IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

On Wednesday, the Worcester centre was fully equipped with a computer room containing 50 computer terminals, educational aids, internet connectivity and training facilities, Suraya Hamdulay, Vodacom’s head of corporate citizenship, said.

Internet service provider RocketNet and fixed network operator (FNO) Zoom Fibre have partnered to rollout high-speed fibre internet in Saldanha Bay.

The move is in line with the West Coast city’s vision to turn Saldanha Bay Municipality into a safe, digital city, according to a statement.

Amoeba TSC won the tender to lay the cable needed for fibre internet in 2020 and selected Zoom Fibre as its implementation partner and funder.

Technology is a platform on which collective human progress is built, transforming the fundamentals of commerce and production, and the ways we work and live. As an accelerator of development, it is also highly disruptive, redefining jobs and skills while also reshaping industries.

Given the reach of digital technology and the change it promises, there is a need to shepherd these exciting technologies without diminishing its energy and potential - a role that nicely aligns with government priorities.

COVID-19 has highlighted underlying vulnerabilities that undermine South African citizens’ quality of life.

These include growing inequality, limited and/or aging infrastructure, and a shortage of public resources to address these challenges – but applying smart city principles to all cities, and not only flagship projects, can help address some of these vulnerabilities.

A quarter of the way through 2016 and it’s clear that service delivery is set to be one of the main topics of conversation in political circles. In his State of the Nation address, President Jacob Zuma was careful to highlight the importance of delivering municipal services.

“ Our Back to Basics local government revitalisation plan was launched in September 2014, and 2015 has been the year of intensive implementation. In this second phase of implementation, national government will engage in more active monitoring and accountability measures.”

We attended the AfricaCom 2020 convention in Cape Town last November 2017 and caught up with some of the EHealth experts present there to try and get a better feel for what is happening in this field. We asked them about the need for EHealth solutions, examples of what is currently out there and how these digital healthcare solutions work.

The definition of EHealth

Ehealth refers to the digitization of healthcare; putting digital tools in the hands of healthcare professional and patients. “In practice this encompasses many aspects of digital health, including: electronic patient management systems, digital health records, mHealth or mobile solutions, telemedicine and much more”, explains Taryn Springhall, Editor at eHealthNews.

Rigatech, a company that has been formed specifically to grow South Africa’s ICT skills base, is focusing on developing one particular demographic: previously disadvantaged women.

The study found that the basis for moving forward with an innovation such as cloud computing is present, but complex.