ISPA is still finding that there is a huge need for affordable broadband services accessible from these schools. Furthermore, according to ISPA’s Regulatory Advisor, Dominic Cull, there remains a massive amount of work to be done. “We are moving from an access challenge to an affordability challenge. The role of the Universal Service Agency of SA (USAASA) and the Universal Service Access Fund (USAF) in meeting this challenge remain critical,” he says.
Speaking at the inaugural summit on mobile health last week, deputy minister Obed Bapela said SA has been chosen to host the next three summits by Global Society Mobile Health and the Mobile Health Alliance.
He added that the summit's aim is to come up with practical solutions, relevant to developing countries, on how mobile health can help improve healthcare delivery.
During his budget vote speech yesterday, deputy minister Hlengiwe Mkhize said this is because the department acknowledges that technology in education is increasingly occupying a dominant space in the 21st century.
“E-learning has the potential to fast-track open and distance education and training, which will enable access for vulnerable groups, including the disabled and learners from rural communities.”
Noting that mHealth services could be distributed easily across the country due to the high mobile penetration rate, Bapela listed four key ways in which South Africa would benefit from such services. These included raising the average life expectancy, reducing infant mortality rates, fighting disease including HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, and augmenting the country’s health ecosystem.
Read more: Communications deputy trumpets importance of mHealth services in South Africa
More than 23 million people are registered to vote in this year's municipal elections, and the IEC has printed 70.5 million ballot papers, for the first time printing the sheets in colour. Previously, only national election ballots were printed in colour.
However, reams of paperwork, physical voting and standing in queues could soon become a thing of the past, as the commission is exploring whether electronic voting will become a reality.
Read more: ZA: Independent Electoral Commission ponders e-votes