The North-West government will turn to ICT as it rethinks its approach to service delivery in the province.
MEC for economic development and tourism Mmaphefo Matsemela says the province and municipalities will explore the best ways in which ICT programmes can be packaged and streamlined to improve service delivery initiatives.
“The ICT sector should not be treated in isolation from other sectors. It is a sector which must be seen and used as a lens to rethink development strategies. The availability of proper ICT infrastructure, in both provincial and local government, is of prime importance in improving service delivery,” she notes.
The province previously allocated R80.2 million for its technology initiatives. The provincial government also previously stated its commitment to “progressively replace the legacy infrastructure with faster broadband Internet infrastructure”.
In the budget, the department prioritised the development and maintenance of enterprise applications, management and support of network services and architecture, databases and data storage, ICT security, mainframe and server systems and provision of e-government services.
Matsemela says the province would implement various ICT projects in its drive to improve service delivery. These include call centres, a population register, asset management, public information terminals, e-government and information resource management.
Service delivery
The MEC says technology should be used to measure and track the impact of service delivery efforts. She adds e-government initiatives had not yet provided seamless government services, which improve service delivery.
“The application of e-government has not yet been well entrenched across government. E-government should be understood as the continuous optimisation of government service delivery and governance by transforming internal relationships through technology, the Internet and new media.”
Matsemela says, while the provincial government aimed to improve access through the latest technology, ICT infrastructure is weak in several geographic areas. The lack of infrastructure, combined with more pressing priorities or demands on the public service, make ICT development a lower priority in terms of budget.
“While efforts are being made to re-oil the state machinery for improved service delivery, this is against the backdrop of dire global economic conditions. While government departments and agencies see the need to utilise ICT to improve on service delivery, its acquisition and application is still minimal especially in small municipalities,” she states.
Drafting policies
The MEC also announced the creation of a provincial framework to guide the role and contribution of ICT in the development of the province. She added the Premier's Advisory Council on Innovation and Information Communications Technologies and the Provincial Information Society and Development strategy would ensure key initiatives were carried out.
The framework calls for the identification, packaging and integration of all ICT-related projects in both the municipalities and in the provincial department. Once the provincial ICT framework had been finalised, the municipalities and local government would identify projects and implement them in communities, noted the MEC.
“I would like to invite all participants to begin to apply their minds on the best innovative ways both the departments and municipalities can use ICT to leapfrog stages of development and thus raise the standard of living of our citizens.”
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