Magaliesburg, North West Province, October 23, 2000
By Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, Minister for Public Service and Administration
E-Government: Translating "Buzzwords" to Action and Promises to Reality
Public Policy proposals, in response to changes that are our new dispensation is expected to deliver, have had to contend with various buzzwords depending on people’s different areas of activity. While these cliches help to heighten awareness of the impera tives facing our ever changing times, what is key to all agents of change, is the abiding will to translate buzzwords into desired effect and to turn promises to reality.
For the purpose of this seminar, the buzzword of our time, which will stay with us until the proposed notion is a norm, is e-Government. The steps we take to making e-Government a reality should have a sense of policy issues being tackled; be familiar with associated concerns in order to find creative and lasting solutions.
By developing a collective sense of the issues under discussion, joint response to related concerns, and a united commitment to find innovative dependable and sustainable solutions, will put us on an appropriate footing to make the progress that can make u s turn the promises of “e-everything” into reality
But for a changing society to make progress it cannot afford to be hamstrung by obstinate tendencies of individuals operating in cycles that are not responsive to the changing demands of its citizens. Unrepentant bureaucracies will need to be uprooted and dismantled. Committed Government personnel should be geared to acquire new skills and thus be able to find their fit and adapt to unfamiliar conditions related to their work.
For progress to come about, Government needs a work force that has the courage to face up to significant change with the same commitment of their political leaders. A commitment to translate identified visions into reality. Thus, Government operations and bureaucracies should be aware that the centre might not hold if they do not stay within the orbit of citizens’ expectations, the majority of whom are hungry for change.
This therefore calls for the navigation of a courageous vision on how e-Government can be implemented with clear and practical benefits for the citizens. Clearly, transformation of public service delivery stands on Government’s philosophy of “Batho Pele” p utting people first and developing the economy.
Of importance to note is that when citizens interact with Government they do so within the limits of means at their disposal but driven by high expectations of high quality service that is accessible, convenient and secure. To meet these expectations Citiz ens need not be burdened with how Government is organized, or to know which department or agency does what, or where national, provincial, or local government exercises a function.
This calls for a framework that will provide a seamless government, by helping organs of State to co-operate in new partnerships that will offer their services in a way that makes sense to the customer/citizen. Partnerships with innovators in the private s ector should therefore find new ways of meeting patterns of demand.
With recommendations of the Presidential Review Commission of 1998, Government reacted accordingly by putting appropriate structures in place. These structures are intended to provide an institutional framework with centralized functions that:
This points to a need for every organ of State to extend IT to provide non-financial services. Since this poses an enormous challenge for the government, this calls for a Government IT policy that includes service delivery in all spheres of its operations.
A responsive policy demands a paradigm shift which will see Government moving from buying IT goods and services (i.e. nuts and bolts), to paying for solutions or results that improve its service delivery agenda. This shift seeks to bring a change to the cu rrent business models where Government officials pretend to know which specific IT products are appropriate, to a position where they are left to focus on what constitutes good service delivery in their functions.
Since service delivery would be occurring within business pressures, Government’s IT solution partners would need to conduct their operations in a manner that places them on an ethically sound foundation primarily geared at offering IT solutions that addre ss government service delivery problems. It is for this reason that Government is exploring suitable IT business models in order to curtail unbecoming and improper business relations.
Part of the solution was the creation of the State Information Technology Agency (SITA), mandated, among others to immediately ensure that government IT:
The Department of Public Service and Administration, being the State organ under which SITA falls, and a shareholder on behalf of Government, has highlighted chief factors informing its Business Model.
The key areas which inform the business model of the shareholder (Government) include increased production, reduction of costs, and citizen welfare. In keeping with these areas all State organs should align with the following factors:
With these being governing basis upon to reengineer business models of State organs, efforts to turn e-Government buzzword into action and its promise to reality would not be out of step.