Specialised technology is the answer to solving local tech problems, Lindiwe Sisulu, South Africa’s public service minister has said.
Sisulu spoke yesterday (Tuesday) at the GovTech 2013 conference, motivating stakeholders to pay attention to the ongoing problems still unconquered after two decades of democracy.
She questioned the sufficiency of government and private sector efforts in contributing towards socio-economic development in ensuring swift, effective service delivery.
“In present day South Africa we have challenges that require specific, and not generalised, off-the-shelf interventions to resolve, and so you fail us when you sweet-talk us into purchasing systems that do not enable us to build decent affordable homes for vulnerable citizens; do not empower our teachers to educate our children effectively for the future,” Sisulu said, as reported by the South African Press Association (SAPA).
She pointed to statistics saying a rise in internet penetration of 10 per cent translates to a 1.4 per cent rise in gross domestic product (GDP) in low and middle income economies.
South Africa’s high communication cost compared to global standards is one of the unanswered problems, she said.
Sisulu said: “How have the technologies we have adopted and procured as a state helped to accelerate service delivery to the masses of our people and to advance the attainment of a better life for all which we spoke about in 1994?”
She said South Africans should support local technology more to aid the situation.
