Durban ’ s ICT Strategy, A Change in Thinking

1. Durban’s ICT Strategy, A Change in Thinking ICT Cifal Workshop 18 May 2005

2. The city’s ICT strategy • Enabler • Effectively enable an e-administration • Financial systems • E-procurement • HR systems, etc • Enable an e-governance programme • Internet portal • Ability to access services electronically

3. Economic strategy to nurture / sustain an ICT Footprint • Use the city requirements around e-administration and e-governance as a tool to support the ICT Sector • Build locally as opposed to procuring / sourcing externally • Use of SMME’s on selected city projects • Transition to a Knowledge Economy • Strenghten Linkages to Durban’s knowledge - based resources • Cities core values serve as a guide in implementation of this strategy

4. Strategic ObjectivesE-Governance • Access to fast information flows that will allow innovative and flexible solutions • Affordability for local industries and SMME’s • Training of appropriate skills to match the requirements of the industry • Skills retention critical • To exploit eThekwini’s competitive advantages • Transformation of the sector to ensure equitable demographic representation. • Efficient and effective service delivery

5. Some of the pertinent core values • Support local • Promote SMME development • Support black economic empowerment • Partnerships for delivery / sustainability • Keep cost of delivery as low as possible Specific to ICT • Use open source solutions where possible • Retain IP • Share risk with our partners

6. Drivers • SA cannot afford to import the technology- too expensive • ICT’ s can provide a significant competitive advantage to firms • The sector is crosscutting and provides an enabling & empowering tool for many industries, especially in the area of logistics – a backbone of Durban’s competitive edge

7. Large pool of educated unemployed people • The need to develop unique IT solutions for the local environment • Economic growth is driven by knowledge, skills, innovation, entrepreneurship & ICT’s • 2010 Soccer World Cup will influence planning and implementation of ICTinfrastructure.

8. Conditions for Success • Clear strategy to drive implementation • ICT must be tied to the overall vision and the key of objectives of the city • Establish / nurture key partnerships • An available skills base that you can grow • Expansion & broad distribution of high capacity telecommunications infrastructure • Develop applications that use this infrastructure to support the public good • Not risk averse

9. City’s Comparative Advantages • Durban has the largest and most important port in Africa. • Large, diversified industrial and manufacturing sector • High degree of creativity, innovation in the city • Good ICT infrastructure in place • Best run City on the continent / good credit rating • Focussed city management team • Partnership efforts at stimulating knowledge industries is accelerating growth in several sectors: • Business Process Outsourcing (BPO’s) • Call centres

10. Comparative advantage allow for growth in specific areas • ICT and electronics in logistics • ICT in multi-media • ICT in local government solutions • BPO

11. T H A N K Y O U