OWN CORRESPONDENT in Johannesburg | Monday 4.30pm.
POST and Telecommunications Minister Jay Naidoo on Monday expressed concern at the slow response of small and medium-sized businesses (SMMEs) in addressing the Millenium Bug, warning that, should the Year 2000 problem not be addressed in a holistic way, “society as we know it could disintegrate”.
Qualifying his warning, Naidoo said that a recent Y2K National Decision Support Centre survey estimates that an average person probably interacts with at least 100 pieces of equipment or services which are controlled by computer chips. This could be anything from cars, trains, planes, banking and medical services and phones to manufacturing equipment, electricity, water, computers, elevators, alarm systems, he said.
Although the financial services sector is advanced with its Y2K programmes, sitting at around 40% compliant, other key sectors are serious lagging behind with SMMEs 30% compliant; and the information communication technology sector and industry less than 20% compliant, Naidoo said.
He expressed concern at the slow progress of SMMEs, saying that they “seem to be underestimating the extent of the problem” They make up the bulk of the gross domestic product of the country’s economy, contribute 33% of the country’s GDP and are responsible for 44% of private sector employment figures,” he said.
Naidoo said that the other key area of concern is government — particularly local and provincial government. At present only two government departments are currently fully compliant – the Deputy President’s Office and the Department of Labour, according to the report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts he said.