It is a fact. Healthcare in South Africa implies, for some, long queues at state hospitals and clinics, and for others exorbitant private doctors' fees. Also a fact, our health practitioners are overworked.
One of the solutions proposed by the government and the private sector is telemedicine. It is already in place in South Africa, and uses technology to perform the routine and basic diagnosis of illness, prescribe medication and transmit and store health data - over the internet and by telephone.
An IDC Government Insights report says spending in the sector totalled $1.47 billion in 2010, largely on the back of e-government initiatives.
“In the wake of the global financial crisis, IT spending by government entities was fuelled by the need for operational efficiency, as well as by ongoing cost-cutting measures.”
The research company predicts that another key organisational priority in 2011 will be regulatory compliance, which has already emerged as an incentive to IT investment.
The aim of this project is to drive efficiency within government and curb fraudulent and irregular activities.
The IFMS is a joint initiative between the DPSA, National Treasury and the State Information Technology Agency (SITA).
The IFMS integrates IT systems that support HR management, supply chain and financial management in the department. The HR module replaces legacy systems Persal, Bas, Logis and Vulindlela, some of which predate 1998, according to SITA.
Instead, according to an article published on ITWeb on 18 Jan 2011[1], it has resulted in an excess of 65 000 known and reported incorrect statements/billing records where customer accounts have been grossly inflated - resulting in electricity and water cuts, despite the error occurring from COJ's side.
Read more: ZA: Johannesburg: How power of digital communication could have saved the city
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."