As president Cyril Ramaphosa readies for the State of the Nation Address tonight, the ICT sector is optimistic the tech industry will be high on the agenda.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the 2025 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall tonight.
However, 2025 holds a lot of optimism, with some pundits saying the president will address ICT during his SONA, even if “superficially”.Thecla Mbongue, research manager for Middle East and Africa at Omdia, says the president will “definitely” mention ICT tonight. Christopher Geerdts, MD of BMIT, hopes the president will acknowledge the importance of digital transformation to allow SA to enjoy the benefits of a digital economy and remain competitive globally.“In digitally-advanced economies, governments are executing on policies and regulations to usher in an age of pervasive, affordable, reliable broadband, with a high degree of utilisation by citizens and advanced digital transformation with regards to public service delivery and key verticals .
S'bongiseni Vilakazi, Democratic Alliance MP and communications portfolio committee member, wants the president to acknowledge and address the “failure by previous ministers to amend archaic ICT legislation and policies”. “So far, as the DA, we are happy with the direction he is taking to make the department more service delivery oriented. He has engaged key stakeholders in the sector and they have shown support,” states Vilakazi.
“Improvement is needed in many fields, such as regulation , M&A approvals, infrastructure or taxation. Such parameters are crucial for a better market environment and to make the sector attractive to potential new investors.” It will be a bonus if the president announces the scrapping of import duties on smartphones, but that may be on the agenda for the budget speech, he notes.
“We hope the president can outline clear steps to purge the industry of the so-called ‘construction mafia’ that are inhibiting deployment in areas where infrastructure is most needed.
Digital Transformation Starlink Cyril Ramaphosa Khusela Sangoni-Diko Presidential Commission On The 4IR SONA 2025 Policy Overhaul Omdia Thecla Mbongue IDC SA Mark Walker IDC Hloni Mokenela Africa Analysis SA S'bongiseni Vilakazi Democratic Alliance
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