USAASA gets a facelift

By Damaria Senne, ITWeb senior journalist

Johannesburg, 06 Nov 2007

The Universal Service and Access Agency of SA (USAASA) has been given a facelift so it can better deliver on its mandate, says USAASA CEO James Theledi.

Theledi was speaking in the lead up to the state agency`s presentation to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications on Friday, 9 November. Yesterday, USAASA also held its annual general meeting.

Under the new strategic plan, USAASA is to directly manage the universal service fund and work with partners to drive ICT adoption and usage in under-serviced areas, he says.

USAASA will also refurbish its 234 multipurpose centres and 154 telecentres, he adds. The government agency is also putting in place a mechanism to attract skilled people and retain them.

"We are all committed to changing perceptions about USAASA and to put the agency in its rightful place [within the ICT sector]."

Theledi says USAASA`s strategic plan has firm deadlines and measurable success indicators. The targets translate into performance contracts for the CEO, executives and senior managers, he notes.

USAASA will also operate in a transparent manner and be held accountable for its delivery or lack thereof. "We want to open up the agency to scrutiny so we can get closer to people on the ground."

Driving adoption

Theledi says USAASA will refurbish about 40 cyberlabs and 30 telecentres by the end of the financial year in March 2008. The rest of the work is to be done in the 2008/9 financial year, when USAASA has a new funding allocation.

USAASA is also partnering with government agencies, academic institutions and non-profit organisations to raise broader awareness of ICT and the related benefits, he says. The state agency plans to play a role in the coordination of ICT education in under-serviced areas, as it is the key driving adoption, he adds.

The multipurpose centres, telecentres and digital hubs that USAASA built across the country are under-utilised because communities do not fully understand the benefits of ICT, Theledi explains.

USAASA`s research also found teachers can be a barrier to learners` usage of ICT if the teachers do not understand the benefits of technology, he says.

"It shows you how we`ve made ICT into a myth. It also shows you how we`ve failed to configure Internet content so that it relates to the school curriculum, so the teacher is able to deliver learning."

Long-term goal

Theledi says, in the long-term, USAASA`s activities will be housed within government`s comprehensive ICT strategy, to be developed by the Department of Communications and approved by Cabinet.

The ICT strategy aims to coordinate all of government`s ICT-related activities, including Sentech`s wireless broadband network, Infraco and the Nepad Broadband Infrastructure Network project. "Currently, there are disparate projects, but we don`t have a coordinated plan," he says.

Working within this framework will enable a smoother funding process, and enable USAASA to better assist government in meeting its development goals, Theledi says.