The Department of Communications' (DOC's) newly released strategic plan will place a focus on building up small business in the ICT sector.
The plan marks a shift of mindset for the department that has traditionally supported the idea of using the industry to develop others. Speaking during an interview with ITWeb, director-general Mamodupi Mohlala said the department wants to enable small IT businesses to flourish.
Read more: South Africa: Department of Communications wants to expand IT industry
The start-up phase for its national electronic health record system will finally begin in 2010, says the Department of Health.
While progress has been slow on the implementation of the system, the department says it will be ready to implement the system next year.
Speaking yesterday at the GovTech conference, in Durban, Cipro CIO Michael Twum-Darko said the office will demonstrate true e-government by transforming its processes.
While several draft broadband policies are under way for receiving public comment, SA is still no closer to effectively addressing the broadband digital divide, says Dominic Cull, telecommunications lawyer from Ellipsis Regulatory Solutions.
“The South African government needs to intervene to expand networks into marginal areas in conjunction with USAASA [the Universal Service and Access Agency of SA] and industry. It also needs to take a leading role in increasing uptake and usage of broadband through the provision of local content and e-government services,” Cull pointed out.
The South African National Broadband Forum (SANBF) held a workshop earlier this year, focusing on the development of a framework for a national broadband strategy. The framework was released in April, focusing on various initiatives which will ensure that “all South Africans should have affordable broadband access to the Internet.”
Read more: South Africa: National broadband policy under the spotlight