Cabinet has approved a policy and strategy to implement Free and
Open Source Software (FOSS) in government, government
communications head Themba Maseko said on Thursday.
"All new software developed for or by the government will be
based on open standards and government will itself migrate current
software to FOSS," he told a media briefing at Parliament following
Wednesday's Cabinet meeting.
This strategy would lower administration costs and enhance local
information technology skills. Cabinet noted that all major IT
vendors in the country had both supported the initiative and made
contributions to developing FOSS, he said.
Government departments would incorporate FOSS in their planning
immediately.
By April, a project office would be set up by the science and
technology department, the Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research, and the State Information Technology Agency to ensure
smooth implementation of FOSS throughout the country, Maseko said.
