Why Digital Infrastructure Investment Belongs At The Heart Of The Budget

As Minister Godongwana prepares to deliver another Budget in a constrained fiscal environment, the pressure to make hard choices is mounting. Vuyani Jarana, CEO of Ilitha Telecommunications, argues that repeating traditional investment patterns will lock South Africa into the same outcomes. Instead, he says, government must take a longer-term view and prioritise building intelligent digital infrastructure. This foundational investment will enable education, healthcare, public safety, and economic participation, while reducing the cost of service delivery over time.

Jarana, who also serves on the boards of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Walter Sisulu University, believes the debate should shift from whether South Africa can afford to invest in digital infrastructure to whether it can afford not to.

“We understand the pressure on the fiscus, and the hard trade-offs government has to make,” says Jarana. “But the choices we make today must help us build a more prosperous society over the next 10 to 15 years. If we keep allocating budget in the same way, we will perpetuate the same constraints – overcrowded universities, overwhelmed clinics, rising crime and further entrench persistent inequality. We need to think differently and invest in South Africa’s long-term competitiveness and success.”

The ‘how’: public, private and people

Jarana is clear that this vision does not require dozens of new policies or programmes. Instead, he says, it comes down to three deliberate actions:

1. Government must take the lead by investing in backbone digital infrastructure, connecting every school, clinic and hospital to high-capacity fibre.

1. The private sector must build on that backbone to deliver affordable, innovative services to homes and businesses.
2. People must be given access and agency to use connectivity in ways that improve their lives – whether through education, entrepreneurship, healthcare, or entertainment. Access will enable innovation.

“If the government makes a bold decision to connect institutions properly, we can solve this as a collective,” says Jarana. “That single investment unlocks everything else.”

Doing more with less in a constrained economy

At the heart of Jarana’s argument is the idea that digital infrastructure allows South Africa to do more with less. High speed broadband and fibre connectivity – particularly to public institutions such as schools, clinics, and hospitals – form the backbone on which service reform, efficiency, and innovation can occur.

“Digital infrastructure is an economic enabler,” he says. “Once it’s in place, the marginal cost of adding another student, another patient or another service digitally is negligible, but the upside in access and efficiency is exponential.”

Jarana notes a growing consensus across government, business, and global leadership platforms such as the World Economic Forum that digitisation is no longer optional; it is a basic human right. “The alignment is there,” he says, “but the challenge is execution – and doing it at scale.”  

A positive impact across multiple sectors 

But investment in digital infrastructure is not just a technology play. It has the potential to streamline, scale, and improve outcomes across multiple sectors of society. Here, Jarana highlights the potential in three key sectors:

• Education: Demand for tertiary study continues to outstrip available capacity. Not because learners lack ability, but because physical infrastructure cannot keep pace.

To address capacity constraints, the Department of Higher Education has urged institutions to adopt hybrid learning models. This offers a practical pathway to increase student intake, improve throughput, and lower the effective cost per student – particularly for rural, first-generation, and working students who are currently excluded by geography or limited campus space.

But digitisation cannot stop at the campus gate. Without affordable, reliable connectivity in the communities students come from, the promise of hybrid learning remains uneven.

• Healthcare: Our clinics and hospitals are already under immense strain, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Across the health sector globally, there is growing recognition that digitally enabled care – including remote diagnostics, virtual consultations and digital triage – can play a meaningful role. By shifting appropriate care out of physical facilities and into the home, health systems can prioritise in-person treatment for patients who genuinely require it, while improving access and efficiency. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated this shift.

Beyond system efficiency, the impact of the current healthcare model is felt acutely at household level. For many families, going to the clinic means losing a day’s wages while waiting in line. If even part of that care can be resolved remotely, it reduces the burden on both the healthcare system and on households.

• Public safety: Across South Africa, limited resources and growing demands place pressure on law enforcement. In more affluent suburbs, broadband-enabled surveillance, AI analytics and shared security platforms are already showing how technology can support more proactive, intelligence-led safety and how shared infrastructure can lower costs.

Jarana believes similar approaches can be adapted through fractional-use models to make them viable in lower-income and rural areas. “Digital infrastructure creates the foundation for shared security systems that are far more affordable than standalone solutions,” he says. “We’ve already seen rural communities using internet-enabled cameras to monitor homes and livestock. The model works – the challenge is scaling it inclusively.”

A budget choice with long-term consequences

As National Treasury balances immediate pressures against long-term priorities, Jarana believes digital infrastructure must be recognised as a strategic investment rather than a discretionary expense.

“We’re not talking about spending more for the sake of it,” he says. “We’re talking about spending differently so that, over time, we reduce costs, expand access, and unlock growth.” Without that shift, he warns, South Africa risks locking itself into the same cycles of exclusion and inefficiency.

“Digital infrastructure is how we unlock opportunity at scale,” Jarana concludes. “If we want a more equal, prosperous future for our country and her people, this is where we must take decisive action.”