SA, along with Egypt and Kenya, has one of the most developed national ICT (NICT) plans in Africa.
This is according to Ronda Zelezny-Green, who conducted a study for Pyramid Research on national ICT plans in Africa. Her research highlighted problems that governments on the continent need to address to realise the success of their plans, and also the importance of the private sector in helping to fulfil NICT objectives.
An NICT plan, or ICT policy, differs from broadband plans, which are limited to the fixed service sector. NICT plans are broad, as they generally include targets for mobile and fixed sectors, ICT infrastructure, human resources, training and education, and regulatory and legal frameworks.
OAfrica.com, an organisation that aggregates ICT-related data from the continent, says there are 26 African countries with an NICT plan. OAfrica adds around 60% of these plans were active through 2011.
“South Africa has one of the most comprehensive national ICT plans on the continent,” says Zelzny-Green.
“With nearly two decades of national ICT planning, implementation and adjustments, the government there [in SA] has had time to develop an environment that encourages innovation and leverages market liberalisation to encourage private sector involvement and enhance competition in the ICT industry,” Zelzny-Green adds.
Pyramid Research looked at 15 African countries' particular aspects of NICT plans for their study, but they specifically focused on case studies of Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria.
“We observed that governments in Africa are actively pursuing multi-stakeholder partnerships to achieve their ICT plan goals, tying public-private contributions (including financial and intangible resources such as education) to the work that civil society organisations do on the ground,” Zelzny-Green notes.
Tim Katlic, founder and editor OAfrica.com, says African countries, however, face big challenges regarding implementations of ICT policies.
“Stakeholders face an array of challenges, including stubborn officials, lack of infrastructure, and a limited number of trained consultants,” Katlic says.
“The process of raising awareness, formulating goals, approving a plan, and implementing a plan often takes years.”
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