Unisys Africa, in conjunction with local partners in each province, has rolled out 600 public information terminals (PITs) for the South African Post Office (SAPO).
The PITs, alongside multi-purpose community centres, connect citizens to public services through the Batho Pele Gateway, an online government services portal.
The roll-out was completed at the end of August 2004, following the successful completion of a pilot project involving 100 terminals distributed equally between the nine provinces of SA.
The PITs, designed by Unisys following the successful roll-out of a similar project in Brazil, feature e-mail, Internet access, a fingerprint reader, touch screen, smart card reader, video camera and microphone.
Users will be identified through either biometrics or using a smart card, and people will be able to use the smart card to pay for services. Currently citizens can access government forms on the terminal, and print them for completion and submission to government offices. The terminal is soon to be expanded to become an online gateway portal for government services.
Services currently available include Internet access, e-mail, government forms and educational institutions.
Services are free of charge at the moment; however, the Post Office has concluded the development of a billing system which will soon be rolled out.
A document compiled by the State IT Agency (SITA) entitled "E-government Experience in South Africa", states that "e-government seeks to render services utilising technology as an enabler through partnerships with stakeholders; understanding and anticipating citizens` needs and aligning services to citizens` needs/wants; and citizens` terms and experience of interacting with the state driven by time, convenience and choice".
"We believe the project can generate a healthy return on investment and fulfil social responsibility obligations to the South African public," says Tony Volker, area sales director at Unisys Africa. Unisys was able to roll-out the majority of the terminals countrywide within two months just before the South African elections in April 2004.
Share
Unisys is a worldwide information technology services and solutions company. Our people combine expertise in consulting, systems integration, outsourcing, infrastructure and server technology with precision thinking and relentless execution to help clients, in more than 100 countries, quickly and efficiently achieve competitive advantage. For more information, visit www.unisys.co.za.
Editorial contacts