While some progress has been made, government still has a long way to go to transform its processes and put citizens first, says the State IT Agency (SITA).
Speaking yesterday at the opening of the fourth GovTech conference, in Durban, SITA chairperson Zodwa Manase noted government services should prioritise the general public.
“The time has come to go back to basics and ensure citizens' needs are considered the top of the agenda,” she said.
Manase added that, while SITA, through its annual GovTech conference, had done much to improve service delivery through access to ICT, more still had to be done.
“Over the past four years, we have been at pains to ensure GovTech lives up to its reputation as a thought leadership platform. And since 2006, critical issues raised here have been identified, taken into consideration, implemented and progressed upon. We're still looking for more.”
The conference, which had a record 2 000 visitors this year, was about more than the discussion of programmes and initiatives, she added. GovTech needed to also monitor and evaluate the progress of initiatives which have been implemented and plan for the future.
“We need to think about what we're about: we're all about service delivery to the citizens of the country.”
According to Manase, the citizen-centric approach to government will require collaboration and transformation of government approaches and services.
“Such re-organisation will require radical approaches which will challenge structures, bureaucracy and service delivery models. In practice, this implies that government services must be structured and delivered in such a way that takes into account citizens.”
Manase said citizens need to be afforded the priority they deserve. She added that she is confident issues raised at this year's conference would benefit citizens and serve to improve the impact of SITA.
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