At a Parliamentary portfolio committee meeting last week, members asked when the smart card would become a reality. The department said announcements will be made soon since the current green ID book is not sufficient to match new technologies and transactions under the IT modernisation project.
Small towns are reaping the benefits of having free internet access, whilst large metropolitan cities appear to be lagging behind.
Stellenbosch residents will soon be able to access wireless internet in the city after the service went live on Friday. Though still in a trial phase, free Wi-Fi is currently available at the town centre and will run for two to three weeks before extending the network to the greater Stellenbosch area.
Delivering her State of the Province Address in Mamelodi, Pretoria, on Monday, Mokonyane outlined a number of projects, saying there would be a strong emphasis on concrete, deliverable programmes.
"In the coming financial year, our endeavour will be focused on the accelerated implementation of these mega-projects that will serve as catalytic drivers of growth and development in Gauteng," she said.
Affordable broadband is being promised by the Western Cape, Gauteng and the Department of Communications.
In January 2012 Communications Minister Dina Pule reaffirmed the Department of Communications’ (DoC’s) commitment to deliver 100% broadband penetration in South Africa by 2020.
Read more: ZA: Cheap broadband for everyone (promises, promises…)
The lack of adequate IT systems across government has been cited as a key obstacle to service delivery, and the reason behind several adverse findings in the auditor-general's (AG's) latest general report, on National Audit Outcomes, by a risk management consultant.
According to the report, of the 38 national departments audited all had “findings” related to IT service continuity; 92% did not fully comply with user-access management controls; 81% did not have full security management systems in place; and 79% did not have a complete IT governance framework.