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The 4th annual e-Governance Africa Forum brings together African nations to better their communication infrastructureWhile South Africa is making huge strides in strengthening its information and communication technology (ICT) industry, the African continent as a whole still needs to do more to develop and deploy ICT technologies to improve governance, service delivery, build capacity and ensure citizen empowerment.
This was the consensus at the recent 4th annual e-Governance Africa Forum organised by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO) in Maputo, Mozambique.
The forum meeting was attended by ministerial representatives from, among others: Mozambique, South Africa, Southern Sudan, Zambia, Kenya, Israel, Uganda and Malawi; as well as senior officials and major ICT companies in the region.
The aim of the forum is to find solutions to the various challenges facing African governments.
The meeting in Maputo included a workshop on “The Road to 4G” and a focus session on ICT technologies.
Dr Henry Chasia, executive chairperson of the Nepad (New Partnership for Africa’s Development) e-Africa Commission, said that access and use of ICT is crucial for development. “In Nepad, we have placed great stock on the application of ICT to education,” he commented, speaking about the Nepad e-Schools Initiative that aims to use ICT to support teaching and learning in all primary and secondary schools on the continent.
Dr Ham-Mukasa Mulira, senior presidential adviser on ICT in Uganda and chairperson of the occasion, urged policy-makers, regulators, solution providers and various stakeholders to share experiences and strategies on how ICT can bridge the digital gap between Africa and the rest of the world.
Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, chief executive officer of CTO, argued that e-Governance must be seen as an important match-making process between citizens and public ICT service providers.
In the meantime, vice president for Emerging Markets in the Africa region at global ICT player Cisco, Yvon le Roux has said that although South Africa is one of the primary players in Africa, ICT deregulation is still a problem.
South Africa is one of the primary territories driving broadband and telecommunications development within the continent.
Government ICT investment
In recent years, the South African government has invested almost R5 billion for the provision of robust ICT infrastructure in preparation for the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup. The International Broadcasting Centre alone is a massive, high-tech nerve centre that will serve a 30 000-strong media contingent during the tournament.
As the leader of ICT development in Africa, South Africa is the 20th largest consumer of information technology (IT) products and services in the world. As an increasingly important contributor to South Africa’s gross domestic product, the country’s ICT and electronics sector is both sophisticated and developing.
The country’s IT industry is characterised also by technology leadership, particularly in the field of electronic banking services.
South African companies are world leaders in pre-payment, revenue management and fraud prevention systems, and in the manufacture of set-top boxes – all exported successfully to the rest of the world.
Despite this, Le Roux stressed that the country’s greatest obstacle still circulates around deregulation within the telecoms space, particularly with regard to local loop unbundling (LLU), the regulatory process that allows other telecoms players to use the last mile copper infrastructure of the incumbent operator – Telkom, in the case of South Africa.
In more developed markets, LLU has contributed toward greater competition between telecoms players. This ultimately has resulted in greater benefits for the consumer.
Although the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) said in 2007 that a national LLU would be implemented by November 2011, very little has taken place in this sphere since then.
This has caused some concern among industry players. Le Roux stressed that African governments, specifically South Africa’s, needed to put pressure on communications regulators and encourage development within telecoms.
Although he identified mobile broadband as a potential problem-solver for African connectivity, he stressed that the prices associated with these services were still too high. Instead, Le Roux suggested that WiMAX technology “has tremendous potential for Africa. It can increase productivity and increase the standard of living across the continent if it is rolled out correctly”, but added that the obstacles facing the comprehensive provision of connectivity in Africa are still considerable.
In the meantime, Minister of Communications Siphiwe Nyanda announced during the discussion of his Budget vote in parliament that a policy directive will be issued to Icasa to conclude the unbundling of the local loop.
As the leading ICT player in Africa, South Africa has the advantage that several international corporates – recognised as leaders in the IT sector – operate subsidiaries from South Africa, including IBM, Unisys, Microsoft, Intel, Systems Application Protocol (SAP), Dell, Novell and Compaq.
Microsoft initiative
One of these large corporate players, Microsoft South Africa, very recently announced that it would be spending R425 million to assist a small group of local software companies to develop into global players as part of its empowerment strategy.
In terms of its global policy, individual Microsoft subsidiaries are not allowed to sell shares into their respective domestic markets.
For this reason, Microsoft South Africa applied to the government to be allowed to use this business development plan as a means to earn black economic empowerment points, rather than by selling off shares.
Mteto Nyati, CEO of Microsoft South Africa, said the company would be spending R425m, or 25% of the value of the local subsidiary, over the next seven years to support between five and 10 local software companies in the development of skills, intellectual property and integration with the company’s own network of partners and clients.
The programme is aimed at smaller companies with less than 30 employees, an annual turnover of less than R10m, and a majority black shareholding. They also must prove that they are already doing profitable business, and the quality of leadership will be considered as well.
“We are looking for companies that are already doing software development. We want to assist the development of local intellectual property and assist these companies to eventually become exporters of software,” Nyati said.
“Israel, for instance, is doing extremely well with the export of software, and there is nothing stopping us from doing the same.”
The funds made available will be used, among others, to strengthen and upgrade the companies’ existing ICT technology infrastructure to ensure they have access to the latest technology and can attract top talent. The salaries of graduates will be paid for periods of between 18 and 24 months until they are in a position to contribute to the income of these companies.
Beside access to Microsoft’s business networks, these companies also will be assisted with the development of business plans and to improve their marketing, Nyati said.
Communications budget
In the meantime, Minister Nyanda – during the discussion of his department’s Budget vote in parliament – said South Africans would have universal access to broadband by 2019.
The main goal of the Department of Communications (DOC) is to ensure that ICTs are used for accelerated service delivery and empowerment.
“ICT is a potentially transformative developmental tool, provided it is well located within the overall policy framework and is not seen as an end in itself but a necessary means,” said the minister. He highlighted ICT projects and areas of technological need and said that social access to ICTs is one of the department’s main objectives, since access to power and knowledge will bring about social transformation. This, in turn, supports sustainable economic growth.
“In the previous financial year, we committed to develop and pass policies and legislation aimed at further growing the ICT sector,” said Nyanda.
He added that Cabinet had approved the Radio Frequency Spectrum Policy which provides for spectrum management, allocating frequency according to the country’s developmental needs, and international standards.
Furthermore, the broadband policy had been finalised. The vision of this policy was to ensure that “South Africans have universal access and services to broadband by 2019. The benefits accruing from the policy will include the provision of multimedia and e-government throughout the country.”
While the cyber security policy is being discussed with relevant stakeholders, Nyanda also intended to introduce legislation aimed at further strengthening the country’s ICT policy framework during this year’s parliamentary session.
He added that the department had begun the development of the Local Content Strategy. This would be finalised once the South African Local Content Advisory Council was appointed. The purpose of the strategy is to promote the development of local content, as well as identification of niche economic opportunities in the sector.
Nyanda further said that the cost to communicate was being lowered. “In November 2009, I issued a policy directive for Icasa to initiate a process to reduce the mobile termination rate (MTR) down to cost.
“Simultaneously, I engaged in a process of consultation and discussion with the mobile operators for them to voluntarily begin to reduce the MTR. This then culminated in an agreement for an initial cut of the MTR from R1.25 to 89 cents, with effect from 1 March 2010.
“In line with this, Icasa approved a revised amended interconnection agreement,” he explained. Nyanda said Icasa had now released draft regulations aimed at ensuring cost-based MTR rates in July 2010 on a gliding scale.
The department successfully hosted the national summit on set-top box manufacturing, which involved industry players, according to Nyanda. “We will conclude the conformance scheme in the first quarter of this financial year. A draft rollout plan for the Scheme for Ownership of set-top boxes for poor television-owning households has been developed. The scheme provides poor people with subsidies that allow them to procure the set-top box.” The department further had created an ICT industry forum to make ICT relevant to the people of South Africa. The forum has since met twice.
“I am also of the opinion that the government can use ICT to improve its efficiency and streamline its operations,” said Minister Nyanda.
“Therefore, the development of a coherent framework for the deployment and utilisation of ICT in government is critical. It is urgent that the government adopts and uses ICT in order to modernise services, improve administration and efficiency.”
Piet Coetzer
