Deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has cited the high cost of telephone calls in SA as the biggest challenge facing the country in its quest to become a leading global destination for business process outsourcing (BPO).
Outlining government's strategy to market the country as a key destination for BPO, Mlambo-Ngcuka conceded that the cost of telephony in SA was a key challenge when trying to attract investors. She told Parliament this week: "We do have a challenge in the cost of telephone [calls]. In fact, that is the biggest challenge we face in the implementation of this strategy - but we are working on that."
Government has been interacting with potential investors in the call centre market and "the issue of [the high cost of] telecoms is probably the one that will be a deal breaker for most of them," she said.
Expanding on developments in this sector, she said government had designated 10 areas in the poorer parts of the country where call centres would be located, adding "there are a number of investors that have been able to go ahead, notwithstanding [the costs of telecommunications]".
Government is negotiating ways to take call centres to these areas, and is focusing on training members of these communities in the skills demanded by the growing BPO industry, she added.
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