South African president Jacob Zuma on Thursday night delivered his annual State of the Nation address, and while he focused on a broad range of issues and shortcomings in South Africa, he did take time to highlight the strides made in SA’s telecommunications sector.
Zuma highlighted the fact that thousands of kilometers in fibre-optic cable had been put down to improve communications in the country.
“More of our wealth is created through the internet or telecommunication. 37 000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable has been laid by the private and public sectors in the past five years. This will be significantly expanded in the years ahead,” he said in his speech.
He also went on to say how proud the government was of recent advances in technology, and specifically mentioned the Square Kilometre Array in the Karoo.
“We are proud of our successes in science and technology. The construction of the first telescope of the 64-dish forerunner to the Square Kilometre Array, the MeerKAT, will be completed in the first quarter of 2014.”
Speaking in general, Zuma said that whilst there have been many advances, the country still has a long way to go. “As a country we have scored many successes. South Africa is a much better place to live in now than it was before 1994. We continue to face challenges. But life will also continue to change for the better,” he concluded.
Charlie Fripp – Consumer Tech editor
