Honourable MEC Ravi Pillay,
Honourable Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Telecommunications and Postal, Services, Ms Nkhensani Kubayi,
Honourable Deputy Minister Prof. Hlengiwe Mkhize,
Leaders in ICT,
Government officials,
Members of the media,
Ladies and gentlemen.
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to GovtTech 2014, the 9th gathering of the country’s premier conference on the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Government. I hope that by the end of this conference we will be ready to answer the important question of what we need to do collectively to use ICTs to improve the performance of government, to better deliver services through modern means and facilitate better connections between government and the citizens.
Programme Director I have looked at the themes under discussion and feel that they are addressing the core burning issues of:
- The state of e-government adoption in South Africa and challenges we face
- The Universal access to the internet in terms of both infrastructure and broadband services
- The readiness of the public service systems to migrate to e-government platforms
- The lowering of costs through effective procurement using economies of scale.
The use of ICTs and online delivery of Government services will help us improve governance and increase accountability in the use of public funds. This is important as the country is facing increasing demands while the State resources remain under strain.
Our ambitious plans to use technology to improve the quality of the lives of our people are anchored in the National Development Plan (NDP) and South Africa Connect, our Broadband Strategy and Plan.
The NDP gives us all the framework of what we need to do to build an inclusive knowledge and information society by 2030. South Africa Connect is our broadband policy that gives us the tools to realise the goals of the NDP.
The building of ICTs skills and greater investment in broadband infrastructure will help government to create an empowered citizenry that drives its economic development.
An extract from the NDP reads as follows; “South Africa needs to sharpen its innovative edge and continue contributing to global scientific and technological advancement.
This requires greater investment in research and development, better use of existing resources, and more nimble institutions that facilitate innovation and enhanced cooperation between public science and technology institutions and the private sector.” In a nutshell, this paragraph explains why we are here and what we need to do to contribute in achieving the inclusive society envisaged in the NDP.
The Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services is also tasked with co-ordinating the deployment of public and private sector communications infrastructure so that all South Africans are able to receive services that they need and which are affordable. We need to do this by stimulating investment in broadband infrastructure, developing e-skills for government and the public, developing trust and a secure e-environment and promoting research and innovation.
In other words, we are all therefore tasked to ensure that the country extracts maximum value for every rand invested in ICTs, broadband infrastructure and services to accelerate service delivery in a manner that helps us to fight the persistent challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality.
We are doing this through implementing South Africa Connect, the broadband policy, plan and strategy. Cabinet adopted the strategy to roll-out broadband infrastructure and services providing electronic services covering education, health and all frontline public services that deliver services.
The Strategy talks of plans to connect all government offices, schools and health facilities through fast speed reliable internet. We have already finalised the first phase business plan that is aimed at initiating the programme.
This phase 1 will coincides and supports the National Health Insurance pilot programme. The infrastructure roll-out will be in municipalities that have been adopted as sites for the NHI pilot setting a stage for an all-inclusive programme that will see the deployment of broadband to connect schools, clinics, hospitals, public offices, traditional offices, police stations and Post Offices.
As part of the SA Connect implementation programme we are also involved in discussions to streamline and rationalise the State Owned Entities with the precise purpose of redirecting their mandates to deliver on policy goals contained in the National Development Plan and SA Connect.
We are also reviewing our ICT policies with the aim of addressing all challenges that we confront in the use of modern technologies, providing for a coherent policy framework on converged platforms and services as well as strengthening the institutional capacity to regulate the sector and deliver on services.
We have been given the responsibility of oversight over the State Information and Technology Agency (SITA). We are also working with SITA, our hosts of this important conference, to redefine and sharpen the focus and redirect energies towards the realisation of e-government.
We see SITA as playing a critical role in securing the technology platform and infrastructure that will be shared by all government departments. Government data must be secured and SITA will play a leading role in ensuring the integrity and security of government data.
We are both engaged with government departments to define their needs and their approaches to collaborative work to deliver e-government.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Government is aware of the immense contribution the ICTs can make in rendering government work more efficient, the delivery of services to improve and to impact on the various social and economic activities to improve peoples’ lives. We have already experienced how some government services have been improved using the modern technologies.
We also know how, in our country, technology has made it more convenient to submit tax returns by enabling those who have access to computers and smartphones, and can afford to go online to do so from the comfort of their homes or offices instead of standing in long queues. Here is a concrete example of how the development of software and platforms an impact on people and make services convenient. It is also a reminder to practitioners that if they develop software and services that are relevant to society there are vast opportunities.
Government is also rolling out the new smart card as a form of identity because we know that the new technologies offer better protection of the integrity of our identities. The smart card ID is more secure than the previous incarnations, and more convenient to carry around because they can fit into wallets.
These are just some of the examples of how the use of technology has transformed the State’s ability to deliver services to citizens. We are in a position to radically transform our society by ensuring that we learn from the best practices in how some State institutions rolled out technologies, interrogate how these technologies can evolve and be more efficient while we develop new ones.
This year’s theme of GovTech is Government: Empowered by Technology. The sharing of knowledge and information is one of the ways we can unleash the transformative power of technology as we move South Africa towards an inclusive society. We are able to share this knowledge because of the great strides we have made in the first 20 years of our democracy, fully aware that we need to do more with less.
Therefore the sharing of information is very important to the development of our country because we can leverage it to radically transform and modernise our society. Given our history of non-uniform spatial development, many of our people live in areas that do not enjoy universal access to government and other services.
We need to find ways to translate technology into our own local languages to make it more accessible and useful to all, especially the elderly.
We have a vision of delivering services to the elderly on smart devices such as tablets and smartphone. This will mean that they no longer have to stand in queues to access their social grants. They can also use these devices to monitor their vital health signals and the devices can alert health workers who can come to their aid. We also want the elderly to use the devices to further their education and importantly, use their wisdom to educate the youth.
We must also pay special attention to training young people to use these services. We need to consider how we create a conducive environment for the youth to be innovative and not end up as just consumers of other people’s technologies. Census 2011 tells that 28.9% of our population is made up of young people between the ages of 15 and 34. This means that one in three citizens is between the age group. The age group that the NDP says has embraced technology the most. We have an opportunity to change the face of service delivery for the better. Let us do it for the benefit of our future and the youth of this country.
Let me end by wishing you a successful conference and robust engagement. We keenly await the outcomes and advise we will derive from your deliberations.
I thank you!
