The Public Service Commission (PSC) conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of the Thusong Service Centres (TSC) and found there are challenges in coordinating the programme.
The Thusong Centres are multi-purpose community centres aimed at improving service delivery and increasing access to government services for the poor and previously disadvantaged.
Overall, the PSC says an assessment of the TSC programme during the 2009/10 financial year showed it has made significant achievements in meeting this aim.
However, the commission adds there have been challenges in coordinating the programme and ensuring services at the TSCs are rendered in an integrated manner.
“A concern in this regard is that there is no single department that ensures standardisation and uniformity of operations at the TSCs and provides operational framework in this regard.”
Management issues
The assessment report notes that the TSC programme has succeeded in bringing services closer to communities, since 84% of service users interviewed reside in the immediate vicinity of TSCs and the majority of these service users (60%) had to travel less than five kilometres to a centre in their respective area.
The commission says not all departments render services on a daily basis at TSCs. However, in instances where departments would not be able to provide services on a regular basis due to lack of funding, for example, they share infrastructure such as mobile units with departments that have adequate resources.
With regards to management arrangements at the TSCs, the report found that responsibility for the management of the programme has not been spelled out in legislation or policy documents.
“It is, therefore, not clear to which sphere of government or institution the function and coordination of the TSCs programme are allocated.”
It adds that management of the TSCs programme is varied due to a lack of necessary frameworks which would bring uniformity in the coordination and management of the centres. The function of coordinating the programme needs to be allocated to one national department, it says.
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In determining the effectiveness of promoting integrated service delivery at the centres, the findings indicated that although departments operate in a common space in the TSCs, they still work in silos, without sharing resources or ensuring they plan and budget together.
“The report also notes that every department maintains its own database, even where the necessary infrastructure is available to link systems. The departments justify the practice of keeping separate databases by indicating they each have their own security requirements, and that the information cannot be shared with other departments.”
The different departmental computer systems in the TSCs should be linked to ensure that all relevant information of service users is available to all service providers, suggests the commission.
ICT disconnect
The PSC also highlights a lack of ICT connectivity as a major impediment to service delivery at the TSCs.
“A number of TSCs are established in rural areas and, while their establishment ensures easier access to remote communities, the problem with IT connectivity remains high.”
Other issues are a lack of proper security arrangements at the centres and that department representatives are not trained on integrated service delivery.
The commission adds that 80% of the TSCs visited have too little office space available to accommodate all the service providers involved.
The PSC has recommended that efforts to improve accessibility need to be strengthened.
“The TSCs have overall been successful in bringing government information and services closer to local communities. However, mobile infrastructure should be utilised to further strengthen current efforts to establish more TSCs and improve accessibility to government information and services.”
It adds that visiting points and operating times of mobile units should be agreed with service users and the initiative should be effectively marketed to ensure maximum use.
E-govt gateway
The Thusong Centre programme was initiated in 1999 and provides one-stop integrated community development centres.
The Presidency says this is one of the primary vehicles for the implementation of development communication and information, and to integrate government services into primarily rural communities.
While 1 227 centres have reportedly been established around the country, the Presidency says only 157 are currently operational.
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