Share

Cwele: Everyone should have access to internet

Cape Town - Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Siyabonga Cwele believes that the internet and technology is a vital resource that must be accessible to all South Africans regardless of their background. 

Cwele was speaking on the opening day Africa Com 2016 in Cape Town on Tuesday when he said that we needed to use technology to serve humanity better.

“I look forward to discussions around how we can harness information technology and use it for the greater good of society across the continent,” he said. 

Cwele said that government did not have all the resources to provide citizens with high speed internet but was looking to innovative ways the private sector could partner with government to fast track the roll-out of broadband.

“There are also alternatives as we see Wi-Fi hot-spots are being set up in various places. We also know that there is a growing interest from a municipal level to set up smart cities which can then enable the internet of things,” Cwele added. 

“My department along with Icasa (the industry regulator) is working to lower the cost for people to communicate. This is what the citizens are demanding of us and we have to meet the demand, because in the end this will improve productivity in society,” he said. 

During the same presentation at the event, editor of Stuff magazine, Toby Shapshak said that the African continent was a hub of innovation as the Africans needed innovation out of necessity.

“Mobile money is one such innovation is being used widely across Africa and has the power to disintermediate banks in the continent. We have lots of problems, but we have to solve them ourselves,” he said.

He added that 80% of the world's mobile money transactions are taking place in East Africa while $148m a day is transacted through Mpesa, 40% of Kenya's gross domestic product (GDP) is transacted through mobile money.

Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter:

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.90
+0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.86
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.36
+0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.31
+0.3%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders