The chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, Khusela Diko. Picture: Instagram/Khusela Diko
The Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies has described the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between SEACOM South Africa (Pty) Ltd and ICT SMME Chamber, as a “groundbreaking milestone”.
The MoU sought to establish a solid partnership between private and public sector companies to collaborate and deliver services to the public.
The ICT SMME Chamber is regarded as the champion of ICT SMMEs in South Africa, helping its members to thrive through advocacy, networking, access to market and enterprise development.
The portfolio committee chairperson, Khusela Diko, said an integral part of delivering on Parliament’s mandate of law-making, executive oversight and public participation was to ensure that government and its entities delivered on their commitments to the people to achieve meaningful transformation and economic participation of the country’s economy, including the ICT sector, to put people to work and build industries and sectors to achieve an inclusive economy.
Diko said the committee had invited the ICT SMME Chamber and other non-governmental role players to its recent capacity-building workshop, held late in August 2024 to brief the committee on the status of the SMMEs in the ICT sector, as well as the challenges and the opportunities that existed for collaboration between government, the private sector and broader society to deliver on the collective aspirations of a digitally connected future.
“We are particularly pleased that this momentous step forward comes at the back of our successful engagement with various sectors of society in which the committee sought to bring together different role players to coalesce around a common vision.
“Our strategic orientation as a committee is to corral the relevant role players to work together to harness the greater economic opportunities provided by the digital economy,” she added.
She said the MoU meant that the organised SMMEs within the ICT space will now benefit from SEACOM’s digital offerings, including cloud and connectivity on-premises networking, as well as network and cybersecurity solutions.
Diko has called on other big businesses within the sector to emulate the good example set by SEACOM South Africa and ICT SMME Chamber.
The signing of the MoU between SEACOM and the ICT SMME Chamber signifies a new phase of shared ambition and cooperation in South Africa’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector.
This partnership presents a golden chance for SMMEs in the ICT sector to leverage SEACOM’s digital services and expedite their growth, while also serving as a model for future collaborations in the industry.
South Africa is currently experiencing a significant shift in its digital economy, marking a significant milestone in its history.
SEACOM South Africa is a diversified ICT provider of scale, with presence in eight countries around the world that prides itself on its extensive undersea cable network and fibre grid, allowing its corporate clients to tap into exceptional digital connectivity and services.
The Star
sipho.jack@inl.co.za
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