Huawei praises SA's ICT vision

Category: Software Created on Friday, 27 January 2012 13:27 Published Date

JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) - STAKEHOLDERS in the South African Communications industry welcomed the vision put forward by South Africa’s new minister of Communications saying she was committed to the growth of the sector.

In an a response to enquiries by CAJ News, officials at Huawei, a leading cellphone and computer manufacturer, expressed excitement at Minister Dina Pule’s vision.

Chief Executive Officer for Huawei Technologies Africa, Peng Song said her focus on industry partnerships and commitment to delivering a 100 percent broadband penetration by 2020 was indicative of the fact that she was driven to bring results.

"As a leading global ICT player, we are excited about the opportunities that this brings for us to share our expertise and innovative ideas from our experience in the global telecoms industry with operators, enterprises and customers across Africa.

"We will continue to work hand in hand with our strategic partners to bridge the digital divide and enrich the lives of all people through communication.

 “We also embrace her vision of creating 160 000 jobs by 2020 from broadband connectivity. Such targets can only make South Africa a better place, and as a business, we will always endeavor to create employment opportunities and procurement from local vendors in the ICT sector," said Song.

She Huawei was looking forward to partnering with the Minister and her team to help achieve South Africa’s 2020 vision for the communication sector.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU), an organizer in the Information and Communication and Technology (ICT) welcomed the commitment made by the Minister to improve State Own Enterprises in the ICT Sector.

“As CWU, we see this as a milestone in achieving good co-operate governance, creation of jobs in the ICT sector and delivery of ICT to the masses of our people.

"We also appreciate the Department of Communication’s intention to priorities our public broadcaster, the SABC. The SABC has been operating without proper leadership for a while and people used it as a milk cow for their selfish interests.

"We are happy that the Minister has appointed the SABC GCEO.  We are looking forward to the appointment of the SABC Chief Operations Officer (COO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO),” spokesperson Matankana Mothapho said.