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E-govErnmEnt

the mother city Another resident of the province’s biggest city, Kelebogile
Daniels, added that this project greatly benefits students
Delivering her 2016 State of the Province Address, Western who cannot afford data, giving them easier access when
Cape Premier, Helen Zille, promised that her government researching their assignments. Most residents were excited
would launch more than 300 hotspots across the province over about the city’s free Wi-Fi.
the course of three financial years. Free Wi-Fi network users
would have access to 250MB of data a month and unlimited Ekurhuleni metro
access to all government websites.
In 2016, Ekurhuleni joined the cities of Johannesburg and
Unlike the cities of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Durban, the Tshwane as the third of five metros in the province to offer free
City of Cape Town also offers its residents the option of buying Wi-Fi. Residents get a data cap of 250MB per day, per device.
data at a cheaper rate. Citizens are allowed to buy 700MB for A data cap-free portal links users to government information,
R5, 2GB for R15 and 7GB for R45, all with an extra data expiry job posts and educational content.
date of 2024.
The project, which will take three years to complete, is being
In the 2017-18 financial year, the city rolled out another 100 carried out by public transport consultancy company MultiMedia
hotspots to further connect its citizens. “We’re striving towards InnoVations (MMIV), together with telecommunications group
a Western Cape where every resident in every town and village Altech. The project has a budget of between R80 and R120
has access to affordable high speed broadband infrastructure million, and plans to connect 695 buildings.
and services, has the necessary skills to effectively utilise this
infrastructure, and is actively using this in their day-to-day
lives,” the provincial government said. nelson mandela Bay metro

ethekwini metro During the launch of the R6 million Nelson Mandela Bay
Metropolitan Municipality’s Wi-Fi roll-out in 2016, Minister of
Telecommunications and Postal Services, Siyabonga Cwele,
Following the footsteps of its peers, the eThekwini Metropolitan said, “Ordinary citizens of the metro will have access to a fast
Municipality embarked on a project to provide free Wi-Fi and reliable internet connection on their mobile devices.”
hotspots to its citizens. The city’s Wi-Fi project was launched
in mid-2016, with a focus on certain parts of the municipality. Wi-fi was rolled out across six areas in the municipality as part
During the launch, officials announced that major townships, of the first phase of the project. Residents living in the metro
rural areas and areas around universities or of high con- had access to free Wi-Fi connectivity. Cwele said the bigger
centrations of students, would benefit from the move. vision was “to connect all government institutions in the eight
districts to broadband.”
Andile Magagula, a student from Umlazi, feels that having free
Wi-Fi close to home will really benefit him. Young people need At the launch Cwele said, “We affirm our commitment as
the internet more than anything else. The digital world has government to the National Development Plan’s [ideal] of a
made life easier for everyone, but accessing the internet from robust information society and knowledge economy that is
the townships is a mission. “Sometimes I have to come all the both inclusive and prosperous.” He added that access to the
way to the library in order to get connected and do my school internet had “become an essential resource in today’s modern
work,” said the 20-year-old. economy that none of us can afford to live without.” People
connected to free public Wi-Fi facilities are each allocated
mangaung metro 100MB a day on each device, with a connection speed of
10MB per second.
Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality citizens currently have
access to free internet connectivity. Hoffman Square in the city Cwele highlighted unemployment as a “real and present
centre is the first hub of free Wi-Fi in Bloemfontein. Mangaung challenge for young people, and the struggle becomes even
resident, Maleshoane Mailane, expressed her happiness more depressing when money is required to seek employment
at being able to access the internet free of charge when as one must buy newspapers where adverts are placed, cater
searching for employment opportunities. for printing costs to distribute CVs and even pay for transport
to interviews when resources are scarce.” n

22 SERVICE DELIVERY REVIEW | Volume 11 No. 3 of 2018