from MTHULISI SIBANDA in Cape Town
Western Cape Bureau
CAPE TOWN, (CAJ News) – SOUTH Africa’s Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies has expressed frustration at what he believes are misplaced priorities by citizens in the way they utilise the internet, amid increased connectivity.
It is widely reported South Africans use the internet mostly for a variety of fun and entertainment purposes, with popular activities including social media, watching videos and streaming content as well as online gaming.
Minister Solomon “Solly” Malatsi believes by such, instead of entrepreneurial and education purposes, locals are denying themselves and opportunity of empowerment and the country missing out on an opportunity to grow its digital economy.
Speaking at the just-concluded Africa Tech Festival in Cape Town, he expressed disquiet, in a nation suffering some of the most economic disparities in the world.
“One of the things that frustrates me a lot is when you look at the percentage of internet usage in the South African context,” Malatsi said in an exclusive interview at the Africa Tech Festival.
He continued, “Approximately (in South Africa), 60 percent of that (internet access) is towards social media use, which means that it is largely for entertainment purposes.”
“Ideally, we want to see the shift moving towards e-commerce and e-learning activities because then, it shows you have a population that is sufficiently skilled to use the internet productively.”
The minister backed his sentiments on statistics from a World Bank study indicating that a 10-percent increase in broadband penetration was linked to an increase of 1,3 percent to 1,5 percent increase in gross domestic product (GDP).
Thus, broadband access is a major step towards to alleviating poverty.
“It means we get to steer people towards being more active for entrepreneurial purposes when they are online, more transactions when they are online and using connectivity for e-learning purposes,” Malatsi said.
Malatsi, who has been minister since July 2024, said the priorities on the government of national unity, under which he is serving, were “clear.”
“We want to create more jobs, get people out of poverty and reduce the cost of living so that we have more families having disposable income to provide from themselves,” the minister said.
According to the government’s South Africa Connect, approximately 79 percent of the country has some form of internet access.
– CAJ News