As a result of the City of Johannesburg`s (CoJ) information technology outsourcing contract with the IBM/Masana consortium, residents can now interact online, via the Internet, with CoJ.
The consortium, known as Sebedisana, has implemented an electronic account presentation (EAP) system that enables residents to receive their municipal accounts by e-mail.
The EAP resolves problems of paper-based accounts being delayed in the post or incorrectly addressed.
It e-mails accounts to residents a week before payment is due, giving them adequate notice and enabling improved and more timeous collection of city revenue.
Residents can also view their account history on the relevant part of the CoJ Web site.
Says Dr Heather Fuller, CoJ chief information officer: "Although there`s not been much advertising of the EAP, we`ve had an enthusiastic response from citizens. Thousands have registered to use the facility in less than six weeks."
Sebedisana is in the process of implementing additional facilities whereby residents will be able not just to receive but also pay their accounts online. The facilities will be available later this year.
It is also extending the EAP system to enable residents to update their meter readings as well as amend their personal details - such as addresses, marital status and contact details - on a central database.
Updating their own meter readings at monthly intervals will enable residents in areas where the city does only quarterly readings to receive more accurate bills.
And updating personal details on a centralised database reduces the need for residents to contact each city department individually every time one or two details change.
Currently, some departments have their own, very large customer databases, resulting in multiple versions of citizen data - some out of date.
The complexity has been exacerbated by the incorporation of a number of different local authorities into the larger CoJ.
Amelia Basson, Sebedisana CoJ project executive, points out that Sebedisana is not creating a new database, but enabling integration of data that already exists in departmental databases.
"IBM`s special skill worldwide is enabling different systems, old or new, to talk to one another. That way, we protect the customer`s technology investment and we considerably extend the life of his technology.
"By bringing that skill to bear through Sebedisana, we`re saving the city money by re-using existing systems rather than installing new ones. We`re also increasing departmental efficiencies without disrupting current services." Sebedisana is also building a business intelligence (BI) system for the city`s finance department that will enable easier and more comprehensive interrogation of the city`s vast data resources.
"We`ll understand our data better," says Fuller. "That will enable us to do more accurate and relevant `what if` analysis and budget projections."
Fuller believes that the five-year, R500 million outsourcing contract with Sebedisana has given the city benefits it could not have achieved on its own.
"In the very short space of 18 months we`ve been able to improve our infrastructure, build an intelligent technology environment, standardise facilities and data across six local councils, and ensure that the city`s management systems are professionally cared for.
"We simply didn`t have the skills, resources or experience to do it without the consortium."
As members of Sebedisana, IBM SA and black empowerment company, Masana Technologies, took over the Johannesburg Council`s IT staff at the beginning of the contract in October 2000.
Fuller says that the CoJ opportunity and outstanding skills transfer by IBM SA have developed Masana Technologies into a major empowerment company - "ensuring that the black empowerment element of the deal has not been token".
"And, with increasingly able Masana staff, we get increasing value out of the base contract.
"That benefits everyone living in Johannesburg."
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