Without Smart Devices, Digital Inclusion Is An illusion

The single most powerful way to empower tens of millions of South Africans quickly is to drive down the cost of smart devices and get cheap, reliable broadband into their hands.

The ability to participate in e-commerce, remote work, online education and digital financial services creates a world of opportunity currently closed to the poor and unemployed, writes Solly Malatsi.

Malatsi, minister of communications & digital technologies, writing in the Sunday Times stated that it was his mission to change that by opening wide a path to a digital future for every South African, from the most remote rural area to every city in the country.

A village-based young entrepreneur with a game-changing idea but no way to access global markets remains invisible,.

An unemployed graduate without access to the internet who cannot apply for opportunities online is stuck in stuck in perpetual unemployment.

A student without a mobile device is cut off from the wealth and advantages of digital learning. This is not just a digital divide — it is an economic barrier that perpetuates inequality.

I have adopted a two-pronged approach to driving the change we need.

First, we need to make it easier for businesses, both domestic and international, to offer affordable, fast, reliable broadband to every South African.

Our mobile data is among the most expensive on the continent, with users paying an average of 10.5% of their monthly income for internet access, compared to just 1.2% in developed economies.

That is why one of the key targets for my department in the government’s Medium-Term Development Plan is a decision to allow businesses to contribute to empowerment through equity equivalent programmes (EEPs). To give effect to this decision, I intend to issue a policy directive on the role of EEPs in the ICT sector as a mechanism to accelerate broadband access.

EEPs have been instrumental in attracting much-needed investments in areas such as the automobile sector, so proof of concept is established.