Denis Opudo
A change in the leadership in any country comes with revived hope from the citizens. This is not different with the South Africans who have their newly instilled president. Many people are having hope in President Cyril Ramaphosa to take back the country in its initial African tech position. The country was slowly drifting from its initial tech position in the continent. With a vast of business experience, there is hope for the president to revive the tech sector.
But the president and the minister of science and technology have a lot to deal with. From digital migration, SMEs fund to broadband plan, the president has a lot on his desk. Addressing all these issues will not be a walk in the park. Therefore the president should act quickly to give citizen back their lost pride. South Africa is one of the leading countries in Africa in the tech sector. But it requires new ideas to maintain the positive reputation.
The president should ensure an increase in investment in ICT infrastructure. This is because the country is working its way out to universal connectivity. Moreover, the partnership between public and private sector is also expected. Youths should learn the required skills to develop a strong IT workforce. Moreover, the president should come up with an e-government policy, digitizing government processes. This will improve service delivery and bring transparency to the government. He should borrow a leaf from the success of the eFilling initiative.
There is a need to have hope in the new leadership. This comes after the State of the Nation (SONA) address. The president promised to form a digital industrial commission. The commission will be tasked with ensuring that challenges in ICT are well addressed. South African economic development depends on how it adjusts with the technological changes. This is according to the president. The country, therefore, needs to develop its own capabilities in the areas of innovation, science, and technology. What citizens are waiting is for the president to make the words practical.
Operators are not happy with the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill. The bill involves taking spectrum from mobile operators and creating a wholesale open-access network (Woan). For instance, Vodacom says that the bill does not address the need to access available spectrum which is urgent. It also risks creating a monopoly in infrastructure. Therefore there is a call to revise the bill. The government also gave more hope to its 2016 establishment of an R1.5 billion SME Fund. This was meant for the high growth of SMEs. But SMEs have not yet seen any benefit from the initiative since there is no any investment made up to now.
The change in the tech sector depends on the general changes that will be made by the current leadership. The government should work on reducing the increasing national deficit. But this should not be in form of VAT increase rather by the proportion of economic growth. Ramaphosa should prioritize his issues. The infrastructure problems should be quickly addressed. The digital gap should also be bridged and businesses be encouraged to embrace technology.
