Government is failing to use information and communications technology to improve its operations; and the costs of access to the wired world remain way too high, stifling productivity.
This is according to the findings of a report by the World Economic Forum, in association with Insead Business School of Switzerland, on the progress and impact of information technology around the world.
Read more: ZA: Government is failing to use technology - Network or be left behind
The agency's mandate is to improve service delivery to the public through the provision of IT systems and related services.
“To effectively fulfil this role requires a highly-sophisticated and dynamic agency with the necessary leadership, skills, capabilities and systems and processes to ensure a high level of service excellence, value for money, innovation and thought leadership,” says the organisation.
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.
Market research company IDC, through a report of its government insights division, also said virtualisation, security and data management technologies would be the key IT investment areas during the period from 2011-2015, as South Africa's economy is seen to expand steadily during the period with a four per cent average annual growth rate.
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.