It is a privilege to join you at Huawei South Africa Connect 2025.
This platform brings together leaders from government, industry, and the innovation sector. It is a reflection of our shared commitment to using technology to solve challenges and create new opportunities for our institutions and our people.
I must take this opportunity to thank Huawei for always stepping up when I’ve called on them to support our efforts to expand access to smart devices. Their consistent willingness to assist has fast tracked our ability to put smart devices in our people’s hands.
I want to acknowledge Huawei CEO Mr Will Meng, Deputy CEO Mr Charles Cheng and Mr Yizhou Chen, who have personally joined us in some of the most remote parts of South Africa to hand over smart devices to young entrepreneurs and top-performing learners.
These may seem like small acts when viewed from a national perspective — but for the individuals on the receiving end, they are life-changing. As we prepare for our upcoming state visit to China, one of our clear priorities is to increase the level of smart device penetration amongst South Africans.
We’re confident that Huawei will continue to be a leading partner in this effort — walking with us as we expand digital access to the millions of South Africans who are still offline.
Introduction
We have entered a new era where artificial intelligence and digitalisation are rapidly impacting every person, home, and industry. Business models are being reshaped, and new opportunities are emerging across every sector.
As Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, I remain encouraged by the potential of technologies like AI, 5G, and cloud computing to advance our national priorities.
However, I am equally mindful of our responsibility to ensure these advances benefit all our citizens, not just a few.
The Digital Landscape in South Africa: Opportunities and Challenges
We gather at a time when South Africa’s digital economy is gathering real momentum. As one of the leading digital hubs on the continent — and as the current holder of the G20 Presidency — South Africa is not only embracing new technologies, we are helping to shape how they are applied across the continent and the globe.
Digital transformation is a powerful driver of innovation, efficiency, and inclusion. Here at home, we’ve seen its impact: rural clinics offering virtual consultations, learners accessing online education, and township entrepreneurs taking their products to global markets. We need more of this. To scale it up to reach as many South Africans as possible
There remain too many schools without basic digital tools, homes without internet, and communities without the digital skills to thrive in the digital economy. As government and as a society, we cannot allow the digital age to deepen inequality or create new forms of exclusion. We must ensure that the benefits of connectivity and technology reach everyone. The digital revolution must be a foundation for equality, not a new dividing line.
Government’s Vision: Building an Inclusive Digital Society
The Government of National Unity has placed digital inclusion at the heart of its developmental agenda. My Department and I have set our four measurable Ministerial Priorities to guide our work over this term:
1. Expanding Connectivity and Access to Devices
Firstly, we are working towards achieving 100% connectivity in South Africa by 2029. Through SA Connect Phase 2, we are extending broadband access to schools, clinics and libraries in underserviced areas.
This includes concluding the Broadcast Digital Migration process to free up spectrum, expanding 5G infrastructure, and modernising public facilities with open-access fibre. This year I convened the Affordable Smart Devices Workshop to rally partners around a clear goal: ensuring affordable access to smart devices for all South Africans. As a direct outcome of that engagement, we successfully lobbied Treasury to remove the luxury goods tax on smartphones priced under R2,500.
This is a meaningful step toward reducing barriers for low-income households to access smart devices. It is one small step in a long journey of eliminating barriers to affordable smart devices.
2. Building a Digitally Skilled Society
Secondly, we’re investing in digital skills. Digital inclusion means nothing without the ability to use technology meaningfully. Through the national Digital and Future Skills Strategy, our aim is to empower 70% of the population with basic digital skills by 2029. This includes integrating digital literacy into basic education and scaling community-based learning initiatives.
These efforts target not only students, but also job seekers, workers in transition, and vulnerable groups such as women and persons with disabilities to ensure that no one is left behind in the digital economy.
3. Unlocking the Productive Use of Technology
Thirdly, we are promoting the productive use of digital technologies to ensure that connectivity translates into real opportunities. This means using the internet not just for entertainment, but as a tool to access government services, run online businesses, reach new markets and connect with job opportunities.
4. Creating a Supportive Environment for Inclusion and Investment
And finally, we are determined to make South Africa the most attractive destination for ICT investment on the continent. That means providing policy certainty, reforming procurement systems, while upholding our national transformation goals. We have already taken important steps, including: • Issuing the Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP) policy direction to unlock private sector investment.
Reforming SITA’s procurement model to improve delivery and enable competition. We are also launching a consultative process to conduct a comprehensive review of South Africa’s legislative and policy landscape. Through this process, we will co-create a regulatory environment that is conducive for inclusive growth, innovation and competition in the ICT sector. These four priorities form the foundation of our strategy to build a digitally inclusive, innovative, and high-performing digital ecosystem for all South Africans.
A Roadmap with Real-World Impact The theme of this year’s summit — Where Innovation Shapes the Future — speaks directly to one of the most ambitious policy instruments driving South Africa’s digital transformation: the Digital Transformation Roadmap. Launched earlier this year as part of Phase Two of Operation Vulindlela, the roadmap sets out a clear path to modernise public services, strengthen digital public infrastructure, and rebuild trust in how government delivers for citizens.
This Roadmap sets out four core reforms: • A digital ID that allows citizens to verify themselves remotely;
- A secure data exchange system across departments to eliminate duplication and delays;
- A real-time digital payments platform for faster, cheaper government transactions; • And a single, zero-rated portal for all government services. These are not just technical upgrades — they are people-centred solutions that can be life-changing.
They mean that a young jobseeker doesn’t have to spend their last money travelling to submit a CV. That a small business owner in a township can get paid on time by government. That an elderly citizen can apply for and track their grant without leaving their home.
And that no one is excluded from government services simply because they can’t afford data. That’s the power of digital transformation when it is designed around people — not bureaucracy. Closing Reflections: An Inclusive Digital Future The Government of National Unity has placed inclusive growth at the heart of our agenda. In the digital space, this means building a state that enables rather than obstructs progress.
Creating a digital economy where technology empowers rather than excludes. But government alone cannot achieve this vision. Realising our digital ambitions demands collaboration—across sectors, across disciplines, and across all parts of society. That is precisely why gatherings like South Africa Connect matter. They enable government, industry, innovators, and civil society to align efforts, leverage resources, and deliver tangible solutions that directly impact citizens.
Together, we can build an inclusive digital economy that connects South Africans not just to technology, but to real opportunities, dignity, and hope.
- Keynote Address at Huawei South Africa Connect 2025
- Solly Malatsi, Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies
