Government delays in improving broadband internet access are having a negative impact on the country’s economy, according to rankings by the World Economic Forum (WEF) published in a report on Thursday.<\/p>\n
In 2013, South Africa occupied 70th place in the WEF rankings of 144 countries, according to their ability to benefit from the digital era.<\/p>\n
Rankings were determined on the basis of — among other things — a country’s regulatory and business environment, the use of information and communication technology (ICT) and the subsequent impact on the economy and society, Beeld reported.<\/p>\n
WEF economists said the economies of countries utilising digital technology grew faster and created more jobs.<\/p>\n
According to their research, good broadband internet access in a country made a contribution of between 0.25 percent and 1.4 percent to economic growth.<\/p>\n
The WEF warned however that South Africa and the other Brics members (Brazil, Russia, India and China) could be damaging their opportunities and economic prospects negatively.<\/p>\n
“Countries that fail to see the importance of advancing broadband run the risk of large losses to competitiveness.”<\/p>\n
According to the WEF, even though South Africa improved ICT infrastructure and bandwidth during the past year, this was mostly due to the private sector.<\/p>\n
South Africa ranked 33rd in the WEF rankings based on companies’ ability to use ICT to improve their productivity.<\/p>\n
The WEF placed South Africa in 102nd place using criteria that examined how importantly a government regarded ICT policy, state efforts to plan for this sector and the availability of online government services.<\/p>\n
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