALTECH Motomo; Mr. Laurance Savage

Introduction
I would like to congratulate the organizers of, Local Government Business Network, for the successful conference you had last year and also continuing with the same trajectory this year. This year’s session comes at an opportune time wherein the department has made advances towards finalizing the ICT White Policy which puts Local government at the center of creating a networked society for all.

Broadband Rollout Phase 1
Since the approval of the country’s all-encompassing broadband policy, South Africa Connect, we have embarked on the process of ensuring that every citizen irrespective of where they are from are connected to the internet. Internet usage and having a web address is part of the ICT infrastructure which is critical in our resolve to improve the quality, ensuring efficiencies in service delivery and citizen’s satisfaction. Our department’s mandate is to provide broadband connectivity to eight districts where National Health Insurance (NHI) is also being piloted. These districts are Dr. Kenneth Kaunda in North West, Gert Sibande in Mpumalanga, O.R. Tambo in the Eastern Cape, Pixley ka Seme in the Northern Cape, Thabo Mofutsanyane in the Free State, Umgungundlovu and Umzinyathi in KwaZulu-Natal, and Vhembe in Limpopo. Common to all of them is that they service the poorest of the poor, where there are high levels of unemployment and generally limited opportunities for the youth to acquire skills needed at the work place. The youth living in poor communities within the metros are still better off than those coming from the identified eight districts because in most cases the private sector or government entities continuously exposes them to opportunities, even if its short-term exposure.
Schools, health facilities, municipalities and police stations are first line entries to a community; as a department we prioritized the connection of these as a matter of priority.

The Department’s Investment in the Expansion of Wi-Fi Hotspots
In support of municipalities’ determination to connect their municipalities and communities, the department allocated the amount of R40 million and metropolitan municipalities were invited to apply. Six (6) Metropolitan Municipalities applied and about 230 sites were connected to Wi-Fi. We used all public platforms to educate people in our communities that connectivity is not aimed at promoting only social media but to pursue access to skills and economic activities. This was also seen as a further contribution to state obligations to universal service access.

Using ICTs to Modernize Local Government Services
Modernization of local government is not just about putting systems in place, it is also about promoting a new mindset and cultivating a new culture so that citizens appreciate the fact that access to services is not only through traditional ways but can also be accessed through gadgets such as cellphones, computers, and tablets.
At a national level we continue to pay attention to the country’s 5A objectives which are Availability of broadband network, Awareness, Accessibility of broadband at a national level, Affordability and Ability to use the application.

Youth ICT Skills and Employment
South Africa has a huge number of unemployed youth, it is important to bring them into the fold by skilling them to be at the centre of the digital transformation. We are in a technological era, it brings more opportunities which could be accessed not only in traditional ways but also online. New job opportunities call for a dynamic e-strategy and e-programs which could adapt and be responsive to the digital dividend.
Our success at local government level will give people a sense of hope especially in challenges such as joblessness, inequality and poverty.

e-Government Services to Transform Local Government Services
e-Government is more than just delivering services via an electronic platform, but is in effect about empowering governments in their endeavors to be transparent , open and partnering with communities in service delivery and all empowerment programs .
Some municipalities are already embracing technology to deliver services to the people. It is encouraging to see this and the hope is that more municipalities will follow suit and also that the business network in local government will contribute immensely in skilling citizens.

The Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services is cooperating with local government to kick start the digitization process through the following program areas:
e-Education: the department established an electronic knowledge testing system for feedback into training and support for teachers.

e-Justice: Progress has been made in the implementation of an integrated electronic Criminal Justice System (CJS) to provide accurate and timely management of criminal and justice information.
e-Health: This entails the development of a complete system design for a National Integrated Patient Based Information System.
e-Justice: Collaborating with the CJS to implement an electronic case management system as well as the establishment of computer-generated investigation progress report to complainants and victims of crime.
e-Policing: this entails combating cyber-crime through training of personnel in cyber-crime.
Smart Meter – Records consumption of electric energy in intervals of an hour or less. Communicates that information at least daily back to the utility for monitoring and billing purposes.
Smart Grid – Electricity networks that can intelligently integrate the behaviour and actions of all users connected to it — generators, consumers, and those that do both in order to efficiently deliver sustainable, economic, and secure electricity supplies.
Bus Rapid Transit System – is a City project aimed at providing better public transport, reducing congestion on public roads, improving the environment and creating jobs. A high-tech control room monitors the buses and stations, ensuring that the bus system matches world-class standards. The control room has real-time tracking of bus movements and staff can communicate with each driver, ensuring that buses run on time and quick solutions are found for any eventuality.

Development of a Digital Society
It is government’s concerted effort to ensure that our people including those from deep rural areas are connected. Through the approved National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper we have put an overarching framework to achieve universal service and access to communications platforms, services, applications and content. The White Paper replaced the existing White Papers on Telecommunications and Postal Services, outlining the overarching framework for transforming South Africa into an inclusive and innovative Digital Society.

The White Paper sets out interventions that will ensure all the people in South Africa, regardless of who they are, where they live or their socio-economic standing can improve the quality of their lives through accessing the benefits of participating in the digital society.

Part of the interventions contained in the White Paper is the creation of a Framework for building a Digital Society. With the creation of a Digital Society, the aim is to transform South Africa to an inclusive digital society, where all South Africans can safely access relevant digital content and services in their language/s of choice. All of these of course happens at the local government level and it is important for the department to get constant support form district and local municipalities.

In keeping with the drive to stimulate industrialisation across sectors, White paper focuses on innovative approaches to position the ICT sector as a driver of industrialisation and reindustrialisation.

It locates the ICT sector at the heart of innovation to support the national goals set out in the National Development Plan, the Industrial Policy Action Plan and other legal and non-legal instruments aimed at promoting sustainable growth.
At the heart of this new drive lies the need to improve coordination within government and between government and industry, stimulating demand for ICT goods and services, promote research and development, innovation and local manufacturing, promoting the role of SMMEs and community innovations and introducing a new skills development dispensation.

The Transformational power of Technology and Innovation
We are in the era of smart, smart phones, smart cars, smart meter etc., the 4th industrial revolution is here. It is no longer a theory, but we see this in practice on a daily basis. As government we have to evolve, we have to adjust, adapt and move with the times.
There is a need to find ways and means to leverage the opportunities that are being brought by this revolution. It is important for government, in particular at the local level to deliver services to the citizens in the most effective and efficient way possible. This is where utilizing technology for the betterment of all comes into play.

Making Use of the South African Post Office Foot-print to Revitalize Local Economies
We have an opportunity today especially making use of the expansive South African Post Office foot print. The footprint of the post office is an anchor of the digital dividend for rural communities The integration of SAPO as a partner at a local level will assist with everyday projects such as revenue collection, transportation management, etc. thereby making service delivery easier and accessible to people.
The challenge which always remains is the preparations of society for the digital future as we already know that there is over 50 billion connected devices.

Creating Localized ICT Hubs as Centers of Excellence
The time has now come to bring to fruition what we have been taking about with regards to our solid partnership with local municipalities. Our partnership in making ICTs an agent for change should start using a model similar to our former Thusong Centres. This is where there is greater potential for partnership with the municipalities, other social partners and participating companies in the broadband roll-out, for us to create localized ICT Hubs for coordination and integration of the last mile connectivity thereby pushing aggressively the radical economic transformation agenda.
The youth should through these hubs get an opportunity to make use of computers and access the Internet, they should be trained in computer repair skills and they should also be trained in other critical skills such as set-top-boxes installation and repairs.

Through these hubs, women and the disabled people have an opportunity to promote their locally manufactured cultural products, promote their village and community tourism. Partnership with the private sector remains critical in strengthening online services.

Traditionally women will be discriminated and sidelined saying for example things like; women can’t drive, women can’t learn Mathematics and Physical Science, women can’t lead or hold top positions etc. With this wide spread availability and access to internet, nobody should be left out. Municipalities must work with local institutions to ensure that no young person is left out.
Within these localized ICT Hubs our focus shouldn’t be blurred when it comes to the improvement of e-literacy (e-Skills), e-enterprise development, youth inclusion and local economic empowerment. All these will be done with a view that jobs for the future will be ICT informed.

Also, within these localized ICT Hubs, our partnership with the Department of Science and Technology, through their agency the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is critical. The CSIR is the anchor to these localized ICT Hubs and have an active role to play in the areas of preparing our poor communities for the digital future as well as Research, Development and Innovation.

Using Open Data to Transform Local Government Services
Data is a commodity and government has access to huge amounts of data. This data (data analytics) can be utilized to assist in the planning and budgeting and forecasting the future need of municipalities, short term, medium term and long term. This will result in better run local government and will also save costs.

Data should be made accessible to the citizens, this is where the notion of Open Data/Open Government comes into play. Government holds and has access to an ever increasing wealth of data, including spatial and location data, as well as data collected from and by citizens. It is our conviction that we can be able to use this data in ways that can transform our design and delivery of services to our people. Big data also allows government to design evidence-based policies, implement these policies more quickly and at the same time allowing citizens to interact with government in a personalized and seamless manner. Ensuring that citizens have access to data will empower them as they will know the state of local government and can engage easily.

Transparency is also key as it builds trust. Engaged citizenry translates to a responsive government and good governance as government will be held accountable. Also understanding that in this day and age, information is readily available, factual or not. What is critical is to ascertain that people have correct and factual information at all times. For this to be a reality, government has to disseminate its information. Utilization of social media is important to create dialogue and to keep people informed.

Data Integrity
Of interest to government is the ability of big data analytics to provide profound insights into a number of key areas of priority such as the provision of healthcare services, education, infrastructure, agriculture and transport. For data to have any value, it must be discoverable, accessible as well as usable. Additionally, it also needs to be accurate and available timeously to support decision making.

This calls for us to implement smarter data management practices. This is particularly relevant when we look at the issue of making data open and available across government departments and all three spheres of government. In this regard, we must endeavor to establish a government-wide IT Architecture, standards and norms for the sharing of big data. This also calls for the better inter-governmental collaboration to the extent possible.
If you look at South Africa’s comparator countries, you find that there are Councils that are established specifically to, inter alia, promote the establishment of the data centre industry, coordinate national network centers in big data analytics, coordinate awareness programs in terms of rights and responsibilities of data users. There is scope for South Africa to also explore whether these types of institutional arrangements can be made to support big data analytics in the country. We must explore ways in which some of these structures can be replicated to suit our own unique context and with the view to increasing and improving big data analytics across government and between government and its stakeholders.

Using Big-Data at Local Municipality Level for Job Creation
The big data sub-sector has the potential to create many thousands of new jobs in the next coming years, bolstered by the direct value of public sector data alone. Data-driven firms are more likely to launch new innovative products and services. The wider social and economic benefits of big data are manifold, including better health outcomes, improved educational outcomes and job creation.

However, this requires stronger collaborations between government, academia and the private sector. An excellent example of this type of collaboration is the CSIR High Performance Computing Centre, which brings together government, the research community and the private sector to take full advantage of big data analytics. Following a very short period of time, the Centre has begun to show maturity in supporting the computationally intensive research agenda for the country in the broad field of science and engineering. We need more of these types of programs as part of the wider plan to bolster the country’s competitiveness.

Conclusion
The future ahead of us is digital and affords us an opportunity to once and for all pursue an inclusive agenda. With over 50 billion devices connected, the 4th Industrial Revolution is upon us. Each generation has an opportunity to learn for life in current training trends such as cloud computing, software development, automation, and data analytics for greater impact and boosting public confidence.

I thank you.