By Kathy Gibson, Satnac 2013, Stellenbosch – Although the National Development Plan (NDP) hasn’t properly defined the role of ICT in turning the country around, there is a new focus on developing a strategy around ICT.
Dr Miriam Altman, head of strategy at Telkom SA and a commissioner on the National Planning Commission, explains that work is ongoing now on the role of ICT in the NDP, and the commission is in the process of strengthening the plan.
The NDP is about improving the lives of all South Africans, she says.
“So we need to be thinking about what impact our bb discussion has on the way we live and work. Does it improve quality of live, or does it entrench the way things are?”
The National Planning Commission is made up of 25 commissioners and one minister, all from different ideologies and skills sets.
“When President Zuma briefed us, he said we don’t have to follow the policy of the day. Our job was to avoid another energy crisis, or a potential water crisis. ICT is a good example, because no-one really owns it, IT could completely transform the way government delivers services.”
The NPC doesn’t have executive power, but needs to influence Cabinet.
“The NDP is not a rule book. It’s more of a reference document that’s supposed to bring the nation together. The most important messages are not the detail – because it’s a living document – but were about strengthening accountability, professionalising the government service, ensuring that incentives for public servants enable delivery, strengthening the outcomes of government.
“Plus there is a sense of moving away from top down process to one that engages civil society and a recognition that things won’t happen without engaging civil society. It’s a big ship to turn around, but that’s a very important element of what we want to change.”
The economy that we are in is still largely to do with mining, minerals and smelting, which affects the exchange rate and makes it difficult for companies to plan.
“When we design industrial policy we think about the development of manufacturing. However, very few people work in manufacturing and 70% of new jobs in the South African economy are in services.
“The real question about what people are going to be doing is whether they will be in low-level services or traded services, sectors where there is potential for productivity growth.
“The problem with industrial policy is that very little attention is given to expanding the growth orientated services sector like ICT. Historically we are a country that has been supporting smelters, not taking advantage of growth based services. It hasn’t been a priority. So the outcomes are very poor.
“We are not taking advantage of the commercial possibilities or the social improvements.”
In terms of the NDP, there is a big focus on expanding services like BPO, Dr Altman says the key is to get down to the cost of doing business, take advantage of opportunities and weather shocks.
“As a middle-income country, we need to compete on the basis of product,” she says. “But we invest very little in R&D. We should be throwing loads of resources at centres of excellence, to do the kinds of things that countries like Malaysia have done to generate a growth spurt.”
One of the most critical social challenges, she adds, is that the vast majority of South Africans live from crisis to crisis. The reason is because of high unemployment and low wage earnings, it’s impossible to save or create a buffer. Most people live under the poverty line and are moving from crisis to crisis.
“There is no way an economy can grow on a sustained basis in that context. So the need to stabilise people’s lives is important. One way to achieve that is to reduce the cost of living. One of the critical ways of doing that is to ensure public services are delivered to a quality where people don’t have to work around them and pay for that.
“I believe broadband could be one of the transformative things that could happen. The problem with planning is that people understand things like water, food, sanitation. When you say you are poor and need broadband it’s not so obvious.
“Broadband is futurist. What we do know is that if could roll our broadband and ensure that pubic services were enabled to take advantage of it; if rural people could do things without having to travel so far, it would have an impact.
“We know that broadband penetration and stimulating demand for products and services, would make a huge difference in an economy like South Africa.”
Government targets 100% broadband penetration, but 30% is probably more realistic in most countries of the world, she says. “The good thing with ICT is that you can write your own script.”
In a country where people are marginalised from services, broadband could be the way to give people access to services. “It could be one of the key transformative services.”
Africa suffers from great distances and dispersed populations, Dr Altman says, and broadband is a great way to get people connected.
Among the challenges for National Planning is that fact that this is a fast-changing industry and no-one knows what will be the standard in a couple of years’ time.
“Government is bureaucratic and slow-moving,” she adds. “It’s bound by rules which are meant to ensure accountability. It works better when it’s doing things that are regularised. What it’s not good at is engaging an industry that changes every five minutes.”
This made it difficult to decide on technologies that are future-proof in the NDP, and Dr Altman believes there is a future for both fixed and mobile networks.
“The challenge for government is to work out – knowing the costs and technologies are going to change over time – how to plan for something that is future-proof?”
There are a lot of dilemmas around ICT, one of the reasons the NPC was short on detail.
“There is also a question about who pays. The NDP recognises that, given the backlogs, it’s unlikely to reach all its goals. The idea of user pays is how broadband works now. However, to crate ubiquitous broadband networks requires huge investments and the question about who pays becomes important.
“In conclusion: do you think the Broadband Policy can get us to where we can improve public services and change the way people live and work; or is it about lines to houses? Also, why shouldn’t we have 100% access to broadband?” Dr Altman asks.