The Home Affairs National Identification System (Hanis) project is still on track, and a comprehensive e-government programme is set to roll-out soon, says minister of public service and administration, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi.
The R1.8 billion Hanis project was first announced in 1993 and got under way in earnest last year. It aims to digitise all Home Affairs information, including the fingerprints of all citizens, by next year.
Speaking during the parliamentary media briefing in Cape Town this week, Fraser-Moleketi said one of the elements of the Hanis project that had already been implemented was the automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS), which was designed for the electronic storage and retrieval of fingerprints.
Fraser-Moleketi also said Hanis relied heavily on the electronic conversion of manual data.
"During 2005, the department implemented a back-record conversion project, which entailed capturing, digitisation and storage of manual fingerprint records onto the AFIS database. As at the end of December 2005, the number of stored fingerprint records on the AFIS database amounted to 11 097 101.
"The conversion, which will be completed before the end of the year, will allow for online verification and identification data to the benefit of both public and private institutions."
E-government progress
The minister also noted that progress had been made in plans to implement e-government in SA.
"By July 2006, government will adopt a comprehensive e-government programme, which covers a governance model, strategy, architecture and implementation plan for the single public service. The focus is on e-government and ICT, which will create a platform for services to be delivered through a single point of contact," she said.
She added that the Department of Public Service and Administration had continued with the implementation of the Batho Pele Gateway portal, which was launched in 2004 and is accessible from http://www.gov.za.
The portal`s information content will be expanded to include provincial and local spheres of government, and the gateway information content is being translated into all 11 official languages.
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