The Western Cape Department of the Premier spent over R1 billion or 69.7% of its 2021/22 budget on its Centre for e-Innovation budgetary programme. This programme is aimed at providing ICT solutions to improving the provincial government’s service delivery to residents.
The DA in the Western Cape commends the Provincial Government for its continuous use of technological innovation to improve service delivery to communities and ensuring that the residents of the province have access and are connected to the internet.
Among the various subprogrammes under the Centre for e-Innovation, the subprogramme Connected Government and Infrastructure Services is specifically responsible for the rollout of the Broadband initiative, which connects Western Cape Government sites and makes use of the broadband infrastructure in the province to offer free public Wi-Fi hotspots for residents.
MPP Christopher Fry says, “The Department of the Premier has played an important role in digitally empowering residents by ensuring the availability of digital services, providing facilities through which these services can be accessed and providing skills development opportunities to enable our residents to utilise the services. The Department provides residents with free internet access at 1 286 WiFi hotspots and 75 Cape Access e-centres located around the province.
Earlier this month, the Standing Committee on Premier and Constitutional Matters visited one such facility, the Kwanokuthula e-centre in Bitou Municipality. A facility that then had an average of 60 user sessions per day, and boasts many success stories of people who have used the centre to study and find work opportunities.
Residents are empowered when governments enable access to digital technology. These centres offer services such as typing and printing, job and business research information, school and job applications and basic e-skills training. In the upcoming months, the Standing Committee will visit more of these centres and evaluate each facility and their impact.”