South Africa's ruling party, the ANC has never placed the use of technology to improve productivity and service delivery high on the agenda... but it will have to now.

This is according to local ICT veteran Adrian Schofield, who says the government should focus on resolving the roles of SITA and Sentech, and ensure the country's regulator (ICASA) frees up spectrum required to improve access to broadband.

In an emailed response to the question of what he hopes to hear in the presentation of the Budget 2016 by the country's finance minister Pravin Gordhan, Schofield specified the role that better information management systems, standardised systems across departments, municipalities and provinces, can play in improving governance.

"Rigorously applied, improved systems enable the elimination of weaknesses in the system and can cut out much of the losses through corruption and waste," says Schofield.

He believes that Gordhan is between the proverbial rock and a hard place. "He needs to present a budget that reassures the outside world that South Africa is truly "open for business" and not just paying lip service to the notion when we feel we have to. Whether it suits the political philosophies of the ANC or not, we are a mixed economy constrained by the development needs of transforming from the past while suffering from a slowing global market that is depressing investment and reducing work opportunities. Those factors alone make the Minister's job a tough one," he continues.

According to the ICT veteran the burden of corruption, wasted funds and misplaced investment adds to the challenge.

"In my view, he has to find ways of significantly reducing government expenditure through cutting waste and reducing overheads, rather than reducing service delivery. To do that will require a new culture in government, which should be driven from the President and all Ministers, not just from the Treasury," Schofield continues.

He advocates the selling of assets, such as shares in Telkom and Broadband Infraco, to enhance the infrastructure maker and present an opportunity to hand SA Connect over to the private sector.