The e-government conference launched in Cape Town yesterday. Majid Mowzer, divisional director sales of Metrofile Cape, opened the conference with the following address:
"As we review to the year behind us and face the immediate challenges, one thing that is immediately apparent is the fact that the issues confronting private business and government are often the same. The changes in technology that have enabled many e-government initiatives, the opportunities and pitfalls posed by new legislation, the increased focus on security and corporate governance, and a continuing and increasing awareness of the need to control costs, all need to be balanced against the requirement to maximise the value to be extracted from existing and proposed new systems.
"At the same time, government continually has to balance the need for improved productivity, while maintaining its societal position as one of the country`s top employers. Some big challenges indeed, but what are some of the immediate priorities?
"The requirement to understand and then comply with corporate governance is a pressing issue. E-governance has a nice sound to it but we must remember that the e-word doesn`t mean an instant change from old systems to this new electronic world. This is an ongoing exercise whereby systems need to be evaluated, new architectures designed, processes modelled, infrastructure built and staff trained. During this building phase, one of the challenges will be to adhere to governance requirements knowing that information may reside in a combination of legacy and new systems. Adherence to e-governance translates directly to availability of and access to all requisite information, regardless of where that information may sit within the various departments. Further to this, e-governance means ensuring that as new methods of conducting business are adopted, so the back-end processes must be implemented to secure and protect that information for the period required by legislation.
"Access to information will increasingly become a focus area, not only to be compliant, but also to service an increasingly computer-literate customer base. As government, business and private individuals become more computer-literate and -enabled, so the need for client self-service increases. An interesting challenge is to balance the demands of a few very literate, very demanding customers, with a majority who will still take some time to move to the electronic world. This may mean duplicate systems, with information stored in different forms - paper reports and invoices for many, electronic bill presentment and payment for some. As we are all aware the paperless office is still a long way off, and e-government doesn`t mean e-paperless - yet!
"Before we get to that stage there will need to be a significant mindset change among employees and customers, the majority of whom are still very comfortable working the old way. Implementing new systems is 10% about technology - the rest is ensuring that the people who will use the technology are adequately trained and comfortable with moving to the new ways. There are many stories about technology implementations which failed purely because the people were resistant to change. Technology change requires organisational change - new processes require buy-in from staff and other stakeholders. We`ve all seen and heard about the technology, and we know it exists - now we need to extract the real benefits it promises.
"The word balance seems to crop up often when looking into the immediate future. One of the delicate juggling acts facing us over the next few years will be to satisfy political agendas and social needs, at the same time as moving into a more technological world. In many instances, technology implementations lead to more efficient processes, more automation, and possibly the need for fewer staff. Government`s responsibility to its political partners and constituency must by default have implications for the well-being of society at large, and the continuing employment of people in the country. Some trade-offs will need to be made, and the process needs to be carefully managed to ensure that introduction of technology doesn`t lead to reduced employment rates. As the country`s largest employer, government has a responsibility for the well-being of its employees which can`t be ignored as new technology is introduced.
"Challenges indeed, but the government must be commended on the steps that have already been taken as far as legislation is concerned, and the e-government initiative is further evidence of this commitment. As South African businesses, we look forward to building a stronger economy in conjunction with our partners in government."
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