Gungubele woos investors with upcoming data, cloud policy

The South African government is one step closer to finalising the National Data and Cloud Policy, which will play a crucial role in unlocking foreign direct investment in the country.

This was the word from communications and digital technologies minister Mondli Gungubele, delivering a keynote presentation at the Africa Tech Week Conference, in Cape Town, this week.

According to Gungubele, the state is looking to the policy to improve foreign investment in SA. It will position the country as a trustworthy brand that continues to fight cyber crime, by enabling the implementation of effective cyber security protocols, and data and cloud infrastructure protection – which lie at the heart of the digital economy.

“As a department, we are hard at work to finalise the cloud and data policy, which will create a conducive environment for investors and partners to establish networks and do business in South Africa,” he explained.

“Our main concern will be data protection and ensuring that as international partners invest in our country and African markets, they consider critical principles, such as data security and data sovereignty, in the flow of data across borders.

“A key component of agile digital infrastructure is cyber security and ensuring the network is secure for all users. Our priority is ensuring all digital infrastructures in the country are secure.”

The draft policy, which was published on 1 April 2021 for public comment, proposes to develop a state digital infrastructure company and high-performance computing and data processing centre.

It also aims to consolidate excess capacity of publicly-funded data centres, and deliver processing, data facilities and cloud computing capacity.

While the policy is expected to play an important role in helping companies address data sovereignty issues, experts previously said implementing the new law will be an enormous task for government – which may not have the capacity to implement it.

Data privacy pundits have also raised alarm on several flaws in the policy, particularly as it pertains to data ownership and cross-border data flows.

Given the multi-dimensional nature of data, concerns have also been raised as to whether it is possible to address all the relevant issues in one policy, as well as if it is within the remit of the communications minister to do so.

According to Gungubele, the National Cyber Security Framework will form part of the National Data and Cloud Policy, to help organisations reduce the risk associated with cyber threats, providing the basis for any entity to meet the minimum security requirements of networks and information systems.

“Cyber security is the shared responsibility of all social partners, and in this regard, we established a security hub in 2015, as mandated by the National Cyber Security Framework policy framework – which was passed by cabinet in March 2012, as a designated National Computer Security Incident Response Team of our country.”

Since inception, the cyber security hub has matured as one of the national points for security-related incident response, and is in the process of increasing its service offerings to the public and industry, he noted.

SA is one of the continent’s mature cloud markets, leading cloud adoption in the region.

In addition, global hyperscalers have increased investments in the local cloud computing space, establishing data centre facilities in the country.

Through several other programmes in government, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies is looking to stimulate further investment in digital infrastructure by subsidising small and medium enterprises, particularly those located in underserved areas, added Gungubele.

“Our investor-friendly policies have made it possible for the lending of a plethora of submarine cables, which makes South Africa a digital hub, and thus attracts investment in data centres, digital infrastructure and cloud services.

“This should translate into reduction of the cost to communicate and expansion of local content created for government and citizens to accelerate uptake and usage of digital technologies.”

Gungubele also highlighted government’s three targeted areas, which are key components to ensuring investments in the digital economy: digital connectivity, digital literacy and digital skills.

“Our National Development Plan 2030 envisages the internet will underpin the development of a dynamic information society and an economy which is more inclusive and transparent, and as such, upskilling the nation is essential for the country.

“Growth in digital talent will be one of the key enablers of digital transformation and we recognise the increased demand for digital skills, both in the workplace and for overall vitality,” he concluded.