Pretoria – A Memorandum of Understanding signed recently by the Department of Communications and the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Public Administration and Security is to pave the way for the establishment of an Information Communication Technologies Co-operation Centre (ITCC).
In a statement, the department said the MoU would formalize the Korean Government’s commitment to contribute R8-million over the next three years towards the establishment of an ITCC in South Africa.
The MoU was signed by the department’s Deputy Minister Roy Padayachie and his counterpart Deputy Minister Nam-Joon Chung through the Korean Agency for Digital Opportunities (KADO).
The purpose of the ITCC would be, amongst other things, to promote the exchange of complementary experiences of the two respective countries for the mutual development of the ITCC.
On the MoU, Mr Padayachie said the bilateral cooperation and partnership between his department and KADO would create the much needed Information Communication Technology cadres whose role would be to advance the cause of Information Technology Communications.
The department said the two deputy ministers identified that areas for cooperation were the operation of an e-skills training center, the implementation of e-government and development of e-government related skills.
The partnership will also play a significant role in the development of research and development (R&D) projects for ICT development and the proactive identification of ICT skills needed in South Africa.
The Acting Chief Executive Officer at the Meraka e-Skills Institute, Dr Harold Wesso said the project was in line with the general objectives of the institute that would be operational by the beginning of 2009 academic year.
According to the department, the institute will have a responsibility for the project identification as well as project design.
The institute will focus on e-Skills development in both the public and private sectors and the South African society at large.
The e-Skills is defined as the ability to develop and use ICTs within the context of a knowledge environment and associated competencies that enables the individual to participate in a world in which the development and use ICT is a requirement for advancement in business, government, governance and civil society.
South Korea leads the world in many respects as far as ICT is concerned and the department affirmed that the partnership with KADO would be a major boost for the operationalisation of the Meraka e-Skills Institute both in terms of knowledge and human resources – BuaNews
