Deputy President praises Microsoft, and asks for more
12-JUL-06
Speaking at the Microsoft – Government Leaders Forum for Africa in Cape Town, Ms Mlambo-Ngcuka said the demand for ICT skills in the country was “high and urgent”.
She said the country needed the private sector’s help to enhance training in ICT as tertiary institutions such as the Information Sector Education and Training Authority still needed additional capacity.
The forum was also attended by Microsoft Chairperson Bill Gates, to discuss Africa's global competitiveness and how the continent could reach the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
As part of this co-operation program, Microsoft hopes to work closely with governments to help them detect and deal with IT security threats.
Ms Mlambo-Ngcuka further commended the company for placing “a great number” of unemployed university graduates within its ranks.
“We are indeed highly appreciative of this co-operation and it growing even more for most of our [African] countries while Microsoft has training academies,” said the Deputy President.
As South Africa endeavours to reduce poverty and inequality in its second decade of freedom, Ms Mlambo-Ngcuka said this initiative could be heightened by outreach programmes to communities through ICT.
In this regard, she said government supported the rollout of ICT teacher education for schools, which was in line with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) and Microsoft’s initiative on local languages software.
To encourage growth and to broaden access to technology, Microsoft's Local Language Program (LLP) localises Microsoft Windows and Office into local languages.
In East Africa alone, more than 100 million people who speak Kiswahili now access computers in their native language.
“The power of Information Technology is its capacity to connect people to each other, to their wider communities and to new opportunities and in our case to be directed to community development, poverty alleviation and service delivery,” she Ms Mlambo-Ngcuka..
She reaffirmed that despite technological challenges, South Africa and the continent remained optimistic about the future.
For three consecutive years, she explained, African economies grew at an average of five percent per annum and it was expected to increase to 5.8 percent this year – the fastest in three decades.
The aggregate growth rate remained below seven percent and the Economic Commission for Africa as well as the World Bank estimated this as a minimum average pace at which Sub-Saharan African countries needed to grow in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals.
“The external debt situation of Africa also improved in 2005 and is expected to improve further in 2006 owing to higher export earnings, continued debt relief and more active debt management.” "This gives us hope for the future of the continent,” she said.
Ms Mlambo-Ngcuka again acknowledged that there were still challenges on the relationship between African growth and the global market.
Challenges that negatively affected the continent’s economic growth include, inadequate infrastructure and capital, low foreign direct investments and savings as well as lack of skills, she said.
“In Nepad, we need to close this gap. We have identified ICT as an important enabler of growth and development so we need the infrastructure and human capital to roll out ICT to achieve higher shared growth,” said Ms Mlambo-Ngcuka.
By Thapelo Sakoana - BuaNews
