Rybko believes that the official e-strategy is gaining momentum in the realisation of its objectives. These objectives include establishing a program for the people and a mechanism by which ICT capabilities are used to help deliver economic and social development.
“Having scrutinised relevant documents and previous studies conducted, including Public Service IT Policy Framework and the Status of E-government in South Africa, it is quite clear that the provision of government e-services is directly related to the effectiveness of government online strategy and this process is well underway,” says Rybko.
Read more: South Africa: e-Govt on track but some hurdles along the way
The long awaited ‘Broadband Policy for South Africa’ was published in Government Gazette 33377 yesterday, giving guidelines on Government’s plans to provide all citizens with broadband services by 2019.
“The vision of this policy is to ensure universal access to Broadband by 2019 by ensuring that South Africans are able to access Broadband either individually, or as a household, subscribe to a Broadband service, or are able to access a Broadband service directly or indirectly at a private or public access point,” the broadband policy states.
“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.”
In light of this the minister's budget speech highlighted ICT projects and areas of technological need.
However, bad apples such as the home affairs, Cipro and Ministry of State Security Web sites, mean the room for improvement is vast.
So say online strategy experts, Howard Rybko, CEO of Syncrony; and Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx.
The first is the Tsilitwa telehealth project located in the Eastern Cape region. It uses a system where nurses send live pictures of a patient over a wireless network to a remote doctor, while consulting with the doctor about treatment options using a VoIP connection.
Read more: Mobile Health Applications: The South African Way