Of this amount, a significant chunk will be spent on IT services, a driver of the unit's services, according to the unit's political head.
Delivering his annual budget vote speech this week, MEC Paul Mashatile allocated the unit the increased budget of about R400 million.
A new report by BMI-TechKnowledge says provincial and local government spent over R5.6 billion on ICT last year, and will spend R6.4 billion by 2011 – and that excludes local government capital expenditure (capex).
IDC senior analyst Pieter Kok adds that all three tiers of government have ageing infrastructure that needs “refresh”, as well as greater integration and consolidation.
Nonetheless, government now wants to move at least 100 services online, starting with six that affect the poor the most.
Williams addressed an industry briefing on the Department of Public Services and Administration‘s (DPSA's) next-generation e-government platform, in Johannesburg, yesterday.
With the constant pressure to increase the quality of patient care and the desire to provide new services, while at the same time controlling costs, healthcare providers are beginning to leverage the power of video and voice networks, and, more recently, Telemedicine, to link patients, specialists and medical professionals, thus extending the reach of healthcare.
Read more: South Africa: Telemedicine - the next level of service
Thusong Centres, formerly multi-purpose community centres, are locations, mainly in rural areas, designed to allow people to have access to government information and services. Some 1 227 centres have been established nationally and Fraser-Moloketi says connectivity will be extended to 50 centres in the coming year.