IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

Phase one of the e-government roll-out, which includes consolidating information and existing services, then establishing a call centre and portal to allow South Africans to access this information, has been in development for quite some time. Initially scheduled for launch in December 2002, almost a year later, government representatives are adamant that phase one is just around the corner. "There is progress, we just haven't launched yet," says Jack Shilubane, acting government CIO. "We are still finalising some things and planning to launch in November, but this depends on when the minister gets back, because she has other activities that are taking place."

Despite these administrative delays, Shilubane says the development work on the project is complete. "We are ready to launch roll-out," he says. "The call centre is ready. The portal is ready. The URL has been made available as a try out to some people so that when we publish it to everyone else, we don't have any problems with a lack of understanding. We are busy continuously making some changes."

Despite the claimed state of readiness, there is no denying that the launch of e-government is considerably behind schedule. Shilubane attributes this delay to necessary caution. "Every department has to agree that they offer particular services," he says. "We are exercising caution."

Some municipalities have already launched their enhanced customer service portals, and while they are claiming that this is part of the roll-out, this does not fall within government's definition of e-government.

"What we are doing is integrating all government information on a single portal," says Shilubane. "There have been departments, provinces, municipalities that have been doing e-government projects, and they were started before we established the gateway. They will ultimately fit into what we are doing."

Quelle: AllAfrica, 30.10.2003