IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The evolving demands of the ever-discerning consumer continue to give impetus to the private and public sector to offer customised digitisation solutions that meet their needs, David Mphelo, general manager for public sector at MTN Business, told delegates at the Public Sector ICT Forum in Johannesburg.

Mphelo said that as the industry is battling with the full implementation of the IT buzzwords that were conceptualised decades ago such as Big Data and Cloud as the back-end system that supports the complete adoption of these solutions often lags behind.

It is common knowledge that digitisation is the logical next step for the public sector. Consequently, we are seeing governments around the globe take steps towards delivering digital e-government with varying levels of success.

Mohamed Cassoojee, vice-president and country manager for Software AG South Africa, says that one of the most prominent hurdles in the digitisation of public sector functions is how to take existing systems, which were not designed to cater for the volume of service delivery we are currently seeing, and fairly quickly implement upgraded systems that can deliver services more efficiently.

The HR Module of the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) aims to modernise the transverse information technology systems that support financial supply chain and human resource management in the public service.

Baloyi said the implementation of the programme is critical for supporting good governance. "Through the system, we will be in better position to eliminate ghost workers and the abuse of leave. We have come a long way since Cabinet approved the development and implementation of the IFMS in 2005."

Public Service and Administration Minister Mzamo Buthelezi will on Monday officially open the 24th National School of Government Public Sector Trainers’ Forum (PSTF) Conference at the Birchwood Conference Centre in Gauteng.

Hosted by the National School of Government (NSG), the two-day conference brings together learning and development practitioners from across the public sector to reimagine how public servants are trained and equipped to deliver on South Africa’s national priorities.

Risk management is the focus of reducing, minimising and controlling the probability and input of a negative occurrence; and/or increasing the probability and impact of a positive occurrence.

There are various methods of risk management - some of these methods include the same practice approaches, concepts and tools used in a classic risk management process.

South Africa’s public sector will spend as much as $707.6 million (R8.8 billion) on information and communications technology (ICT) expenditure per year by 2019, new research from Frost & Sullivan showed late last week.

This bodes well for e-government service delivery that most public sector departments are pushing through, says the study titled, “ICT Spend in South Africa: Public Sector”.

Speaking at the GovTech 2012 conference held in Durban on Wednesday, Sisulu said professionalising the public service is equipping public servants with technology to enhance the skills they need for their jobs.

The conference is held under the theme: ICT Collaboration - Across and Beyond Government. GovTech is a world-class platform for collaboration, capacity building and information sharing between government and the ICT sector.

Gauteng’s public transport landscape is undergoing significant changes in 2025, driven by ambitious infrastructure projects, fare adjustments, and strategic planning. This investigative overview examines the key developments shaping how millions of commuters travel across the province, focusing on expansions, challenges, and the future outlook. Gautrain Expansion: Ambitious Plans Amid Financial Concerns One of the most high-profile projects is the planned expansion of the Gautrain rapid rail network. The Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport confirmed new routes extending the system into Soweto and Cosmo City, with proposed links to Fourways, Sunninghill, Lanseria, and Smart City. This expansion aims to improve connectivity between Johannesburg, Pretoria, and emerging urban nodes, potentially boosting economic activity and property development near new stations.

Speaking at the SA Communications Forum (SACF) meeting Pule congratulated new CEOs Shameel Joosub of Vodacom, Alan Knott-Craig of Cell C, Puleng Sejanamane of Broadband Infraco and Lulama Mokhobo of the SABC.

“Together I am certain that we can take South Africa to the pinnacle of achievement in the ICT sector. It is vital that we position South Africa as a leading light in ICT on the continent.”

Imagine what it would take to operate a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week service delivery provincial desk where no resident’s concern would ever be overlooked or ignored.

Imagine a situation where problems are immediately routed to the appropriate government officials and automatically move up the chain of command if they’re not addressed within a few hours. That would be service delivery at its best.

The access and use of public spaces by women without risk is a fundamental human right, and yet it remains an elusive one.

For most women, moving around the city at night, or in secluded spaces, is often unsafe, if not downright dangerous.

While no technology in the world can remove the risk completely, this is as much a cultural shift as it is an innovative implementation, there are ways in which the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart cities can support safety and wellbeing.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution offers many potential benefits, not least of which is providing local government with access to a wide new range of tools and solutions – from cloud and Internet of Things, to big data and advanced analytics – which it can leverage to improve the services it delivers to citizens.

With the significant push towards digital transformation, inspired at least in part by the pandemic-driven switch to remote working, there are a number of technologies and solutions being considered – or already leveraged – by local government to help improve service delivery.

Smart cities are no longer just a consideration, but are now a global necessity. RESHAAD SHA, Chief Strategy Officer at DFA believes now is the perfect time for South Africa to implement the basics to get itself ready for the smart city revolution.

In the past, the concept of smart cities may have been a lofty consideration for a Sunday afternoon, but smart cities are no longer a preference—they are quickly becoming a critical necessity. This is due to the confluence of increasing urbanization, greater pressure being placed on the successful management of a city due to a rising population, and climate change. The latter in particular means that a city needs to have the wherewithal to manage a sudden natural crisis, such as flooding, and be able to dispatch emergency and medical units without delay to save lives.

The Department of e-Government, the division focused on ICT and innovation in Gauteng, will receive R1.4 billion this year to fund key projects.

So said finance MEC Barbara Creecy, delivering the fifth and final budget of the current administration, as well as the medium-term projections for the next three years.

Empty promises frequently punted by South African politicians, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, often mention “smart cities” or “bullet trains”, but little is being done to bring these plans to fruition.

In his 2019 State of the Nation Address, Ramophosa said he dreamt of a South Africa with a new city comprising skyscrapers, schools, universities, hospitals, and factories, as well as bullet trains to connect the country’s metros.

The managed cloud is no longer only a place for provisioning rapid capacity for application development initiatives and application testing, says Ryan Skipp, ICT solutions sales and portfolio management at T-Systems SA.

According to Skipp, managed cloud is now capable of providing core business application support at production level, and enables businesses to move forward more quickly and flexibly.

ISPA is still finding that there is a huge need for affordable broadband services accessible from these schools. Furthermore, according to ISPA’s Regulatory Advisor, Dominic Cull, there remains a massive amount of work to be done. “We are moving from an access challenge to an affordability challenge. The role of the Universal Service Agency of SA (USAASA) and the Universal Service Access Fund (USAF) in meeting this challenge remain critical,” he says.

The Baobab Fibre Project is well-underway in the Saldanha Bay municipal area, and aims to turn the area into the first authentic smart city in South Africa.

With most residents now having access to internet, thanks to the fibre project, the team implementing it answers some key questions to help guide locals.

Farhad Suleman, Zoom Fibre chief sales and marketing officer, explains why locals should care about fibre when other internet connectivity is working.

Western Cape’s Saldanha Bay Municipality (SBM) is trialling smart poles to provide smart lighting and WiFi connectivity in localised areas near the poles.

This move forms part of the municipality’s ongoing efforts to turn SBM into a smart city, according to a statement.

The municipality, together with its private sector partner Zoom Fibre, installed the smart poles in various sites in Saldanha Bay.

This is according to Kevin Meltzer, Consology's business development director, who says: “Life without the convenience of Web-based online service is becoming increasingly hard to imagine."

He explains that self-service has moved from being a niche application to become pervasive across all ICT sectors.

“When Consology started out [ten years ago], the concept of online billing and self-service had yet to even begin to take route in SA outside of selected applications such as online banking,” says Meltzer.