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DTPS: Hlengiwe Mkhize: Address by Deputy Minister of Telecommunications, during the Local Government Business Network Public Sector Week, Cape Town (11/02/2016)

Hlengiwe Mkhize
Hlengiwe Mkhize

11th February 2016

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Representatives from Dept. Home affairs
Representatives from City of Johannesburg
Representatives from City of Cape Town
Representatives from Aurecon
Representatives from Software AG
Representatives from EOH
Representatives from SALGA
The organisers, Local Government Business Network

Ladies and gentlemen

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Good Morning

Introduction

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Colleagues and friends, your breakfast is historic, it is happening just a few hours before our president, Mr JG Zuma delivers the State of the Nation Address, under the theme: “Following our Commitments to the People”. We expect him to report to the nation how the Government is unlocking the barriers and obstacles towards achieving our objectives, as, contained in the 9 point plan, he presented last year, during State of the Nation address (SONA) 2015.

The government’s Nine-point Plan is intended to boost economic growth and create the much-needed jobs. The innovative solutions in the smart cities should all be linked and contribute to the components of the Nine-Point Plan which are as follows:

  •     Revitalising agriculture and the agro-processing value chain
  •     Adding value to our mineral wealth (advancing beneficiation and support to the engineering and metals value chain)
  •     More effective implementation of a higher impact Industrial Policy Action Plan
  •     Unlocking the potential of small, medium and micro enterprises, cooperatives and township enterprises
  •     Operation Phakisa (Oceans Economy, Mining, Health, Tourism, Basic Education, etc.)
  •     Encouraging private sector investment
  •     Resolving the energy challenge
  •     Moderating workplace conflict
  •     State reform and boosting the role of state-owned companies, information and communications technology infrastructure or broadband roll-out, water, sanitation and transport infrastructure

This year’s given theme, which is important to bear in mind as we anticipate the coming local government elections is, “The Year of Advancing People’s Power: Local Government is in Your Hands”. This year we will be celebrating 60 years since the women’s march of 9 August 1956 to the Union Buildings against the pass laws and 40 years of the Soweto Uprisings. During the 104th January 8th celebrations, the President has well-articulated how the youth of 2015 have demonstrated that they can be agents of positive social change.

The manner in which they elevated the plight of the difficulties in financing education in this country was reminiscent of the militant spirit shown by young people during the 1976 Soweto Uprisings. As we pursue our endeavour to go back to the basics in combating challenges at the local government level, in eradicating the lingering vestiges of apartheid, we must harness this enduring activism of young people.

Today, also marks a day when our first president of the democratic government, President Nelson Mandela was released from Victor Verster Prison in Paarl. The journey in realising what we are doing here today is part of the dream Tata Madiba, had, to recognise the injustices of our past; honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land; and respect those who have worked to build and develop our country…heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on fundamental human rights….improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person; and build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful state as a sovereign state in the family of nations.

In my view, this 8th Public Sector Week, should be unpacked in the spirit of the dream and the vision embedded in our constitution. Just last year you talked about “21 Years Ahead, the Infrastructure Development Future of South Africa”, a topic that resonates very well with the country’s vision and one of government’s priority programmes, the infrastructure build programme which was launched in 2012.

On the 9th February 2016 we celebrated Safer Internet Day, under the theme is "Play your part for a better Internet". The greater importance of the Internet was highlighted when it was declared the ghost development goal by the United Nations during identification and discussions of the Sustainable Development Goals. Observing the current trajectory in terms of technological innovations, The Internet of Things will leap frog us to levels unthought-of and also assist us in fast-tracking the realisation of our 9 point plan as ICTs are cross cutting.

Smart Cities and their Economic Benefits

There are varying definitions in terms of what a Smart City is? Others have defined a Smart City as a developed urban area that creates sustainable economic development and high quality of life by excelling in multiple key areas; economy, mobility, environment, people, living, and government. Excelling in these key areas can be done through strong human capital, social capital, and/or ICT infrastructure. For us the main struggle and the key focus area is inequality and inclusive economic growth.

Smart cities are a result of the driven national policy objective of building a digital economy and a digital society as outlined in the National Development Plan (NDP) and SA Connect. Smart city technologies can have an intense impact on the prosperity of a country. Cities are becoming smart not only in terms of the way we can automate routine functions serving individual persons, buildings, traffic systems but in ways that enable us to monitor, understand, analyse and plan the city to improve the efficiency, equity and quality of life for its citizens in real time.

This is changing the way we are able to plan across multiple time scales, raising the prospect that cities can be made smarter in the long term by continuous reflection in the short term.

A Smart City should enable every citizens to engage with all the services on offer, public as well as private, in a way best suited to their needs. It brings together hard infrastructure, social capital including local skills and community, institutions, and digital technologies to fuel sustainable economic development and provide an attractive environment for all.

Tens of billions of devices and systems are connecting in the Internet of Things, bringing revolutionary changes to cities; improving traffic flows, boosting building efficiency and maximising water use, for example. As a result, variety of services such as e-commerce, e-education, e-industry and e-government are unlocked.

Increased Urbanisation

South Africa has the largest and most industrialised economy in Africa, and the 33rd-largest economy in the world. Nearly 62 per cent of its total population of 50 million live in urban areas. This makes it one of the most urbanised countries in sub-Saharan Africa, after the small states of Reunion, Gabon and Djibouti. According to the NDP, urbanisation requires new housing, extended services and improved public transport.
Consistent with most of the world, South Africa has experienced rapid urbanisation.

In 2008, half the world’s population was urbanised and by 2030 nearly three out of every five people will live in 17 urban areas. South Africa is slightly more urban than the global average: about 60 percent of the population is urbanised, and this is projected to be about 70 percent by 2030.

One of the aspirations in the African Union’s Agenda 2063 is “A Prosperous Africa Based on Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development”. A particular sub-aspiration related to this is that by 2063, Africa shall be a prosperous continent, with the means and resources to drive its own development, and where:

“Cities and other settlements are hubs of cultural and economic activities, with modernised infrastructure, and people have access to all the basic necessities of life including shelter, water, sanitation, energy, public transport and ICT;”

Strategic Integrated Project 15

Infrastructure investment is one of the key priorities pointed out in the National Development Plan. This is one of the actions that will lead us towards a transformed economy, directing national growth and driving job creation. In 2012 government adopted and started implementing a long-term, government-led infrastructure investment programme. This programme is driven by the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Committee (PICC) and is divided according to different sectors into what is called Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPs).

Within the South African Infrastructure build programme there is SIP 15 which talks to “Expanding access to communication technology”. We are working towards a target to provide for broadband coverage to all households by 2020, establishing core Points of Presence (POPs) in district municipalities and further penetrate the network into deep rural areas.

We are working closely with the private sector whose focus is to invest in ICT infrastructure for urban and corporate networks, whilst government co-invests for township and rural access, as well as for e-government, school and health connectivity.

Our agencies have been to provinces working with district and local municipalities ensuring that even the poorest of the poor are connected. Parallel to this process, as a department we have been to various villages connecting schools ensuring that a village must at least have an ICT Hub. Together with our agencies, our combined effort was to fulfil targets set by government’s infrastructure build programme.

South Africa Connect

One of the critical areas wherein local government and corporate South Africa can collaborate to digitise the public sector and improve service delivery to the South African citizen is the ICT Sector. The leading policy document in the ICT Sector is the South Africa Connect Broadband Policy.

South Africa Connect is the manifestation of South Africa’s vision in the NDP of a seamless information infrastructure by 2030 that will underpin a dynamic and connected vibrant information society and a knowledge economy that is more inclusive, equitable and prosperous.

The high-level numeric targets for sustainable and inclusive growth include a fall in the strict unemployment rate from 25 percent to 14 percent in 2020 to 6 percent by 2030, a rise in the labour force participation rate from 54 percent in 2010 to 65 percent by 2030 and about 11 million additional jobs by 2030.

Approaches to Smarter Cities

Basic infrastructure of smart city includes assured water and electricity supply, sanitation and solid waste management, efficient urban mobility with public transport, robust ICT connectivity, e-government and citizen participation including the safety and security of citizens. However in order to achieve the smart city evolution, one needs to ensure that smart solutions are deployed for such cities.

Public information, grievance redressal, electronic service delivery, citizens’ engagement, waste to energy & fuel, waste to compost, 100% treatment of waste water, smart meters & management, monitoring water quality, renewable source of energy, efficient energy and green building, smart parking, intelligent traffic management system.

Government’s role in the Development of Smart Cities

The role that we as a Government have to play is to:

  •      Foster the development of a rich environment of broadband networks that support digital applications, ensuring that these networks are available throughout the city and to all citizens.
  •     Address regulatory frameworks and update policy to leverage public resources to support innovation while ensuring the public’s best interests.
  •     Craft policies to encourage cleaner and more sustainable mobility.
  •     Reconcile an autonomous future with traditional planning objectives via land-use policy, infrastructure design and infrastructure pricing.
  •     Provide a platform for private-sector innovation through transparent and open-source public data.
  •     Proactive cooperation between governments, local authorities, and both public and private mobility providers
  •     Accelerated expansion of intelligent transportation systems via new infrastructure to increase safety, reduce congestion and better manage incidents
  •     Maximise positive behavioural shifts through pricing, real-time information and balanced infrastructure such as complete streets and improved public space
  •     Leverage opportunities to upgrade existing infrastructure utilising emerging technologies
  •     Act as enablers for innovation across mobility ecosystem

Conclusion

Our cities are so much more than where we live and work; they are where we create, where we build, where we exchange goods and information, where we encounter one another. Our cities are alive, and we wish to see them flourish. Vital as they are, our cities are facing unprecedented challenges; as they expand, as they become denser, as they confront new threats to their very being from resource constraints and an increasingly volatile climate. As these challenges to the city mount, so too does our power of innovation.

We have never had a better understanding of the complex systems that comprise our cities, of the subtle interactions between physical infrastructure and human desire that animate urban life. Our cities are indeed alive; it is finally within our means to make them intelligent.

A strategy to transform the operations of our cities using technology, and to re-invest the savings achieved by doing so into new services and initiatives that create economic growth, social mobility and resilience is not going to succeed without direct leadership. Similarly, technology vendors, service providers and research funding bodies are most attracted to invest in developing new ideas and capabilities in cities whose most senior leaders are directly seeking them, they all need the outcomes of their investment to achieve real change, and it’s only through the leaders that such change will happen.

I thank you.

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