26 Apr 2018

Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Mr Kabelo Ebineng has urged Southern African Telecommunication Association (SATA) members and partners to collaborate and come up with ideas and solutions that will show impact in their countries and the region.

He stressed the need for continuous dialogue and synergies that would facilitate the best possible outcomes from their collective effort. Mr Ebineng made the remarks during a three-day SATA conference, noting that they should discuss the future growth and path of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry with the aim to benefit and improve the lives of their fellow countrymen and all within the region.

“It is our belief as the parent ministry that gatherings such as these are critical to the development of ICT and connectivity in our country and indeed the region as a whole.

This view is based on the acknowledgement that our growth is dependent on each other,” he added.

The conference attracted practitioners in the ICT industry and was held under the theme: ICT connectivity and service delivery for the benefit of all: Transforming our society through broadband and ICT development.

Mr Ebineng said the theme was important not only for the region but globally, adding that central to it was broadband which he described as a transformational technology similar to other disruptive innovations such as railroads, automobiles, airplanes and telegraphs.

He said broadband connectivity had revolutionised all aspects of life be it social, economic, political and any other aspects of communities and nations. In addition, he said the impact of connectivity had not only created a new and fast market of services, but had also added value to existing markets.

Furthermore, he pointed out that the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, a joint initiative of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UNESCO, believed that broadband was an essential element in modern society offering broad social and economic benefits.

Without broadband infrastructure and services, Mr Ebineng revealed that developing countries faced the risk of exclusion from participation in the rapidly growing global digital economy.

He said the commission believed that broadband networks constituted part of the basic infrastructure in the same manner as water, electricity and roads, and that it has application across all industrial sectors.

Additionally, he noted that broadband networks were increasingly providing the foundation for public services, social progress and sustainable development. Mr Ebineng said the Internet provided the underpinning platform for growth of ICTs and for an emerging digital economy in which production, distribution and consumption depended on broadband networks and services.

He said the Internet had demonstrated that it was a critical enabler of sustainable development. However, the permanent secretary revealed that the Internet society was concerned that the importance of the tool had not been sufficiently recognised, and that more must be done to integrate the information society and sustainable development agendas. “Without recognition of ICTs and the Internet, crucial opportunities to achieve development goals may and will be missed. This problem must be attended to and I believe the meeting will help us to look at the areas that are alarming as far as ICT is concerned,” he added.

Mr Ebineng urged participants to “learn from one another on what could work best and what does not work in the industry,” adding that they should come out with clarity regarding the things they needed to do more and those they needed to do less.ENDS