The State IT Agency (SITA) has made strides in connecting the 96 Thusong Service Centres (TSCs) that were contracted to it, with 91 centres already operational.
This was indicated by SITA CEO Sithembiso Freeman Nomvalo during a Presidential Public Service Remuneration Commission committee meeting last week.
SITA spokesperson Jeanny Morulane says all 96 sites have already been linked up, but due to technical reasons, five are not yet operational.
Nomvalo notes 246 sites were initially targeted for TSCs, but this number was decreased to 140 as some sites did not have appropriate buildings. A further 17 sites were then also eliminated due to other issues with the buildings, reducing the total number to 123. Of these, 27 are in Gauteng and were placed on hold at the request of the provincial government.
Nomvalo was unable to elaborate on the reasons for the Gauteng TSCs being put on hold, saying SITA did not work with the Gauteng government but only received instructions from it.
The TSC project was initiated in 1999 as one of the primary vehicles for the implementation of development communication and information, and to integrate government services into primarily rural communities.
The then deputy minister in the presidency for performance monitoring and evaluation, Dina Pule, said it is government's vision for the centres to provide every South African citizen with access to information and services within their place of residence and in each local municipality by 2014.
According to Government Communication and Information System spokesperson Michael Currin, there are currently 193 operational Thusong centres rolled out in the country. "Of these 193, there are some centres whose operational status is being looked into, as they have encountered some challenges, like sanitation issues, water supply, etc, which makes it difficult for departments to render a professional service in these centres."
Bumpy road
Nomvalo says the establishment of the 96 TSCs continue to pose a number of challenges. These include outstanding operational costs, a lack of signed service level agreements, access to buildings, and a general low level of communication from the centre staff regarding technical problems.
Ownership of each part of the programme is essential for the success of the Thusong Service Centres, says Nomvalo. "Workers need to be trained in order to be able to respond to the needs of the community, by providing the needed electronic services. Participating departments must have a presence in the TSCs."
He says SITA will be involved in identifying future sites, but emphasised the purpose of the centres is to make services accessible where they were not yet available, and therefore the number of centres will be less than the number of government offices.
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