Citizens of the Western Cape will, for the first time in their lives, be able to source government information and services, in the language of their choice. Internet surfers can access information and services in either, Xhosa, English or Afrikaans.
This means that there are now three easy ways for all the citizens of the Western Cape to access government information and services; through the web portal, a call centre, or a walk-in centre. This is unprecedented in the history of the Western Cape.
Residents of the Province will now be able to hold the Government accountable, by either calling, surfing the net or simply walking-in to our Cape Gateway offices. This is a shining example of responsible governance and transparency at work. The web portal address is www.capegateway.gov.za.
Minister Rasool said: "The Provincial Government sees improved access to quality information as an important priority. A key first step in improving service delivery is to arm citizens with the information they need to access those services".
The call centre and walk-in centre were opened in June 2003. Since the call centre opened it has been handling approximately 20 000 calls a month.
The web portal is a single point of access to government information - citizens don't need to understand the structures of government in order to access what they need. The information on the portal is ordered into areas that make sense to the average person (such as birth, education, marriage), making the search for government information much more user-friendly.
Another important feature of the web portal is that it's written in jargon-free language, and is of course available in the three official languages of the Western Cape.
An exciting development is the publishing of provincial tenders online. For contractors in small towns across the province, this could bring real benefits. This is a direct response to the many complaints received by the Government during the Imbizo programmes from rural businesses, about lack of access to these services.
"There's no need to come to Cape Town to fetch the Tender Bulletin; dial up and you have access to tender ads, whether you're in Cape Town's CBD or Prince Albert," Minister Rasool said.
The web portal also provides an important information base for the Cape Gateway call centre - using the portal, the call centre operators aim to answer queries straight away, without referring questions to government departments.
"Imagine an informal tavern owner who wishes to apply for a liquor licence," said Dr Harold Wesso, Chief Director of Knowledge Economy and E-Government in the Provincial Administration. "How must she know that it's the Provincial Government that issues these things, let alone the name of the specific department? With Cape Gateway, a person can now go straight to the liquor licensing topic and get all the relevant information in one place."
"We recognise that most of our citizens don't have access to the Internet. What Cape Gateway seeks to do is to allow everyone to benefit from the access to information afforded by Internet and call centre technologies," Dr Wesso added.
The portal and call centre will be useful barometers of what the public needs to know - between calls coming in and questions emailed from the portal, the government will be able to gauge where the major gaps in its communications and policies lie.
"We see Cape Gateway as a fitting tribute to all those who made democracy a reality in South Africa," says Minister Rasool. "We're building on their hard work by using modern information and communication technologies to further open government and democracy."
Autor: Thabo Mabaso
Quelle: Provincial Government of the Western Cape, 17.01.2006
