Communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams is concerned that SA relies heavily on software produced by the West or the East and says its time government focuses on home-grown technologies. Her reasoning is that if US president Donald Trump, for example, was to prevent all US companies from operating in SA, the country could be in trouble.
She is correct, but we do not have to start from scratch – we can use lots of existing open source software that cannot be switched off or taken away, and has no annual license fees in US$. Open source will mean South Africa is contributing to a global effort that achieves the same aims, and will prevent even local vendors from trying to create vendor lock-in. Why try re-invent a wheel that is working globally already and will tick the same boxes regarding requirements? Best of all, no government tenders are first needed to fund such a process. The bus is already travelling, South Africa must just jump on board.
See government#^‘SA needs tech boost in case Trump recalls US companies’
Communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams is concerned that SA relies heavily on software produced by the West or the East and says its time government focuses on home-grown technologies. Her reasoning is that if US president Donald Trump, for example, was to prevent all US companies from operating in SA, the country could be in trouble.