Why African governments should bring mobility to their operations

23-10-2022

African governments face the challenge of drastically transforming their countries by reducing poverty levels and growing the economy. This, in turn, will increase the wealth of countries and improve the lives of citizens.

In South Africa, Information and Communication Technology has been identified as a key enabler to achieve this goal.

As a result, the government is launching a series of initiatives that will encourage greater adoption of ICT by civil servants and civil servants, and efficient use of technologies to provide social services to citizens.

One of the technologies that is officially added to the mix is ​​mobile technology. South Africa already has 89% mobile phone penetration, and there is a growing prevalence of text messaging and internet access via mobile phones.

As a result, the Southern State IT Agency partnered with mobile operator MTN to bring mobility to government departments.

Essentially, MTN is to create a virtual private network through which government employees will be able to access the internal government network. This mobile network will be available to local, provincial and national departments.

Here are some of the benefits this move is expected to bring:

1. Government employees can access their offices 24/7 using any currency (PC, laptop, PD
2. A and mobile phone) to access the Intranet and emails.
3. The increased access allows employees to use their time more effectively, reducing “down time.”
4. The network provides users with quick access to relevant information for effective decision making.
5. The network is secure and users do not have to go through the public Internet to connect to their offices and access sensitive government information.
6. There are cost savings due to economies of scale (bulk purchases).

not limited to
South Africa
This type of mobility is a strong option for other African countries. Mobile phones are becoming more widespread throughout Africa, and Nigeria is considered to be the fastest growing mobile market in Africa. Additionally, mobile phone companies in Africa generally subsidize the phones, ensuring that African government departments do not have to bear the brunt of the expense when new currencies are needed.

Finally, South Africa is already acting as a test case for other African countries. If this initiative is highly successful, MTN can easily customize the concept for local conditions.

MTN operates in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East. The countries are Botswana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Islamic Republic of Iran, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo (Congo Brazzaville), Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, Afghanistan, Benin, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic, Liberia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.