IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

According to Mokwing Nhlapo, deputy director-general of the DOC: “The Dinaledi schools project, which was announced last year, aims to provide connectivity to 500 South African schools in rural, disadvantaged communities and to increase the number of science and mathematics graduates, and grow the number of students who would ultimately enter engineering and ICT fields.”

This roll-out will be a pilot project, based on which the EDMS will be implemented across the entire Eastern Cape Province, says SITA Project Manager, Sidwell Ngqando. "The focus, however, is for now on the Departments of Health, Public Works and Social Development, which were identified by the provincial interim management as main areas of concern."

The e-government initiative has been talked about for years as a vision for enabling every citizen to apply for services without filling in reams of paperwork, waiting in queues or being shunted from office to office. But the more that government explores the initiative, the more work it uncovers.

Kreizman, who specialises in public sector research and is visiting SA, says e-government lessons learnt in the US and UK show that focusing on the portals that deliver services to citizens and the interoperability between various government departments give the best results.

According to a press release distributed by the Government Communication and Information Service (CGIS) yesterday, the Minister of Public Services and Administration Geraldine Frasier-Moleketi, says the site can be accessed on Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein! - however, this is incorrect - the correct link is: www.services.gov.za.

In an ideal e-government situation, this delivery mechanism should improve access to government services, speed things up, and make things more efficient. No more long queues at Home Affairs - e-government should mean you could apply for a visa, passport, or ID book online or through another technologically enabled delivery mechanism. Your driver's licence could be requested, your UIF payment requested electronically, and your pet licence renewed, all without facing a single queue. South Africa is not quite there yet, but it is making progress.

One of these technologies is short message services (SMS) that can be adopted to streamline internal processes and communications with the country's citizens. That's the word from Rob Airey, CEO of SMS Cellular Services, provider of CellSys SMS technology.

E-government technology systems increase efficiency and reduce duplication of processes, thereby delivering cost savings to local authorities.

Local government minister Sicelo Shiceka says the strategy would integrate ICT systems and platforms across municipalities for standardisation, collaboration and to maximise service delivery.

The department recently initiated the “Local Government Turnaround Strategy”, in an effort to improve service delivery, increase efficiency, accountability and responsiveness within municipalities.

This according to Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Frasier-Moleketi addressing the media in Cape Town today.

However, bad apples such as the home affairs, Cipro and Ministry of State Security Web sites, mean the room for improvement is vast.

So say online strategy experts, Howard Rybko, CEO of Syncrony; and Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx.

Rybko believes that the official e-strategy is gaining momentum in the realisation of its objectives. These objectives include establishing a program for the people and a mechanism by which ICT capabilities are used to help deliver economic and social development.

“Having scrutinised relevant documents and previous studies conducted, including Public Service IT Policy Framework and the Status of E-government in South Africa, it is quite clear that the provision of government e-services is directly related to the effectiveness of government online strategy and this process is well underway,” says Rybko.

Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane and Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane officially launched the new centre on Friday.

The Thusong Centre programme was initiated in 1999 and provides one-stop integrated community development centres where citizens can access government services.

Speaking at ITWeb's e-government conference in Johannesburg this week, Mtimunye warned that initiatives around e-government are still “perched awkwardly between its patchy performance and its persistent promise”.

“What is e-government about? It is about improving service delivery,” says SAP Public Services SA industry solution manager Hannes Venter.

The national health department says it has developed a framework electronic health record system for SA, and it is now up to the individual provinces to enter patient data into the medical database.

The system is part of government's e-health strategy and seeks to capture citizens' medical information from birth to death.

Imagine the incredible distances travelled and intense discomfort suffered by a senior citizen queuing for hours for their pension, the frustrations of youngsters trying to secure bookings for their driver’s licence tests, the traveller who spends hours or even days between departments for an emergency passport, the recuperating patient living in a rural area who has no link to his health care provider...