In SA, the government has a vision that`s all about inclusion - the ability of all people, no matter what their race, status or gender, to take part in the economy.
Its vision is about improving the lives of all South Africans through good government supported by effective and efficient agencies staffed by people devoted to serving the public.
These goals fit well with similar empowerment initiatives in business and commerce such as the JSE/Liberty challenge, which encourages people - especially students - to learn about the JSE Securities Exchange and participate in the wealth creation process.
Central to government`s aims is the electronic-enablement of all government processes that will help eliminate the traditional visits of citizens to government offices and the long queues that form there.
It wants to conduct transactions (such as accepting tax returns or receiving electronic applications for services) online. And it wants to provide up-to-date and comprehensive information about government laws, regulations, policies and services on line.
The implementation of appropriate IT solutions is key to the realisation of these objectives and the modernisation of government and the improvement of its internal efficiency and effectiveness. Innovative technologies need to be implemented that allow people to access government seven days a week and 24 hours a day from home or any other nearest point of contact using different means of communication: desktop and handheld computers, telephones and cellphones, self-service kiosks and ATMs.
While this might be paradoxical in a country with a 30% unemployment rate and significant sectors of the population without access to electricity, it is a challenge that the South African government has accepted.
Mammoth responsibility
A comprehensive e-government effort is a significant task even for countries with huge government resources, a good telecommunication infrastructure, cheap and fast access to the Internet, affordable computers and appliances, and appropriate legislation already in place.
The fact that the government has accepted the mammoth responsibility of transforming the way it conducts business without recourse to these resources on a wide scale sets it apart from other administrations in many developed and developing nations.
Three key issues
The South African government has already learned what unfortunate `dot-com` companies have already discovered: that you can build it, but they - in this case, the citizens - won`t necessarily come.
This is why its e-government model addresses these three major issues:
E-governance - the application of IT to intra-governmental operations, including the interaction between central, provincial and local government. This includes paperless messaging and reporting, electronic document management and archiving, integrated systems for finance, asset and human resource management (including training), as well as systems for real-time collaboration and project management, conferencing, decision support and executive information.
E-services - the application of IT to transform the delivery of public services from standing in line to going online: anytime, anywhere, by any means, and in interactive mode. The services that could be addressed include general information and regulations, education and culture, health consulting and telemedicine, benefits, taxation and others.
The e-government concept also offers the opportunity to let people participate in the process of government, by collecting direct and immediate public input in respect of specific projects, service delivery problems, cases of corruption and similar issues.
E-business - the application of IT to operations performed by government in the manner of business-to-business transactions and other contractual relations. An obvious example is the e-procurement of goods and services by government - from electronic tender to electronic payment.
Action in SA
Evolving the e-government initiative requires systematic and methodical approach, informed by clear understanding of the objectives, affordable scale and interdependencies of issues.
E-government requires both strategic and in-depth planning, major co-ordination and consolidation of government IT projects and resources, process re-engineering, introduction of new business models and public-private partnerships.
Significantly, it depends critically on the development of skills - not only in terms of IT, but also in customer relationship management and even from a marketing perspective.
From Oracle`s perspective, it has already assisted 32 countries throughout Europe the Middle East and Africa to adopt e-government principals and technologies. Oracle is in the process, or has been instrumental in setting up "interaction centres" which allow citizens from all walks of life, educated or illiterate, to have their say through the channel with which they are most comfortable.
The challenge for the South African developers will be to establish this interface in a meaningful and effective way and provide the education to back them.
This realisation has laid the foundations on which a better e-government will be built in SA.
Share
Editorial contacts