Issued by: North West Communication Service
The launch today of the One Stop Information Service pilot project in the North West Province could well go down in history as the turning point in effective and comprehensive government communication with the population.
The problem of effective and meaningful communication between governments and the people is a global dilemma which has persisted throughout history, and which continues to haunt democratic governments worldwide. South Africa is no exception. Like so many other countries South Africa has explored many different options in attempts to overcome the problem, with little success of note.
The One-Stop public information kiosks which will be deployed today are the culmination of two years of research and development with one specific objective in mind - the identification and creation of a technological advanced but simple to use information dissemination tool which would be multi-faceted in its benefits to the population, while at the same time bringing government closer to the people.
Vantage Multimedia Communications and IBM believe that in this new tool they have met and exceeded the objectives they set for themselves as the start of the project.
Of course none of this would have been possible without the vision and commitment of the Premier of the North West, Mr Popo Molefe, and his team. Without their appreciation of the problems of effective communication, and their determination to overcome this serious obstacle to good government, the idea would never have got off the ground, a spokesperson for Vantage Multimedia Communications said.
Because of this visionary approach residents in the Mmabatho area will in the next few weeks be participating in this exciting viability study as they access information from the four touch - screen kiosks which will be strategically placed around the capital.
The massive data bases already in each system provide the broadest possible spectrum of information on the province ranging from commerce and industry, through government departments and public services, to tourism and climate, a very special emphasis has been placed on the RDP and all facets of its application in the province.
Specially trained government officials will man the kiosk and will conduct a parallel survey designed to identify exactly the type of information members of the public would like the system to contain.
Interactive multimedia technology is at the cutting edge of the worldwide drive to perfect information management and dissemination tools and techniques.
The system offers facilities which were not even thought of just a few years ago. Whereas mankind was traditionally familiar with the use of limited sensory requirements to absorb information, the new systems employ all the senses - and in addition they are interactive, which means the user can talk to, and be answered by, the system.
To achieve this the system includes sound in any language, video, slides (pictures), text, graphics - and on top of this it invites the user to become totally involved by being able to interrogate it through the simple touch-screen facility.
IBM donated project management and consultancy expertise, an IBM Thinkpad, and four touch-screen systems to the project. Vantage Multimedia Communications conceptualised and developed the software programmes.
This form of inter-active communication is without doubt the answer to many of the communications problems experienced by government. The prospect of on-line link-ups to such kiosks for immediate updates and additions, means that almost every single citizen could in time have immediate access to breaking information from government. Such a scenario is simply breathtaking in its possibilities, said the Vantage Multimedia spokesperson.
The spokesperson said, in addition, government departments would have access to the comprehensive and evergrowing data and statistical base in the system to assist in countless areas, not least of which would be efficiency in information accessibility and management.
This also has the potential to vastly improve government delivery in terms of the RDP and there is no question it is a first for government in Africa, the spokesperson said.
Both Vantage Multimedia and IBM emphasised that a project priority would be the transfer of skills to government personnel to operate and maintain the systems in order to dispense as soon as possible without any reliance on external consultants. To this end training of key personnel had already commenced in the North West Province.