Gauteng wants to be the province that breaks ground and becomes the catalyst in leveraging information and communication technology (ICT) in the delivery of public services, Premier David Makhura said on Monday.

Addressing delegates on the first day of the inaugural two-day Gauteng e-governance and ICT summit, in Midrand, he said Gauteng would change the way South Africa’s most populous province experienced public service delivery.

The summit was hosted by the Gauteng provincial government’s (GPG’s) newly created Department of e-Government, which aimed to use the summit to unpack ICT initiatives that would improve front-line service delivery, ensure effective administration and stimulate the development of the ICT industry in the province to create jobs.

The summit would result in the GPG communicating the Gauteng city region’s (GCR’s) vision for e-governance and the ambitions outlined in its e-Government Strategy.

ICT access and connection are increasingly used to measure quality of life. The GPG plans to make the GCR a successful example of the transition to e-governance through its approved e-government strategy over the next five years.

Earlier this year, the GPG outlined a five-pillar, 18-initiative framework to modernise public services through deploying the broadband network, transforming the back-office functions within the GCR, increasing access channels for public services, eliminating duplication and ensuring interoperability between systems.

The strategy, which had led to the establishment of the new provincial Department of e-Government, led under the auspices of Finance MEC Barbara Creecy, had already resulted in some gains through the gradual migration to a “paperless” society in schools and health facilities, the deployment of several free WiFi zones and the roll-out of the Gauteng Broadband Network.