Johannesburg, 07 Dec 2006
Government should have developed its e-government strategy with a focus on citizen interaction at local government level, rather than national level, says Consology business development director, Kevin Meltzer.
Despite a lot of talk about e-government, most citizens have not experienced it, as many of the services on offer, such as applying for an ID or passport, are one-time deals. If the focus were on services that citizens regularly required, it would be more beneficial to them, Meltzer says.
Meltzer's views follow the State IT Agency's (SITA's) concession that its e-government strategy was a failure and will be reviewed.
At the GovTech conference last month, SITA chief of strategic services Jonas Bogoshi noted local government had a different view of e-government than that of the Department of Public Service and Administration - the owner of e-government.
"What we do not have yet is a clear offering of where we are at as a country, where are we going and how are we going to get there."
SITA COO Noedine Isaacs-Mpulo said a review of the e-government strategy and the creation of an inventory, listing all available e-government solutions, would be completed before February. A partnership engagement model would be rolled-out by June and a draft ICT procurement strategy "for regional and local economic development" is due by April.
Basic services
Meltzer states the e-government strategy should make it easier for citizens to access basic services, such as buying prepaid electricity through the Internet or cellular technology, and to pay traffic fines, rates and municipal services.
Government should let citizens work for it by becoming its eyes and ears and reporting faults in municipal infrastructure as easily as possible, he says.
Meltzer acknowledges there are a number of good initiatives, including the South African Post Office's Public Internet Terminals, and the Universal Service and Access Agency and Department of Communications' Multi-Purpose Community Centres.
"There is no denying the fact that, as an emerging market, with citizens who do not necessarily have Internet access, there are people who would not directly benefit from local government e-services," Meltzer says.
However, self-service for citizens allows local government departments to collect rates, taxes, fines and other payments more speedily, deflect calls from call centres that are under-resourced and expensive to operate, automate bill dispute processes, and allow for significant cost savings on paper and postage, he says.
Government should have spoken to citizens and conducted research to find out what their needs are so that it could develop real-world strategies that met the needs of citizens, he says.
Meltzer says it can still do that by taking the data is has through in-person and telephonic citizen enquiries and complaints, and looking at the top issues complained about.
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