IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Gauteng finance MEC and head of the Department of e-Government, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, has called on ICT companies to step up efforts to upskill youths in the province.

This comes as the e-government department, in partnership with Altron, has introduced the Soweto-leg of its socio-economic development (SED) programme and workforce management institute.

The pilot human resources (HR) module of the new information technology (IT) system was aimed at modernising and integrating government administration, the department of public service and administration (DPSA) spokesperson, Lebohang Mafokosi, said in a statement.

Sita's chief executive, Blake Mosley-Lefatola, says that from putting in place policies and programmes through to the design of laws and regulations for ICT access and citizen participation, "e-government and e-governance will expand their reach in affecting the living conditions of the people in South Africa in general, and in reducing the adverse impact of the digital divide in particular".

The Department of e-Government achieved a clean audit opinion in 2016/17, as it strives to modernise the public service and contribute to re-industrialisation efforts in order to take advantage of opportunities offered by the fourth industrial revolution.

The Department of e-Government was established by the Gauteng provincial government (GPG) in 2015 as part of a restructuring process to ensure departments in the province are able to seamlessly talk to each other.

To guarantee rollout of three high priority projects, which include phase two of the Gauteng Broadband Network (GBN), the Department of e-Government has requested telecoms minister Siyabonga Cwele to intervene to request the State IT Agency (SITA) to finalise the procurement process.

The department was established by the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) in 2015 as part of a restructuring process to ensure departments in the province are able to seamlessly talk to each other.

An IDC Government Insights report says spending in the sector totalled $1.47 billion in 2010, largely on the back of e-government initiatives.

“In the wake of the global financial crisis, IT spending by government entities was fuelled by the need for operational efficiency, as well as by ongoing cost-cutting measures.”

The research company predicts that another key organisational priority in 2011 will be regulatory compliance, which has already emerged as an incentive to IT investment.

To fund phase two of the Gauteng Broadband Network (GBN) infrastructure project, the Department of E-government will reprioritise ICT expenditure in departmental budgets.

This is according to Barbara Creecy, finance MEC and head of the e-government department, in response to Gauteng Provincial Legislature questions.

E-health accelerator Digital Health Cape Town (DHCT) has opened applications for its first programme, designed to help high growth, high social impact businesses in the health space succeed.

The accelerator has been launched in response to the changing needs of healthcare providers and patients, in a bid to digitally transform the sector by assisting early-stage, innovative digital health companies.

This is according to technology market research firm Infonetics Research, and is the primary deduction arising from its first Connected Health M2M (machine-to-machine) Connections and Services report.

The launched kicked off with the smart online bill management service for residential customers, government, companies and managing agents.

In an effort to improve access to municipal customer services, the City of Johannesburg has launched its e-Joburg portal on October 6.

The portal, introduced by Executive Mayor Mpho Moerane and MMC of Finance Matshidiso Mfikoe, is set to deliver municipal services in a more convenient way for customers, and reduce the time and manual work load on the City’s resources.

It was proposed in the 2013 budget speech that foreign businesses that supply digital goods and services be required to register as vendors in South Africa.

This line of thinking follows the current trend adopted by the European Union (EU) requiring such suppliers to register for Value-added Tax (VAT) in the country where the consumer resides. E-commerce changes things of fundamental importance from a direct and indirect tax perspective. It allows a foreign vendor who essentially has no physical presence to sell into another territory and bypass the payment of any local taxes that may have been imposed on a source basis, for example, the purchase of e-books or music by a consumer, with no collection mechanism, as opposed to the delivery of physical goods that must go through customs. The tax issues associated with e-commerce, specifically cross-border activities on the internet, remain for the most part unresolved.

HumanIPO reported last week Freedom Front Plus (FFP) had claimed a “huge victory” for road users in Gauteng as President Jacob Zuma is yet to sign the e-tolling bill, which has been at the centre of debate in South Africa, with SANRAL trading words with the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (OUTA).

The Eastern Cape (EC) government is working to ensure the province is not left behind in South Africa’s fourth industrial revolution vision, by pushing ahead with the development of its African coastal smart city.

This was the word from Eastern Cape premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane, speaking during his State of the Province Address at the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature last week.

The Kouga Local Municipality has been working hard to establish Kouga as a “Smart City”, which will see the region receive state-of-the-art technology and will ultimately preserve quality of life for residents.

According to Kouga Executive Mayor, Horatio Hendricks, a Smart City consists of state-of-the-art technology that is accessible to most residents – if not all – preparing for the concept of Industry 4.0.

Stakeholders in Nelson Mandela Bay have committed to building a climate-smart city. The pledge outlines the development of a Climate Resilient Development Strategy and aims to reinvent the local economy, with an emphasis on inclusive growth, job creation, and poverty alleviation.

In a bold move towards building a climate-smart city, various stakeholders including business, civil society, youth, education sectors, the municipal government, and the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) have signed a pledge in Nelson Mandela Bay. The objective of this commitment is to develop a Climate Resilient Development Strategy (CRDS), a robust blueprint aimed at fortifying the metro's defense against the impacts of climate change and fostering new green economic pathways.

A war of words ensued yesterday when the ANC in the Gauteng legislature proposed to change the department of finance's function and name to "e-governance".

Finance MEC Barbara Creecy defended the change and said it was proposed by Gauteng Premier David Makhura.

She said: "At the end of the day it is the premier who decides.

Briefing Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Communications on Tuesday, the minister said it was important for the front line departments like Home Affairs and Transport, among others, to go digital in order to do away with long queues and unnecessary paperwork. "The key process that we think will have impact on our operations is the whole concept, without going into details, the eGovernance. "By eGovernance, we are saying we must move beyond the connectivity of certain institutions. The focus has been really on the connectivity of some of the schools.

Considering the scope of the Ekurhuleni municipality, the processes behind executing day-to-day municipal activities – both internal and external – has proved challenging especially when considering that processes were previously implemented through limited automated means.

With the South African government highlighting the importance of building smart cities by integrating advanced technologies to make them more resilient and liveable, the role of next-generation network video and surveillance technologies cannot be ignored.

Slade Vandrau, surveillance business unit manager at Duxbury Networking

As a distributor of advanced surveillance products, Duxbury Networking understands how these solutions can enhance urban security while also improving all facets of city life, including traffic management and optimising emergency responses.

When vehicles pass under gantries for the open road tolling system and the registration is attained, eNatis will be used to identify the owner of the vehicle so they can be billed accordingly.

However, the eNatis system has come under heavy criticism in the past. The traffic system had a troubled start when it first got off the ground in 2007. The service has since had a bad reputation, with downtime at licensing centres blamed on the solution.