Alan Winde, Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, said the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism was investigating sites for a Bandwidth Barn in the townships and had already inspected potential sites in Nyanga and Khayelitsha.
Read more: ZA: New 'Bandwidth Barn' to Connect Townships to the World 5 September
The workshop drew inputs from senior managers from the departments of Science and Technology, Basic Education, Higher Education and Training, Health, Trade and Industry, Home Affairs, Public Service and Administration, Arts and Culture. There was input also from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa and the State Information Technology Agency.
Leading experts in this market believe the country faces an uphill battle against ruthless suppliers who vaguely understand biometrics and are driving sales targets without providing adequate after-sales service. There are also many posers who have no genuine track record in the market or sufficient expertise to add any real value.
Read more: South Africa’s biometric industry under threat from ‘cowboys’
This emerged during an inter-departmental stakeholder workshop hosted by the Department of Communications (DOC) today.
The workshop was held with various stakeholders from the departments of science and technology, basic education, higher education and training, health, trade and industry, home affairs, public service and administration, arts and culture, as well as representatives from the Independent Communications Authority of SA and the State IT Agency.
The initiative, the Mobile Health Information System (MHIS), is a collaborative effort that uses mobile technology to support the work of rural health professionals. The pilot project was rolled out in two phases, and now provides health workers in community health centres, tertiary and district hospitalswith an Internet-capable, commercially available smart phone pre-loaded with a locally-relevant, reliable clinical library containing about 4,000 pages of content. The Mobile Health Library includes South African treatment guidelines, drug formularies, diagnostic tools, and other evidence-based content. Information is downloaded using 3G connectivity from the ECDOH mobile library portal to mobile devices.
Read more: ZA: Proving that mobile can revolutionise healthcare