First steps to e-governance

South Africa might have made some progress in bridging the technology access gap, but if e-governance is to really gain traction, we might need to place greater emphasis on what departments are doing internally to facilitate a change in approach.

Up until now, a lot of focus and attention is rightly turned towards ensuring infrastructure is available for citizens to use and exploit the benefits of technology. From new cyber labs in schools to community training centres aimed at boosting e-skills, what I see is a concerted effort to address the unequal landscape that persists.

The Department of Communications, along with entities like the Universal Service and Access Agency of SA, continues to invest in cyber labs at schools, while the private sector has also chipped in through the likes of Vodacom's training centres.

But that doesn't mean government's programmes, in particular, can't be coupled with taking the first steps to opening up its own e-governance channels.

The benefits of using a computer or mobile device can't be understated, yet we could end up with a situation where we're missing out on services that add a great deal of value for the public. Speaking to ITWeb recently, ICT veteran Adrian Schofield noted: "There is no point in giving citizens access to infrastructure before that same infrastructure is actually delivering services - and being maintained because it is in constant use."

SA Connect - the country's National Broadband Plan - is based on core pillars, namely digital readiness, digital future, digital opportunity and digital development. The document explains the latter as "the pooling of public sector demand for broadband in order to facilitate the smart procurement of high-quality broadband connectivity and services to address public sector broadband needs".

Granted, digital development is but a portion of a bigger plan to position SA as one of Africa's leaders using broadband for social and economic development, but government should be careful not to miss out on ensuring it is ready to widen its service delivery channels.

We may have seen attempts at city or municipal level to make sure departments are online and enabling e-governance services (think online utility bill payments), but we still have some way to go in this regard.

In a nutshell: show me what I could interact with in your department using technology, and I'll take it from there. Some are already getting this right. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) is pushing ahead with its cloud offering, even though I'm sure it's aware we still have some way to go in connecting all of SA's 25 826 government schools.

The DBE's platform allow teachers and pupils to access learning materials, collaborate with one another, and view schedules and calendars, while parents will be able to track their children's learning progress.

What's laudable about the education department is that it's not adopting a 'wait-for-everyone-to-be-connected-first' approach.

But, what's laudable about the education department is that it's not adopting a "wait-for-everyone-to-be-connected-first" approach, and rather enabling a service that could see rapid uptake as more schools come online. That is, of course, if its content strategies are on point and the information becomes a valuable resource for all concerned.

There seems to be an acceptance that, while most students have yet to access technology, it doesn't hurt to have meaningful, relevant services available for learners and integrate these into the routines of even more people as they get connected.

The Department of Home Affairs, meanwhile, is pouring millions into its modernisation programme, although its e-governance services will probably materialise once it sorts out issues with duplicated records from its legacy systems.

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is perhaps the best local example of what happens when government focuses on enabling through technology - then again, what's a better motivator than tax collection?

SARS e-filing has been around for years, though it's not as if SA is the most connected country in the world - our National Broadband Plan outlines all of this. Yet, SARS allows citizens to file their tax returns online and, as Schofield noted, they did not play catch-up by waiting for X.

E-filing has proved convenient and simple for its many users, and more will surely come on board as the access gap is narrowed over the years.

So, can it be done? Can we realistically expect the public infrastructure gap to be addressed, while more government services come online? SARS and the DBE have shown us a thing or two. Over to the rest of the rest, then.