Simba Rushwaya

JOHANNESBURG – WHILE the general notion is that South Africa is advanced technology wise, founder and editor of TechCentral magazine, Duncan McLeod disagrees saying that the country’s standards have gone down for the past decade after initially impressing in the early 1990s because of low incentives and inadequate policy regulation.

“We were in the top 20 in the world in the nineties, but I’m afraid we have receded in the past decade although regionally we are high up there. The reason why we have gone down a bit is because of weak incentives and policy regulation,” says McLeod.

“Gauteng in particular has challenges followed by Western Cape, but the introduction of free WI-FI in areas such as Pretoria and Johannesburg, is a welcome development. The good thing is that there is willingness to invest in technological infrastructure by the private sector,” says McLeod.

McLeod adds that ICT (Information Communication Technology) plays a key role in the performance of the economy.

“Gauteng has led the way in infrastructure deployment as there is a correlation between economic growth and technology. Society is more open and positive especially with availability of internet, but lots of work need to be done for business to compete and government should be putting policies that effect efficiency,” says McLeod, who was speaking to Gauteng Guardian ahead of the crucial AfricaCom exhibition and festival that will be held in Cape Town in November this year.

The annual event is one of the biggest ICT gatherings on the continent.

-CAJ News