ITWeb eGovernment Conference returns

By Siyabonga Africa, ITWeb junior journalist

Johannesburg, 05 Feb 2009

The transformational potential of e-government services will be discussed at the third annual ITWeb eGovernment Conference, which will take place in March at Emperors Palace, in Kempton Park.

More than 20 presentations on online and municipal services will be given by speakers from the South African Revenue Service, the Department of Home Affairs and eThekwini municipality.

Keynote speakers attending the conference include the Korean government's consultant to the Department of Communications, Cheung Moon Cho, who will discuss Korea's status and policies for building an information society.

“I will also touch on issues related to e-government such as ICT infrastructures and their impact on social development. And then I will go onto the status of e-government in SA,” Cho adds.

Other speakers to feature at the conference are Meraka e-Skills Institute acting CEO, Dr Harold Wesso; Jacquie Subban, head of the geographic information and policy for the eThekwini municipality; and James Masonganye, head of operational system management for the City of Tshwane.

Masonganye is adamant that e-government is necessary for delivering vital municipal services to residents. The City of Tshwane is engaged in a broadband roll-out programme, which Masonganye hopes will provide free Internet connectivity for the city's inhabitants by the end of this year.

“I will be presenting a case study on our efforts in building a fibre optic network as well as our activities with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in connecting the various tertiary institutions in and around the city.”