The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) will press on with efforts to move 100 services online by 2014.
Despite previous announcements by the department on plans to provide services to citizens via electronic platforms, recent comments indicate progress has been slow.
Deputy minister Roy Padayachie said the department aimed to develop a prototype to e-enable six online services to benefit the poor. These include ID applications, birth registrations, foster care grants, pension applications, maintenance, and notification of death.
Speaking at a meeting of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, Padayachie emphasised the department's commitment to e-government services, but gave no report on progress made. The six service initiatives will be delivered in partnership with the State IT Agency and the department has declined to disclose a value for the project.
Minister Richard Baloyi has recommitted to the project, emphasising the expansion of infrastructure for improved access to information and service delivery.
“We took a position to improve governance and service delivery through the use of Internet technology, hence the projects e-government and e-cabinet,” the minister said.
Old promises
Padayachie said the DPSA would begin by connecting 52 Thusong service centres to a centralised ICT infrastructure by the end of the financial year. He said the project would be completed in partnership with Sentech. The centres will be connected through Sentech's National Wholesale Broadband Network.
The Thusong service centre programme was initiated by government in 1999. The centres serve as one-stop, integrated community development centres, which provide citizens with access to information and services in each local municipality.
While 1 227 centres have reportedly been established around the country, only 137 Thusong service centres were in operation by the end of March.
Former public service and administration minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi announced in May 2008 that 50 centres would be connected to the Sentech network within a year, following the completion of an ICT blueprint for connectivity at the service centres in 2008. This was never completed.
Call centre concern
In his presentation, Padayachie also announced a report on ICT expenditure patterns in the public service would be completed and recommendations would be made on strategies to save or reduce costs and expenditure. He added that concerns about how many call centres were serviced by outside service providers, the number of jobs created within the public sector and the lack of access to call centres in rural areas, were being addressed by the department.
He also noted the department intended to report on the number of call centres, the utilisation and optimisation of infrastructure and spending, and on a consolidation strategy to improve efficiency and better service delivery. The objective was to develop an architecture blueprint for IT in government, and develop a government-wide information security governance framework.
The deputy minister added that government's vision was to provide every citizen with access to information and services within their place of residence and in each local municipality by 2014.
“The department's main task would be to build an effective state machinery able to support the delivery of key outcomes. The state must be participative, interactive and accessible - easy to reach and responsive to building a caring society,” he said.
Related stories:
Govt refreshes Thusong Centres
Why e-govt failed
Share