The MD, Anderson Kgomotso, who is also a member of Citizen Owned Businesses in Information Technology (COSBIT), said citizens cannot afford to be spectators in the development and growth of the ICT sector. He was speaking yesterday at the opening of a two-day ICT Pitso in Gaborone.
Kgomotso said citizens get only 10 percent of funds spent on ICT in Botswana. The remainder goes to foreign-owned projects.
He criticized policymakers, saying that some of the policies in use today were not different from those implemented during Botswana's early years of independence, when the country did not have enough human capacity.
In contrast, he showed, Botswana had close to 3,000 unemployed graduates in the ICT sector as at March this year. Current tertiary institution enrolment stands at 31,000 and is projected at 70,000 in the year 2020. He said the unemployed graduates should be able to benefit from the Botswana Training Authority (BOTA) levy, which he said was currently underutilised. Citizens in the ICT sector should be empowered though capacity building, employment and education and skills development. He said citizen economic empowerment would help build local capacity and build confidence for international investors.
He said it would also help with ICT exports, which will lead, therefore, to economic growth and diversification. He said citizen empowerment would also result in a secure and sustainable industry, and help in the arresting of capital flight from the country.
He said all citizens, both those in the public and private sector, could better the local sector with accountability.
"Those in the public sector can blacklist those of us in the private sector, but if they (government employees) do not handle tenders well, they can just go on to be promoted," he said.
He however said that the Botswana Innovation Hub was a good initiative that could benefit Botswana if used properly. He also said political will was needed if citizens were to be empowered.
The ICT Pitso continues today.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Gothataone Moeng
Quelle/Source: Mmegi Online, 02.09.2011
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