The Sunday Times: Government Opts for Open Source

“The increasing role of information technology in government
offers an integral tool for the strengthening of state
institutions. Last year, at the eAfrica Conference, a conference
about developing information technology in governance on our
continent. Delegates–both politicians and officials–told of the
challenges of providing government services in countries ravaged by
decades of war, famine and political instability, where
infrastructure is minimal.

“Along with IT development comes considerable cost. In a
developing country like South Africa, billions are spent on
software licences–billions of dollars in valuable foreign
exchange, money going out the country that could be used to build
houses, roads, hospitals and schools, are going to multi-national
companies in order to use their software.

“Is there an alternative? Yes, and it is called Open Source
Software (OSS)…”

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