of TISSA
22 August 2006
The roll-out for the telephone interpreting service is meant for all the
government departments and other state organs. This means that all public
service institutions, where government interacts with the public, for services
and/or government information should adopt the Telephone Interpreting Service
for South Africa (TISSA) for communication with their clients.
Last year the department wrote to all the heads of government departments
and chief executive officers of the public service institutions, to introduce
TISSA, and inviting them to participate in the project. Since then, several
government departments and associated public institutions have adopted
TISSA.
The following public service institutions and government departments are
stakeholders in the project:
* Nelson Mandela Metro in the Eastern Cape (14 sites operational)
* Tshwane Metro (13 sites operational, three in the process of
installation)
* Radio Atlantis in the Western Cape has one fully operational site
* Ngwathe Municipality in the Free State has five sites operational
* Department of Agriculture has one site operational
* South African Police Service (SAPS) in all the nine provinces has a total of
83 sites operational
* South African Post Office (SAPO) with sites at the Johannesburg International
Airport and in seven of the nine provinces of the Republic
* The Government Communications Information Systems (GCIS) has three fully
operational sites in the Western Cape with their Multi-Purpose Community
Centres (MPCCs) having two.
* Department of Social Development (DSD) is the one government department that
has embraced TISSA with overwhelming enthusiasm. Earlier this year, they
launched TISSA in Kimberly. Their enthusiasm and commitment to the service
assures us that we are on the right track in terms of rolling out the service
to the people of South Africa. DSD has a total of 196 sites operational.
* Tshwane Metropolitan Council has also adopted the service with over 20 sites,
mainly in clinics in and around Tshwane.
* Western Cape Legislature has one site operational.
This brings the total number of fully operational TISSA sites to 328, plus the
three that are in the process of being installed.
The number of sites per province is as follows:
* Eastern Cape 23
* Free State 19
* Gauteng 36
* KwaZulu-Natal 92
* Limpopo 29
* Mpumalanga 42
* Northern Cape 31
* North West 24
* Western Cape 32
* Total 328
The target of registering 300 sites has been achieved and as we speak, we
now stand at 331 fully operational sites in all nine provinces of South Africa.
Be that as it may, we are not satisfied with the use of the service despite
this achievement. The call volumes for the service are still low despite a
recent report that there has been a slight improvement. We are looking at
raising awareness through campaigns about the service and its benefits. In this
regard, concerted marketing campaigns will be undertaken to profile TISSA.
The prevailing negative perceptions about using the African languages are
not helpful in ensuring maximum utilisation of the service. Such perceptions
include the following myths:
* If you request the interpreting service you are illiterate
* The officials at the sites are indifferent or are not adequately sensitised
to proactively assist people who may be struggling to articulate their
inquiries in a language other than their own
Before the end of the year, we will have added a few sites dedicated to the
deaf community. We are currently considering various technological solutions
that would ensure that the service is rendered cost-effectively to this
community. The TISSA service has currently employed 31 interpreters. However,
the employment of interpreters is an on-going exercise, mainly determined by
the increase in call volumes and the number of new additional sites.
Enquiries:
Sandile Memela
Cell: 082 800 3750
Premi Appalraju
Cell: 082 375 2939
Issued by: Department of Arts and Culture
22 August 2006
