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News in Brief

SA to establish Artificial Intelligence Institute

Minister of Communications and Digital Technol- Bridging the digital divide
ogies, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, unveiled plans to
establish an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute to en- With technology changing how people work and live,
hance the teaching of robotics and coding in public Minister Ntshavheni said governments are respon-
schools. Two higher education institutions, the busi- sible for using technology as a catalyst for change
ness schools of the University of Johannesburg and in the world that should advance accessible public
Tshwane University of Technology, are partnering services, inclusive growth, and sustainable devel-
with the Department for Communications and Dig- opment. She noted that the COVID-19 pandemic
ital Technologies (DCDT) to get the institute off the exposed the negative impact of the digital divide on
ground. human development, particularly among the poor.

“It is essential that we invest significantly to provide Minister Ntshavheni said the COVID-19 pandemic
our youth with access to modern training, [which exposed the underbelly of the digital divide between
combines digital] skill sets and formal education,” the developed and developing countries, which un-
said the Minister during the G20 Digital Economy dermined access to essential services or working
Ministers Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, in early Septem- remotely during this challenging period. She added
ber 2022. that the efforts toward bridging the digital gap in-
clude the conclusion of licensing of the high-demand
Minister Ntshavheni also reported on the Department spectrum. “This process,” said Minister Ntshavheni,
of Basic Education’s initiative that introduced robot- “commits the Frequency Spectrum licence holders to
ics and coding as school subjects in primary and high contribute toward the national broadband penetra-
schools. Currently, over 1 000 schools are designing tion objectives of the country by connecting critical
and producing robots for gaming and automation. public institutions, such as schools, health facilities,
Meanwhile, the requirements of basic e-learning will and traditional authorities.”
be linked with an initiative in which all public school
learners and their parents (guardians) are helped with “In addition, this year, we will finalise the roadmap to-
setting up email addresses. wards deploying 4G and 5G networks, including rural
towns. We continue to work to attain the objectives of
The focus on digital skills includes creating platforms our South Africa Connect programme to ensure that
to support and promote entrepreneurship among we attain universal access to the internet by 2024,”
young people, particularly start-ups and digital con- the Minister said.
tent. More schools will be added ahead of the Nation-
al Robotics Development Challenge competition in SAnews.gov.za
2023. Moreover, the Minister revealed plans to launch
the Africa-wide DigiTech App Store as a platform for
hosting applications and content generated on the
continent.

8 SERVICE DELIVERY REVIEW | Volume 15 • No. 1 of 2022