PRETORIA, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- South African government implemented various strategies to prepare for the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), said a senior government official on Thursday.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams said this at a media briefing in Pretoria on Thursday.
She said President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed a presidential commission on the 4IR to prepare the country for the new technology.
"We will further bolster efforts to build a capable 4IR army that has the requisite skills to respond to the 4IR. The department has developed a digital skills strategy which will be presented to cabinet for approval, " said Ndabeni-Abrahams.
A pilot programme has commenced with 1,000 students who are being trained on data science, software development, cyber security, 3D printing, drone piloting and digital content production, she said.
She said they are in the process of finalizing a data policy for South Africa. They will finalize the smart communities' framework, consolidate sectoral master plans and finalize the digital industrial strategy.
"It is worth emphasizing that one of the critical drivers in delivering better services as government is technology. The current and very fast shifts in digital technologies mean South Africans' expectations for technology-enabled government services have risen," the minister said.
Ndabeni-Abrahams said the presidential commission on the 4IR presented a draft report in November and will submit the final report in January 2020 for publication in February.
