Abstract
International and national data made available during the past few years indicate that access to and use of information and communication technology (ICT) and services is experiencing slow growth in South Africa. In the early 2000s, South Africa led Africa in terms of ICT infrastructure development. However, more recent ICT statistics indicate that other African countries, such as Nigeria and Mauritius are advancing faster than South Africa in this regard. The World Economic Forum Global Information and Communication Report (2012, in e-Skills Institute Newsletter, 2012a) states that the sub-Saharan African region still has the least developed ICT infrastructure in the world, and also has a severe lack of ICT skills. Having considered the Southern African ICT infrastructure deficiencies, this article captures and evaluates ICT policy and regulatory interventions instituted by South Africa towards the creation of a knowledge society. The article starts by providing brief historical background on ICT access and use in South Africa, and states the stakeholders engaged in transforming South Africa towards e-readiness. The Digital Access Index is applied as a measuring instrument or research method to measure the South African e-readiness status. Further, the article evaluates the progress of South Africa towards becoming an information society by comparing levels of public access to, and usage of ICT in South Africa with those of selected African countries and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n10p331
Highlights
South Africa has been characterized by development and information production and use imbalances that were mostly associated with the digital divide in the country (Oyedemi, 2011)
Since the administration of former Presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, the South African government developed regulatory frameworks geared towards promoting South Africa as an information society, which include the Telecommunications Act 103 of 1996, the Telecommunications Amendment Act 64 of 2001, the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) Terrestrial and Submarine (EASSy) Broadband project, which covers 23 countries in East and Southern Africa, the Information Society and Development (ISAD) Plan and Multi-Stakeholder Policy Formulating Body, which is based at the national Department of Communications (DoC), as well as the Broadband Policy of 2013 (Mungadze, 2013)
This article explored the progress made by South Africa towards becoming a network and an information society
Summary
South Africa has been characterized by development and information production and use imbalances that were mostly associated with the digital divide in the country (Oyedemi, 2011). This article contributes input to the Southern African digital divide and universal access ICT policy debates, and records the historical development of South Africa as an information society since 1996, when the. Such views alert national ICT policy makers about ICT that needs rapid development for the benefit of the public In this regard, the 2012 World Economic Forum (WEF) “Networked Readiness” Report of 142 countries states that despite being one of the most solid political and regulatory environments (23rd), and better framework conditions for entrepreneurs and innovation (50th) in the sub-Saharan African region, South Africa occupied 72nd place and is not yet leveraging the potential benefits associated with ICT (e-Skills Newsletter, 2012a). The article ends with concluding remarks and recommendations on the topic under discussion
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