G Frasier-Moleketi: GovTech 2007

23 August 2007

The Acting CEO of State Information Technology Agency (Sita), Peter
Pedlar,
Members of Sita's Executive Management Team,
Distinguished guests and dignitaries from far and wide,
Representatives from government institutions and the private sector,
GovTech speakers, sponsors, exhibitors and delegates.

The challenges of unleashing the potential of our country, our region and
our continent in a dynamic, globalised and increasingly competitive arena
require innovative ideas accompanied by rigorous research, relentless pursuit
of excellence, attention to detail and accountability.

It is in this context that we must view the discussions of the past three
days as we take forward the knowledge, ideas and experiences that have been
shared in the past few days.

Over the course of GovTech 2007 you have immersed yourselves in discussions
on information and communications technology (ICT) matters to learn and grow
from the experiences of others and to debate and discuss solutions and ideas
that will contribute towards the transformation of public service delivery to
ultimately benefit our country's citizens.

Attendance at this year's GovTech surpassed last year's over 50%. This
demonstrates the strategic relevance of GovTech as a thought leadership
platform and the need for ongoing dialogue between various stakeholders who
share a vested interest in the success of ICT in the public sector. What is
critical is to ensure the harnessing of ICT for development.

With attendance figures of around 1 500 delegates GovTech has proven its
ability to attract leading figures in the ICT space, across the private and
public sectors, here in South Africa and across the globe.

This is a remarkable accomplishment. A little over a year ago GovTech was
not even a brand, yet today it is among the top rated ICT conference brands in
South Africa and indeed on the continent.

Reflection on 2006

But perhaps some reflection on last year is important for continuity.

You are probably all victims, in some form or another, of the phenomenon
known as conference euphoria.

This is a term used to describe how delegates at conferences leave enthused
about any number of opportunities they have been exposed to and then, rather
unfortunately, do nothing with them.

This was something Sita has been particularly mindful of and I'm proud to
say that as government, we are pleased that Sita has to a greater extent
delivered on the actions which emanated from GovTech 2006.

What is important is for participants to reflect on what they will take out
of GovTech 2007 and bring back for 2008.

During the course of the conference, you would have heard of the progress
made with respect to e-government and the research from a detailed study that
will soon be finalised to inform the country's e-government strategy going
forward. Progress has also been made on Sita's partnering models with industry,
and just yesterday for example, Sita and MTN announced a partnership on mobile
connectivity for government.

You have also heard of the advances Sita has made in collaborating with
government, industry and academia to address the dearth of ICT skills in the
country, and of open source projects that have been launched in support of
government�s vision in this regard.

So yes, there has been progress on what was committed to last year. Of
course some of the movement on issues has been slower than we had anticipated �
for instance the Integrated Justice System cluster meeting which is yet to take
place � but the importance of progress should not be underestimated, especially
when one is dealing with multiple stakeholders who do not necessarily always
agree on the way forward.

Notwithstanding, we will continue to expect results from Sita and ensure
that commitments are followed through and delivered on.

Highlights from GovTech 2007

This year's GovTech conference once again reinforces the importance and
absolute necessity for partnerships.

At the Executive Leadership Forum delegates were unambiguous about the
importance of partnerships across the public and private divide and commitment
to act in the national interest of the country to ensure South Africa's
increasing prosperity.

The importance of an integrated ICT vision and strategy was emphasised, with
participants calling for common direction in areas like skills and research and
development. Once vision and strategy is defined, the challenge then becomes
execution.

Making South Africa globally competitive is no easy task, but with the right
partnerships, a common purpose, better coordination and execution on strategy,
South Africa will attain its rightful place among the global leaders. We have
achieved this at a political level, now we must replicate this in other
sectors.

This view is something Government wholeheartedly supports, and we expect
Sita to play a leading role in this regard from an ICT perspective.

The role of government has also been discussed extensively at GovTech
2007.

Providing a competitive tax regime, mitigating red tape, creating a
conducive legal system and encouragement of foreign direct investment are of
course all positive contributory factors that government is undertaking because
they fuel economic growth. But are we all playing the right role to make this
happen with the necessary urgency.

We of course recognise this, but one must always be vigilant to balance the
needs of all constituents and ensure that the gap between rich and poor
continues to be narrowed and that we do not lose sight of the massive social
challenges we face.

ICTs can play a role in alleviating these challenges, but we cannot take
five years to develop an ICT or e-government strategy. We must do it at the
pace required without compromising quality.

ICT Skills Issue

Additionally skills in the ICT sector is another pressing matter for our
young democracy, but the fact that South Africa is behind other economies in
this regard, should be seized as an opportunity to learn from countries like
India, who have developed critical mass in programming skills.

The issues raised on ICT skills at GovTech again reinforce the need for
collaboration, with delegates asking that the matter be looked at as a systemic
challenge that should not be responded to in a piecemeal approach.

What we now need is for the participants at this forum to come forward as
volunteers to take up this challenge.

As we discussed central co-ordination of information on initiatives to
address the shortage is regarded as key, and of course backward linkages to the
schooling system are vital for skills sustainability.

The response to the ICT skills dearth requires that we need to be bold. We
were reminded that we must address this holistically and comprehensively. We
need to look beyond just the graduates, to take into account our social
responsibility to bring unemployed matriculants into the mainstream of the
economy.

We don't have the luxury of choice. We must run two tracks concurrently in
the first and second economy.

So perhaps the ICT skills challenge is precisely the opportunity we need to
galvanise broad-based action and commitment from all quarters to define the
extent of the shortage, determine what skills are required, and perhaps create
a niche for our country, like some other countries have done.

IFMS

From a skills perspective and development of the indigenous ICT industry the
Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS), is an example worth
highlighting.

The IFMS project is a multi-stakeholder programme of National Treasury,
Department of Public Service and Administration and Sita, to consolidate and
renew government's back office applications.

The scope of the project covers financial management, human resources
management, supply chain management, asset management and business intelligence
across both national and provincial departments and as such constitutes the
biggest integrated business solution undertaking in the country.

A key spin-off for the IFMS programme will be its contribution toward
creating capacity and sustaining South Africa's technology skills base, while
supporting Sita's transformation as a primary systems integrator that will own,
manage, contract and run these transversal systems on a commercial basis.

Open Source

Another topical area discoursed on at GovTech is that of open source.

As government we have a clear view on the matter. In February this year,
Cabinet announced its approval of a free and open source strategy and stated
that we would migrate current software to free and open source software.

We emphasised that it would not be big bang approach, as we recognise the
need for balance and coexistence between open and proprietary software.

This will require all stakeholders to cooperate. It is not a dogfight. It is
about us all coming together to take this forward in a systematic way.

Government has always maintained that its implementation should be deployed
where it makes the most sense. Our approach to migration will therefore be one
that is considered and thoughtful to ensure a smooth transition.

Interesting ideas

On the subject of interesting ideas, one of the concepts that emanated from
this year's GovTech was the development of a National ICT Scorecard.

The scorecard will be preceded by a process of deliberating on what
constitutes national objectives which need to be underpinned by ICTs and the
related resources and processes. Subsequent to this, these objectives will be
ranked according to their impact on the achievement of national priorities. The
respective roles and responsibilities, which will not necessarily be limited to
the public sector, will then be apportioned accordingly, and the related
timelines will be set out.

This scorecard will not only serve as an instrument to guide the delivery
process, but will also resolve the ever imminent issue of the proliferation of
state owned (and sometimes private) entities which have duplicated and
conflicting sets of responsibilities.

Of course questions still unanswered are where accountability and ownership
for the scorecard should reside, does it include both public and private sector
entities, and who decides on what to measure and what the priorities should be.
In essence, whose head is on the block if things do not happen?

As we move to an increasingly integrated, harmonised and aligned system of
government through the Single Public Service initiative we will need to look at
how such a tool can assist in achieving these objectives.

Of course this matter cannot be resolved at this forum, but this idea
illustrates precisely why GovTech is important as a platform for knowledge
exchange and imparting of expertise to take South Africa to the next level of
excellence.

Conclusion

To conclude, I would like to congratulate Sita on hosting another successful
conference. As I mentioned earlier, the number of delegates bears testimony to
the importance of this forum in providing a platform for dialogue and knowledge
exchange.

I want to challenge Sita to make GovTech not only the biggest on the
continent, but to be recognised as a leading international forum.

I would surmise the defining point of the conference as a call from
delegates and speakers for stronger partnerships and more collaboration between
various sectors and role players, as well as improved coordination of
programmes, initiatives and activities to ensure more robust outcomes to
benefit the broader ICT industry and country as a whole.

A big thank you to all the sponsors, speakers, exhibitors and delegates for
your interest and participation in GovTech. I trust that the conference has met
your expectations and that you will return in even larger numbers next
year.

With regard to the appointment of the next CEO of Sita, the decision rests
with cabinet. Negotiations are at a sensitive stage, but we anticipate that an
announcement will be made during September, if not sooner.

Thank you

For more information contact:
Lewis Rabkin
Cell: 082 497 3220

Issued by: Department of Public Service and Administration
23 August 2007