Fear hinders govt ICT adoption

Johannesburg, 31 Aug 2005

Some government departments experience major barriers in the adoption of ICT due to a lack of ICT legacy and traditionally anti-technology values, says Adrian Schofield, head of research at ForgeAhead.

He was speaking during a media briefing on the company`s 2005 ICT in government report.

The research outlines the current status of ICT and its strategic implementation by government at national and provincial levels.

According to the report, some departments do not have a culture of integrating technology with their work processes or even disclosing information on the extent of their ICT use, as they regard such disclosure as a security risk.

As a result, some of the departments did not participate in the research. Many of the departments could not provide comprehensive ICT expenditure figures, as they tracked allocated budgets but did not track project-related expenditure.

The report acknowledges the role of government as the guardian of information about the country as well as its citizens. However, it also points out the need for some communication to ensure the ICT sector can provide appropriate solutions.

It also states there are fears that extensive use of ICT would widen the digital divide, with well-funded departments leaving others behind. Another fear is that extensive use of ICT would be costly. The report points out that insufficient attention is being paid to the cost/benefit ratio, and that some departments resort to outsourcing their ICT services.

However, Schofield pointed out that were the departments to invest in training technical and managerial staff, they would have a source of cheaper labour, thus reducing their outsourcing costs.

The report also touches on the use of open source as an alternative. According to Schofield, users are sometimes cautious of open source, as it follows a different expenditure curve and the maintenance costs are higher. However, he noted that the South African Revenue Service has successfully used open source to extend its capacity and customise programs to local languages.

The report says another issue that requires attention is the role of the State IT Agency (SITA). It points out that at present, SITA plays a dual role as a service provider and as an agency that validates potential service providers for government departments. Government and SITA acknowledge that SITA`s role should be re-examined, said Schofield.