President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasized the importance of investing in digital infrastructure as a major priority for South Africa’s seventh administration during his opening address to parliament on Thursday night.
He noted that digitization will be a crucial driver for job creation. To achieve this, the government intends to accelerate the roll-out of digital infrastructure to enhance connectivity rates, as part of a broader initiative to upgrade the country’s overall infrastructure.
“From our largest metros to our deepest rural areas, we have a clear intention to turn our country into a construction site, as roads, bridges, houses, schools, hospitals and clinics are built, as broadband fibre is laid and as new power lines are installed,” Ramaphosa stated.
“We also have a unique opportunity to position our country as a major player in the digital economy and create jobs in digital services.”
Juanita Clark, CEO of the Digital Council Africa, a telecoms industry association, told TechCentral that the president’s use of the word “fibre” interchangeably with construction highlights the government’s recognition of broadband as a utility.
The Digital Council Africa has been advocating for this matter for years, pushing the government to pre-provision fibre services in new constructions to reduce costs and deployment times, Clark explained.
Ramaphosa mentioned that the government also plans to invest in digital identity and payment systems. The lack of sophistication in South Africa’s digital identity systems has caused citizens to face administrative hurdles when dealing with various government departments. Often, they have to print and certify multiple copies of IDs, whereas digital links to the home affairs’ automatic biometric system could streamline these processes and eliminate the need for paper.
The president highlighted that digitizing public sector payment systems will enhance traceability, aid in combating fraud, and strengthen South Africa’s financial intelligence network. Digital payments not only mitigate the risks and costs associated with delivering social services, such as Sassa grant payments, but also save the state money and reduce the time recipients spend waiting in queues.
However, the push towards greater industrialization through infrastructure development encounters significant challenges like vandalism and crime. This issue is particularly problematic for the telecom sector. Mobile operators, already incurring substantial costs to manage load shedding, now have to invest even more to protect batteries and generators from criminal syndicates. Additionally, the senseless destruction of infrastructure, which offers no apparent economic benefit, poses a further threat to the sector.
Ramaphosa highlighted the police department as a crucial state organ where digitization will play a vital role in enhancing outcomes in the fight against organized crime. He emphasized the need for South Africa to have “capable and sophisticated” law enforcement agencies, committing to a “data-driven” approach to pinpoint violent crime hotspots and guide the distribution of policing resources.
Clark noted the president’s mention of tackling construction mafias, which have caused immense complications, financial losses, and even fatalities. “We appreciate that challenge,” Clark said, “and while we recognize it won’t be easy, we are prepared to collaborate to ensure it is addressed effectively.”
However, we would also like to see the government acknowledge and address the ongoing damage caused by the continual vandalism of mobile towers post-construction, which results in billions of lost income annually. Funds that could be applied to the expansion of networks have to be redirected just to keep existing sites operational,” she said.
Ramaphosa also identified local government as an area that could benefit from “harnessing digital public infrastructure” to drive growth and inclusion through the Operation Vulindlela reform project. Operation Vulindlela is a project office in the presidency aimed at expediting economic reforms.
Red tape at the local government level, along with a lack of rationalisation in municipal regulatory requirements and processes, has been a significant stumbling block for the telecoms sector, leading to longer lead times and cost overruns on infrastructure projects.
“Highlighting the role of municipalities, the government seems to be sending a clear message: it recognizes the significant impact local governments have on the rollout of telecoms infrastructure,” said Clark.
“The president stated, ‘simplifying and speeding up planning and regulatory processes can make it easier for businesses to invest and operate in a municipality, thus creating more jobs,’ indicating a potential focus on eliminating red tape, which he specifically mentioned later, to facilitate the deployment of telecoms infrastructure.
“However,” Clark continued, “there are other departments involved in the approval processes that act as roadblocks. We hope these issues will also be addressed.”
President Ramaphosa emphasized the importance of expanding access to affordable broadband and enhancing digital skills training for young people. He recognized that the state cannot achieve these reforms alone, stating: “We are simplifying the regulations on public-private partnerships to enable greater investment in both social and economic infrastructure development.”
He further mentioned, “As we pursue these new areas of growth, we will continue with the far-reaching reforms that enable growth.”