While the title of this publication is Effective e-Government, very few of South Africa's provinces - and that includes the powerhouse of Gauteng - seem to pay much attention to the crucial area of ICT.

Judging by the importance granted to the subject in the Budget and State of the Province speeches, ICT is a crucial area in government.

While much of the focus in 2010 was on public investment infrastructure programmes, responses to the economic recession and enterprise development, this was at least partly understandable due to the importance of being able to effectively deliver a successful 2010 FIFA World Cup. Of course, with that event now little more than a fading good memory, surely the time has come for MECs to place a much stronger focus on the benefits that can be derived from an effective ICT policy?

It is particularly galling to note that two of the ‘big three’ provinces made no mention of ICT in either the Provincial Budget Speech or the State of the Province Speech. Premiers Nomvula Mokonyane and Zweli Mkhize of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) respectively, should be ashamed at their failure to raise the subject, although considering the number of high pro le problems particularly experienced in Gauteng over the past year or so, it was perhaps wise that Mokonyane did not raise the ICT issue further than she had to.

Among the key issues a ecting Gauteng in the past year, have been the numerous technical problems with the Gauteng Online Web portal – the fact that last year the Gauteng Shared Service Centre had to be incorporated into the newly formed Department of Finance, and the ongoing troubles a icting the Blue IQ project. In addition, the Gauteng Department of Transport (DoT) was forced to shut down its call centre for electronic driver and learner licence test booking indefinitely.

The only mention Mokonyane made that was related to ICT was when she stated that local government will focus on improving the operations of the more than 40 Thusong Service Centres in Gauteng, and as part of government’s aim to take services closer to the people, it will also launch the first Urban Mall Thusong Service Centre in Maponya Mall, Soweto.

Apart from this, and brief mention of the e-tolling controversy and the City of Johannesburg’s billing crisis, the premier failed to mention any ICT strategies for the province.

To be fair, ICT appears to have taken a back seat in a number of MECs minds, with neither North West Premier Thandi Modise nor Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza making any reference to the subject in their speeches.

GAUTENG SEES SHARED SERVICES AS THE WAY FORWARD With the implementation of a shared services model, success is defined by three main factors, namely: • Operational efficiency – in respect of a better functioning public administration system • Constituent service – meaning better services and opportunities for users • Political return – which is about providing openness and good governance Shared services is about transforming the current government model of service delivery – where the government worker sits between the IT system and the citizens waiting in queues – to one where the IT system is placed in the centre. This means that the citizen can utilise self service portals, allowing the government worker to become a problem solver when and where required. Implementation of this model will help ensure genuine service delivery. Citizen surveys have indicated that what people want is availability of information, reduced waiting times, fewer queues, and two-way interaction, as well as for customer service to be improved upon and government processes to be simplified. Gauteng is driving towards the five key attributes that effectively de ne shared services, namely: • Distinct governance • Standardised processes • Improved economies of scale • Continuous improvement of systems • Services that are customer driven and focused.

Free State Premier Ace Magashule touched on the subject briefly, pointing out that the use of ICT in the province’s schools is a continuous project. It is one that must ultimately result in ICT literacy and school connectivity across the province. On a positive note, he further stated that in 2011, 25 schools will be connected through the Universal Services and Access Agency South Africa (USAASA).

Limpopo Premier Cassel Mathale was quick to highlight the fact that the province’s ongoing learnerships and internship programmes will focus on critical and scarce skills, foremost amongst which are ICT skills. He also said that the province’s plan to roll out broadband is a commitment it will never renege on, and that Limpopo Province is preparing to request the industry to respond to its request for proposals. This, he said, will go a long way in bringing ICT development and information technology advancement among learners and the community in general. Broadband is the future of telecommunications and Limpopo must be counted among the leaders in this field.

The three Cape provinces seem to be taking the lead in respect of their ICT strategies, with the Eastern Cape Premier Noxolo Kiviet pointing out that the province continues to build its provincial ICT competency towards ensuring that the provincial governance framework is in place; key employees are trained on optimal and effective use of ICT to enhance internal operations and service delivery; and it is increasing its internal capacity to maintain ICT infrastructure and provide the necessary support services, thereby minimising its dependency on the State Information Technology Agency (SITA).

The Northern Cape’s Hazel Jenkins highlighted the fact that it is crucial for the province to ensure an enabling ICT environment for improved service delivery. A programme has therefore been put in place to ensure that the initiatives of strategic marketing and communication in the province are pursued.

As for the Western Cape, Helen Zille suggested that a growing economy must connect people through transport and technology. The Western Cape is thus eager to learn from places such as Kenya, where an ICT revolution is driving strong economic growth. To emulate this, the province is developing a telecommunications strategy based on a fibre optic network infrastructure that connects government, citizens and the economy to improve productivity and access to new markets.

She pointed out that when the DA came into office, it found that much of the ICT infrastructure was obsolete, there was low bandwidth capacity and the end-user equipment was outdated. This year, the process of upgrading the provincial government IT operating system began. So far, close to 3000 users (20% of the total user base) have been migrated to the new technology platform. By the end of the 2011/12 financial year over 50% of users will have been migrated. Approximately 4000 brand new workstations were also commissioned during the 2010/11 financial year as part of the technology refresh cycle.


THE GAUTENG PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

The past year has not been kind to the Gauteng Provincial Government, with much criticism being levelled at the province’s ICT projects. Most notably, the Gauteng Shared Services Centre (GSSC) has come under fire several times, with Mokonyane calling it an “embarrassment”. She has said it is unacceptable that the GSSC – established a decade ago – continued to blame its systems for its troubles.

The agency has been slammed for its failure to deliver several key projects, since the provincial government migrated all technology-related projects to the GSSC in order to standardise processes and platforms. For example, the Gauteng Online Web portal, which is run and managed by the GSSC, has had constant technical issues and downtime. Furthermore, the initiative to build province-wide 25-seat computer labs, with Internet and e-mail capabilities, was expected to connect 2 042 schools by May, but this did not materialise.

Progress has been noted at the governmental implementation and consulting agency, Blue IQ, which in the past has also had many detractors. The company announced that it will implement the Deltek Maconomy enterprise solution to improve its project management, and better control its budget and costs, while also optimising visibility across its entire organisation.

Perhaps the biggest news was the announcement that the Gauteng provincial government will spend R36 billion on infrastructure projects – including new projects such as the eagerly awaited Gauteng-Link (G-Link) broadband initiative. Speaking during his budget speech to the provincial legislature, Finance MEC Mandla Nkmofe noted that the roll-out of broadband is one of the province’s strategic investments in infrastructure. Viewed as one of the key infrastructure projects for the province, G-Link is expected to be implemented by 2011/12 – although considering the many troubled ICT projects in this province over the past ten years or so, it probably won’t do any good to hold one’s breath in anticipation.

One positive aspect for the province is the news that Dark Fibre Africa’s Mtunzini-Durban-Gauteng fibre cable went live. DFA completed an open access dark  fibre infrastructure linking the undersea cables landing at Mtunzini to Gauteng and Durban. DFA CEO Gustav Smit said that the completion of this project will transform the economics by bringing high capacity bandwidth to SA’s major economic hubs – a real positive for Gauteng as a whole.

OTHER WESTERN CAPE INITIATIVES • The establishment of an IT Risk Management Unit and IT Security Unit to manage IT-related organisational risk and improve IT security. • The establishment of an IT Nerve Centre to monitor the IT network across the Provincial Government Western Cape (PGWC) for outages, high bandwidth utilisation or slow response times. • The introduction of broadband for 14 priority sites and bandwidth optimisation at various sites. Broadband capacity at these priority sites has increased from 36.5MB to 1 820MB. • The PGWC is negotiating with the City of Cape Town around the use of its  bre optic cable – this aim will be to ensure that broadband penetration is increased to 34 sites and will secure usage rights for the next 20 years. • An e-mobility project has been operational for over 800 mobile users. This project aims to significantly reduce mobile connectivity costs to the PGWC, while at the same time improving connectivity, security and governance. The project has been recognised as a ‘best practice’ and is being replicated by SITA for other departments and provinces. • Channels such as the Internet Portal, Walk-in Centre, E-mail Channel and the Call Centre, have been upgraded and enhanced to improve citizens’ interface with government via electronic means. The ICT infrastructure of the e-community centres in rural areas was also enhanced to improve connectivity, and ensure a more satisfactory user experience.

THE KWA-ZULU-NATAL PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

Although the Premier seems less than concerned about ICT, with not a mention of the topic in either his State of the Province address or his annual Budget Speech, KZN MEC for Economic Development and Tourism Michael Mabuyakhulu pointed out the importance of harnessing the power of technology in improving the lives of the people. The lack of proper education for many, a legacy of the apartheid years, is mirrored in the lack of access to the ICT industry and technology in general. Nowhere is this more pronounced than in the rural areas. For this reason, the KZN government launched an e-skills knowledge production and coordination hub, with the aim of using the power of technology in the province’s reconstruction and development project.

ICT is seen as a key enabler of the modernisation of government. It also improves access to services and offers both individual citizens and companies the opportunity to interact (even to conduct business) with government seven days a week, 24 hours a day. But more importantly, in this fast paced world of globalisation, it has become a  llip for economic growth.

Bearing this in mind, he says that the provincial government has undertaken numerous fact-finding missions to several countries, to learn more about the ICT industry. Most recently, it has committed to expanding cooperation agreements and partnerships with India including the key strategic sector of ICT. India’s ICT strategy, he points out, has been a key driver in the country’s economy and as a result of the relationship with India, more than 10 000 students from this province are undergoing intensive training over the next  ve years in the ICT sector in the country.

The focus will be on software engineering, networking, Web site development, database development and integration of Web site development, and computer programming and databases. In response to the challenge of skills shortages, the province continues to leverage the Moses Kotane Institute, which is solely focused on equipping students with skills in the mathematics, science and technology arenas.

KZN’s new Dube Trade Port, built to leverage o the new King Shaka Airport, is a cyber port that will go a long way towards boosting the ICT capability of the province. As the ICT component of the Trade Port, Dube iCONNECT provides state-of-the-art telecommunications, IT and value-added services to the community of users in and around the Dube Trade Port, ensuring fast global connections 24/7. It is committed to achieving the highest standards of quality, performance, security and support, providing high quality services that are competitive within the market, excellent on-site support services and ensures the highest levels of security within the IT environment. The aim is to provide a total package offering the most economic IT solutions for businesses.

The KZN government has also launched an e-skills knowledge production and coordination hub as a practical expression of government’s commitment to tap into the power of technology as a means to drive economic growth and to improve the lives of people. Government claims to be targeting some 100 000 new jobs by 2020 in the knowledge-intensive sectors, which definitely includes ICT.


THE WESTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

In order to ensure the coordinated implementation of the provincial strategic objectives, the Western Cape provincial government has developed the Provincial Transversal Management System (PTMS), which has been successfully implemented. It has shown great value in integrating government policies, programmes, and ultimately service delivery, on issues such as road safety, alcohol abuse and early childhood development.

It also increased its capacity to monitor and evaluate the implementation of strategic objectives, thanks to the establishment of the Executive Provincial Dashboard or EPD, which gives at-a-glance information on any given project, and ‘red flags’ those projects that are falling behind schedule or running over budget. There are about 512 active projects on the dashboard, 360 of which are linked to the strategic objectives contained in the Provincial Strategic Plan. The dashboard has been made available to members of the provincial government.

Furthermore, work has begun on an IT platform that will enable all Western Cape municipalities to access the dashboard for their own monitoring and evaluation purposes. By the end of the current financial year, the province aims to enable members of the public to access the dashboard on www.capegateway.gov.za. This will allow citizens to check the progress of projects that affect them and hold the provincial government accountable if necessary. The province believes this will take government responsiveness and accountability to a level not seen before in South Africa.

The Centre for e-Innovation continues to receive the lion’s share of the department’s budget, up from R348 million last year to R395 million in 2011, in recognition of the fact that in order to compete with the best governments in the world, the Western Cape needs to be at the cutting edge of ICT. The centre is responsible for the provision of transversal ICT services across provincial government, including supporting over 14500 corporate workstations in over 270 locations, maintaining operations for 19 Cape Access Centres in rural areas, which gives people access to a PC and the Internet free of charge, maintaining the Cape Gateway government information portal, and supporting over 360 departmental systems such as the clinical health system, which manages patient records and the exam management information system.

The Centre for e-Innovation also supports close to 50000 workstations in schools across the province as well as 1300 school-based ICT laboratories. This supports over 24 000 teachers and has exposed over 850 000 learners to ICTs in the curriculum.

This investment in and focus on ICT is clearly starting to pay o , says Zille, pointing out that an IT Governance Maturity Assessment conducted in 2008 gave the province a rating of one out of  ve for IT maturity. The same assessment conducted this year showed that it had improved to three out of five.

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE EASTERN CAPE • Software research and development: with its strong tertiary education institutions, the province provides a solid foundation for investment in research and development of niche software for global markets. • Technology Park: opportunities exist for the investment in, and development of, a technology park that will act as a technology incubator for the Eastern Cape. At least two of the province’s  ve universities have expressed an interest in being part of such an initiative. • Telecommunications: opportunities exist for the supply and maintenance of telecoms systems in support of call centres and BPO operations in the province.

OTHER PROVINCES

The Free State Provincial Government is becoming more proactive in its approach to embracing the information age and in becoming a key player in the global ICT market. The ICT Strategic Framework that has been developed is intended to assist provincial government achieve its economic, social upliftment, empowerment and overall prosperity goals.

An ICT project opportunity that has been conceptualised in line with the ICT Strategic Framework includes the development of a Provincial Regional Innovation Strategy. The proposed strategy is intended to create a friendly business environment that will enhance the innovation capabilities of  rms located in the proposed innovation hub in the Free State.

Other plans include the development of an SMME Incubation Hub – with an investment value of approximately R100 million – aimed at providing a physical space and a number of services to new businesses in the ICT sector, thereby helping them through the earlier stages of their development. Plans also include a Medical Biotechnology Park with an investment value of around R400 million. This will provide practical research collaboration networks between academic researchers, pharmaceutical companies and clinical research companies in developing innovative products and technologies that will help improve the quality of life.

Limpopo’s Department of Agriculture has budgeted R6 million in the current  nancial year to install technology-based information systems that will enable extension officers to provide relevant and accurate information to farmers – instantly. The systems, which will fall under the department’s e-Agriculture Project, aim to improve emerging farmers’ access to information and markets through the use of information communication technologies such as the Internet and SMS messages. Since the e-Agriculture Project was launched in October 2010, 215 farmers and 16 extension officers have been trained in basic ICT skills using Digital Doorways, which are robust computer stations with multiple screens that provide Internet access to rural communities.

In Mpumalanga, the provincial Department of Education and the national Department of Mineral Resources – together with MTN, Anglo American, Vodacom and Eskom – launched the Emalahleni Career Guidance and ICT Resource Centre, which will serve the school communities as well as out-of-school youth in the greater Emalahleni area in the Nkangala region.

It also announced the planned Digital Hub, a project with the objective of creating an international centre of excellence for knowledge, innovation and creativity, focused around digital technology enterprise.

The Northern Cape Provincial Government celebrated the launch of the Cyber Lab, alongside the Provincial Square Kilometre Array (SKA) SA Project Office and USAASA – a new approach to science and technology access. Jenkins said that educators should use the infrastructure and technology to enrich their learner inputs, while learners must be encouraged to utilise the facility to the best of their ability.

This project is thus expected to serve as a catalyst to improve learner performance in the area of mathematics and science, and to prepare learners to take advantage of the opportunities that will emanate from the developments associated with the Karoo Array Telescope, the MeerKAT and the SKA.

In the Eastern Cape, a number of libraries have been upgraded with computer equipment and provided with Internet access. This is a significant milestone in that it enables disadvantaged communities to seek employment opportunities and useful information by using the Internet.

The Eastern Cape Information Technology Initiative (ECITI) is a provincial multifaceted programme focused on providing support to SMMEs in ICT and related industries. This body is currently at the forefront of the ICT sector in the province, and is supported by provincial government in line with provincial growth and development strategies.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Technology Hub, situated in Port Elizabeth and initiated and championed by ECDC in conjunction with ECITI, is the implementation arm of the provincial ICT strategy in terms of providing for the incubation, growth and development of Eastern Cape’s SMMEs in the ICT sector. The hub is made up of representatives from the major commercial and manufacturing sectors in the province, has the backing of provincial government, and is at the forefront of the provincial ICT strategy.

The North West Province outlined six objectives for its 2011 broadband strategy.

These include: improved government e ciency through access and use of converged technologies such as VoIP, fax gateway, video conferencing, internet
and e-mail; stimulating provincial and local social and economic development through the provisioning of learning centres, public internet access in libraries and tribal community centres; and leveraging ICT investment in 2010 infrastructure as nodal points for broadband connectivity and distribution in the province.

Additionally, it aims to foster the knowledge economy through the rollout of e-learning centres in schools, public Internet access in libraries and coordination with the African Drive Project and Dinaledi Schools initiative, improved health care information and interventions at local and rural level through the deployment of individual and specialist health portals, health information and health monitoring systems, and accelerate the contribution of ICT’s to economic development and innovation, in collaboration with the Thusong Service Centres.