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K Badimo eStrategies Africa - SAP

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Kgabo Badimo

Implementing eGovernment transformations requires investing in serious training to help government employees adapt to new technologies and become more citizen-centric. Success requires a focus on leadership, culture, skills and the composition of the eGovernment team. Developed countries now reflect on the impact of transformations, while countries like South Africa are still in the early stages of developing strategies and addressing issues like educating public servants. The public sector plays a key role in expanding internet access and familiarizing citizens with technology.

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eStrategiesAfrica eS: Change Management is a key to eGovernment implementation. Will you have to invest in some serious training to make government employees adapt to eGovernment services? They will have to become more citizen-centric and understanding of the cultural change that eServices can bring about. Kgabo Badimo: HR functions within the public sector play a pivotal role in delivering change associated with eGovernment. It has been now widely acknowledged that eGovernment projects are usually a complex and lengthy undertaking. Discussions on the topic are now focusing on eGovernment critical success factors, which include specific organisational, structural and human resource requirements in terms of leadership, culture, knowledge and skills. The eGovernment team composition and set of common skills is now deemed even more critical to project success than the regulatory landscape surrounding eGovernment initiatives – as the latter is often a consequence of the leadership, and human resource core competencies in the eGovernment policy and strategy team. There is a shift from discussions on systems and processes to team dynamic, incentives, and civil services reform, and creation of a customer oriented culture. This applies for most of the developed countries. By today, most of these have absorbed technology and process simplifications which started in the 80s and 90s. These nations have now the luxury of experience, and are now taking the time to reflect on the impact of their transformation efforts. South Africa has still a long way to go in that process. In some instances we are still at the drawing board stage, elaborating on eGovernment strategies, sometimes awaiting regulatory policies before starting the transformation effort. Thus, educating, valuing and leveraging public sector HR, then providing HR a lead role in eGovernment transformation A revealing interview with Kgabo Badimo, General Manager Public Services, SAP on developing eGovernment services in Africa. SAP provide solutions that helps public sector organisations step into the field of web-based administration and allows government agencies to expand their existing applications step-by-step to create a complete, integrated eGovernment solution Implementing eGovernment transformations 80 eGovernment SAP interview.indd 2 28/6/07 17:28:02
www.britishpublishers.com strategies would provide for a greater chance of success for these strategies’ implementation. South African government is starting to realise the importance of educating the public servants and improving on human resources. It had not been the traditional way of approaching eGovernment in the last decade. Recognition of digital signatures, validation of online transactions are critical legal steps in implementation and rollout of eGovernment applications; but these are usually the result of eGovernment advocates successfully pushing for legal reform with parliament members. Similarly, availability of affordable infrastructure, let it be privately owned by the citizen or business (such as an individual  PC connected to the Internet via a broadband connection leased from an Internet Service provider) or provided as a service to a set of citizens (such as through a privately owned telecenter or PC users club, where citizens access the internet and pay a fee based on the time used for connection) depends on the degree of liberalisation, and on the number of private operators in the market competing for the consumers’ business. It is no wonder, in developed countries with an established governance culture, competition in telecommunications provision, and a legal framework for institutional functionality of government agencies, that focusing on the CIO role, as leader of change for the public service providers has been a reason for the sustained success of eGovernment services rollout. In fact, based on several impact studies, the public services are improving because of their availability on the internet to all viewers. Heads of agencies are listening to what their customers (citizens) are saying through the generic ‘contact us’ button – now a fixture on most government portals – and innovations and improvement ideas are collected for free from the grassroots. A similar argument is used in anti-corruption research, where public and media access to a specific project’s budget allocation and implementation status has proven to reduce the amount of graft related to that project, and to increase the chance for that project’s success and completion. In developing countries, we see a link between the speed of adoption of internet in doing daily business; and that of rollout of eGovernment services. This link is simple to explain: government is the largest employer in many countries; so a government which computerises its departments or agencies and provides ICT training for its public servants is in fact helping create an information society nucleus, and is contributing to the expansion of its information society pyramid. These same civil servants will also familiarise their spouses, children, extended family, communities, etc.  on computer usage. They will start using email and demanding electronic transactions from their own service providers (utilities, local government, schools, banks, etc.) and will play a vital role in spill-over effects. Several researches done by MIT, as well as usage statistics compiled by US-based research firms such as Gartner Group, IDC and Forrester have shown that the adoption of ICTs in daily life is an irreversible process: With time, most citizens use email more, not less than in their earlier stage of adoption. Usage and focus may change, but the fact is that in the US and Europe, people spend more time on internet and email every year. Similarly, the South African government should play a critical role in liberalisation and introducing competition in the telecommunications provision. These policies bring the cost of data telecommunications down; and allow more small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) and private citizens to have access to the internet from the SME location or from home. The impacting factors on eGovernment strategies’ success include: Existence of a governance framework, high commitment and leadership, liberalisation of telecoms sector, introducing competition in service provision, establishing the legal framework, and transforming government and the civil servants’ culture. eS: Can you explain the workings of the Public Services Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) programme – its objectives and how it will grow? Badimo: In an attempt to correct the level of racial inequality in South Africa, Government embarked on a progressive journey known as Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) transformation. This process of BEE transformation is recognised as a mechanism of addressing inequality and providing a range of opportunities to previously disadvantaged individuals. South Africa is currently experiencing high levels of economic growth, yet there are still sobering realities in terms of unemployment, skills shortages and poverty that need to be addressed. These challenges mainly affect the majority black population which has been patiently waiting for economic transformation to follow the political transformation. The Broad-Based BEE (BBBEE) Act is a means of addressing this transformation. The BBBEE Codes of Good Practice, finalised at the end of 2006 and gazetted by government, is the national standardised measuring tool, which business must use to determine their BEE compliance. The BBBEE Codes of Good Practice include a scorecard as a means of obtaining verification. BEE transformation as predicted before has become one of the key competitive advantage strategies for South African business. South African businesses are directly impacted by the implementation of BBBEE and the BEE Codes of Good Practice and BEE ITC Charter. The trend is the disclosure on BBBEE as it focusing on the CIO role, as leader of change for the public service providers has been a reason for the sustained success of eGovernment services rollout eGovernment 81 SAP interview.indd 3 28/6/07 17:28:03
eStrategiesAfrica relates to the Codes of Good Practice which provides a broader framework for business to work towards BEE compliance using a standardised measuring tool. BEE transformation effectively determines business’s right to operate within a South African context with the intention of readjusting the imbalances of the past and progressing towards a six per cent economic growth as targeted by ASGISA. And clearly through its several legislations (Preferential Procurement Act, Employment Equity Act, etc), ICT charters and the Codes of Good Practice, BEE clearly indicates that it goes beyond equity ownership. The seven elements in the BBBEE Codes of Good Practice provide great opportunity for companies operating in the local economy to actively participate in contributing to economic, social and financial elements of this country so as to ensure that the economy of South Africa grows in a sustainable manner to the benefit of all South Africans. Hence the emphasis is on: Increasing the number of black people that manage, own and control enterprises and productive assets; Facilitating ownership and management of enterprises and productive assets by communities, workers, cooperatives and other collective enterprises; Human resource and skills development; Achieving equitable representation in all occupational categories and levels in the workforce; Preferential procurement; and Investment in enterprises that are owned or managed by black people. From this definition, it is quite clear that enterprises wishing to become BEE compliant with a focus on attaining a high BEE score should not only address the issue of equity but should also include an holistic BEE strategy that is developed with clear targets encompassing all seven BEE elements. Therefore, it has to be re-emphasised that broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) is but one project of an array of interventions brought by government to redress the socio-economic legacy of apartheid. It aims to ensure entry of the previously disadvantaged community in our society into South Africa’s mainstream economy and, as such, BBBEE will touch on each and every one of our business practices. Strategically and from a marketing perspective, the question is how BBBEE will impact on the business in time to come? eS: What are the problems with establishing eGovernment in developing countries and how do you overcome them? In the long run these are some serious digital divides to bridge in some areas – before eGovernment can take root. What have you witnessed being done to encourage ICT in communities in Africa? Badimo: Governments around the world are pressured to compete with information from various sectors and organisations. Internet is the most innovative way information is distributed across the world. The problem though is the size of the information highway and the initial costs in both hardware and software to be linked to the information highway, which are inhibiting factors. Unavailability of infrastructure in remote areas is a serious inhibiting factor. Institutional capacity must be enhanced to draw people to centres (such as multi-purpose centres) where ICT facilities should be made available. Schools and community libraries provide the best infrastructures to access information and enhance educational capacity. The telecomms regulatory environment is seen as one of the major inhibiting factors in driving the take-up of technology. Economic factors constitute the major inhibiting factors restraining innovation and technology take-up – especially the lack of budget. This is of particular significance to the very small government departments. Within the government levels, lack of skilled personnel is the most significant inhibiting factor. Problems occur in departmental organisational structure with rigid ways of thinking combined with outdated policies and procedures as barriers to progressive and innovative thinking culminating in non-transformation – also very long tendering cycles. In overcoming the digital divides, South African government departments no longer have to rely on telephone lines to access the internet, email and private networks. They can access the latest technology in radio and television signals, VSTAR, a bi- directional broadband service via satellite. VSTAR represents the first of a large family of satellite and terrestrial wireless broadband communication services. VSTAR services will allow government departments anywhere in South Africa – irrespective of the availability of land lines – to get connected. VSTAR delivers broadband access at speeds of up to 512 kilobits per second to each user site. The main benefits of VSTAR services are: High-quality, and high-speed two-way broadband access that always includes internet access directly to all users, including those in the remotest areas. Advantages are: Always-on access (no dial-up); A fixed monthly fee for connectivity including internet access, equipment rental and maintenance (no additional usage based fees); Unlimited throughput (no maximum limits on bandwidth consumption for heavy users); Available anywhere in South Africa – no need for land line availability, Rapid installation, includes email addresses and a high quality support service, Distance insensitive, with the same costs for services The eGovernment team composition and set of common skills is now deemed even more critical to project success than the regulatory landscape surrounding eGovernment initiatives – as the latter is often a consequence of the leadership, and human resource core competencies in the eGovernment policy and strategy team eGovernment 82 SAP interview.indd 4 28/6/07 17:28:03
www.britishpublishers.com within the footprint. Some of the additional benefits are that government department can use this technology for linking remote sites to corporate networks and offices via VPNs (Virtual Private Networks), for video conferencing, multicasting of data, news etc to multiple sites. What I have also witnessed being done to encourage ICT in communities in South Africa is that, as high-speed wireless and broadband networks become a reality in South Africa – owing both to technological advances as well as changing regulatory conditions – they are being adopted by municipalities across South Africa to help improve service delivery. Service delivery is at the heart of the government’s mission. However, extending services to the previously under-or un-serviced puts an enormous strain on resources – a strain that can be addressed in some ways by the data connectivity provided by wireless technologies and the necessary regulatory environment (i.e. Telecommunications Act) which would remove legislative barriers for the establishment of private communications networks. However, the process of deregulation is gaining pace and legislation is within the control of government, although it is of course influenced by the constituencies and interest groups. The deregulation of the industry has resulted in the entry of more players into the communications market, especially in the field of data connectivity. It has also resulted in the awarding of licences to municipalities, enabling them to create their own high-speed metropolitan area networks. Municipalities have enterprise applications which must be deployed over large areas through high-speed data connectivity. This will enable the municipalities to rapidly roll out services to new areas, they can consolidate infrastructure and improve the utilisation of IT resources, and they can dramatically improve the communications between the individuals, departments and agencies which are necessary for service delivery. It also opens the door for municipalities to deliver more value- added services to the people within their jurisdiction. The progress is still hampered by some challenges – for example, municipalities are not known for their ability to innovate or for their effectiveness in collecting revenue. However, many have demonstrated a willingness to adopt new technology and are enjoying the business benefits of high-speed wireless communications. eS: How are you measuring the successes and failures of eGovernment initiatives? What benchmarks are you using? Badimo: SA can learn from the successes and failures of eGovernment initiatives in other countries which can best be understood if we can divide eGovernment initiatives into three camps: Total failure: the initiative was never implemented or was implemented but immediately abandoned. Partial failure: major goals for the initiative were not attained and/or there were significant undesirable outcomes. Success: most stakeholder groups attained their major goals and did not experience significant undesirable outcomes. In terms of the eGovernment success/ failure a University of Manchester (UK) survey and poll uncovered estimates about eGovernment initiatives: 35 per cent are total failures 50 per cent are partial failures 15 per cent are successes Therefore, to achieve success and minimise failure; 1. The South African government can benefit from working with the private sector to both define a process for eGovernment service delivery and the tools to achieve transformation to eGovernment. (a) eGovernment transformation should be based on a vision and a strategic plan. The SA governments should set forth progressive objectives, but start with manageable goals and performance measures. (b) eGovernment is more about the transformation of operational process and the service delivery model than it is about using technology. Technology is only a tool. eGovernment is about more than just putting government information up on a website.  eBusiness programs developed by the private sector to improve the efficiency of their operations can and should be referred to in the implementation of eGovernment programmes and services. (c) eGovernment programmes must be citizen centric and customer oriented – the private sector can supplement government’s understanding of changed citizen service needs and expectations in the ‘Internet Age’ and suggest methods to improve customer service management. (d) eGovernment programs and services should be designed to address the needs of small and micro- enterprises. An important aspect of serving SMEs is designing programs and services that enable these companies to interact with their government in a cost efficient and easy manner, and help them grow their businesses by reducing costs and improving efficiencies. (e) The constituency for eGovernment programs includes citizens, government employees, businesses and equivalent components of other (local, foreign) governments. 2. In determining the degree to which eGovernment programs are considered successful, it is necessary to take into account the degree of improvement, if any, in constituent service levels, operational efficiencies, and political returns. 3. In implementing eGovernment programs, attention must be given to motivating and enabling both government employees and constituents to make use of the electronic offerings. Therefore, human capacity development initiatives that support IT literacy and skills development and a multitude of efforts to empower government workers to support the eGovernment transformation.  It is important that eGovernment development be an inclusive process designed to ensure that solutions fulfill citizen demand. eS eGovernment 83 SAP interview.indd 5 28/6/07 17:28:03
eStrategiesAfrica John Dekker, Managing Director of SAP Africa Region Developing and extending Africa’s information technology infrastructure is widely acknowledged as being central to the continent’s renaissance. Already a number of African nations are making significant advances in using IT to strengthen their public administration, governance and accountability. Further, as we engage more intensively with governments, NGOs and businesses in Africa through the delivery of effective and value generating IT systems we are seeing the tremendous opportunities for unlocking development are crystallising into specific actions that can accelerate African transformation. The actions outlined here should involve not only governments in Africa but also business and donor organisations: Financial support: Equipping governments and their agencies with efficient IT systems that provide timely, accurate and relevant information is a significant component of economic planning and growth-enhancing policies. The key here is that the governments need to raise financial support for IT investments to a high priority area. Funding: Many governments have constrained capital or development budgets. Where these are supplemented by donors, the conditions are understandably very stringent and the processes can be long and tedious. Streamlining of the funding and engagement processes eGovernment: How to change the system Two visions on what is necessary for successful transformation through eGovernment in Africa presented by prominent figures from SAP Africa, John Dekker and Kgabo Badimo would accelerate implementation of systems and infrastructure thereby delivering value sooner. IT strategy: More strongly integrated planning will help minimise the cost of linking governmental departments, agencies and their applications. Most African countries do not have explicit government-wide plans or policies on IT. The use of IT is more often the outcome of isolated initiatives without the benefit of explicit IT strategies and policies. Tariffs: Governments need to create the supportive external environment for promoting the use of information technology. It is essential to reduce or abolish import tariffs on hardware such as computers, printers and connectivity enabling equipment. In some countries this equipment is treated as a luxury item and heavily taxed. However, the numerous long- term benefits of facilitating the use of IT through the reduction of taxes on hardware would more than offset the loss of government revenue. Effective procurement: The high cost of computers and software represents a serious impediment to Africa's accessibility to the world of information technology. For example, the cost of personal computers is higher than the per capita income of many African nations. Experience around the world in both public and private sector has shown that the capacity of computers and software is seldom fully utilised by the majority of their users. Buyers of these products are paying for features they are not going to use, something that more critical and specific procurement procedures can address. Skills: In both IT and IT-enabled processes governments around the world experience difficulty in attracting, training and retaining key staff in many crucial IT roles. Governments that appreciate the importance of IT skills are looking for solutions that are more innovative than standard employment contracts and relationships. ROI Value: The lack of systematic attention to how government investments in IT generate results of value from the social upliftment view of the public. The inability to measure rate of return arises from weak or absent methods for tailoring public ROI assessments in line with the specific context and goals of a government IT investment. Equally, the lack of accountability prevents the accurate measurement of both before and after figures. eGovernment Developing and extending Africa’s information technology infrastructure is widely acknowledged as being central to the continent’s renaissance 84 SAP article.indd 2 28/6/07 17:25:54
www.britishpublishers.com Kgabo Badimo, General Manager of SAP Public Services in South Africa The South African government’s eGovernment strategies are both visionary and sensible, but project and change management will make or break their implementation. Government’s Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) project is aimed at creating one platform on which all departmental systems will operate and, therefore, be able to share information and in the process create a single view of each citizen. The very nature of this project demonstrates that the South African government understands and wants to exploit the collaborative nature of modern technology. And, the phased way in which government is procuring the components for IFMS demonstrates that it is being systematic and structured in the way that it achieves its ultimate IFMS goals. I believe, however, that we need to see more detail of how government is taking into account the way people, both inside and outside government, are going to be helped through the transition over the next decade. Recent experience around major IT projects both within South Africa and internationally indicate quite clearly that successful outcomes – on time and within budget – depend mostly on decisions taken well before the project commences. In particular, we have seen the critical importance of clear scoping up front, rigorous stage-by- stage project plans and very limited customising of solutions once a project is underway. These thoughts on change management in the context of transformation of government go well beyond simply training users on new technologies or even on new ways of managing specific departments. It is a matter of changing an entire culture. Government employees are used to doing things more or less manually. More importantly, they are used to doing things in silos. There is very little collaboration across departments on service delivery to citizens. So there is no voluntary sharing of information. IFMS will succeed only with collaboration at every level, including information exchange. It is very difficult to just 'switch on' a collaborative mindset across thousands of employees on the day you take an integrated system live. You have to start inculcating a sharing culture now and you have to do it right across the public sector. There is a very significant budget allocation for IFMS, a great deal of which will be spent on IT vendors during the next 10 years. It seems to me that a sum of such magnitude should be spent in such a way that it empowers the economy along the eGovernment eS Recent experience around major IT projects both within South Africa and internationally indicate quite clearly that successful outcomes – on time and within budget – depend mostly on decisions taken well before the project commences lines of government’s Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA), which is aimed at halving poverty and unemployment by 2014. In other words, IFMS represents an unprecedented opportunity, via South Africa’s IT industry, to create jobs and redistribute tax revenue in a way that would have a direct positive influence on the people disadvantaged by South Africa’s political history. South Africans can therefore look forward to benefiting from significant multiplier effects from government’s investment in IFMS, with the development of large numbers of skilled IT staff set to create an extended and sustainable impact on the economy. Contact Details SAP South Africa (Pty.) LTD - Johannesburg SAP Business Park 1 Woodmead Drive Woodmead South Africa Phone: +27 (11) 235 6000 Fax: +27 (11) 235 6001 85 SAP article.indd 3 28/6/07 17:25:56

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K Badimo eStrategies Africa - SAP

  • 1. eStrategiesAfrica eS: Change Management is a key to eGovernment implementation. Will you have to invest in some serious training to make government employees adapt to eGovernment services? They will have to become more citizen-centric and understanding of the cultural change that eServices can bring about. Kgabo Badimo: HR functions within the public sector play a pivotal role in delivering change associated with eGovernment. It has been now widely acknowledged that eGovernment projects are usually a complex and lengthy undertaking. Discussions on the topic are now focusing on eGovernment critical success factors, which include specific organisational, structural and human resource requirements in terms of leadership, culture, knowledge and skills. The eGovernment team composition and set of common skills is now deemed even more critical to project success than the regulatory landscape surrounding eGovernment initiatives – as the latter is often a consequence of the leadership, and human resource core competencies in the eGovernment policy and strategy team. There is a shift from discussions on systems and processes to team dynamic, incentives, and civil services reform, and creation of a customer oriented culture. This applies for most of the developed countries. By today, most of these have absorbed technology and process simplifications which started in the 80s and 90s. These nations have now the luxury of experience, and are now taking the time to reflect on the impact of their transformation efforts. South Africa has still a long way to go in that process. In some instances we are still at the drawing board stage, elaborating on eGovernment strategies, sometimes awaiting regulatory policies before starting the transformation effort. Thus, educating, valuing and leveraging public sector HR, then providing HR a lead role in eGovernment transformation A revealing interview with Kgabo Badimo, General Manager Public Services, SAP on developing eGovernment services in Africa. SAP provide solutions that helps public sector organisations step into the field of web-based administration and allows government agencies to expand their existing applications step-by-step to create a complete, integrated eGovernment solution Implementing eGovernment transformations 80 eGovernment SAP interview.indd 2 28/6/07 17:28:02
  • 2. www.britishpublishers.com strategies would provide for a greater chance of success for these strategies’ implementation. South African government is starting to realise the importance of educating the public servants and improving on human resources. It had not been the traditional way of approaching eGovernment in the last decade. Recognition of digital signatures, validation of online transactions are critical legal steps in implementation and rollout of eGovernment applications; but these are usually the result of eGovernment advocates successfully pushing for legal reform with parliament members. Similarly, availability of affordable infrastructure, let it be privately owned by the citizen or business (such as an individual  PC connected to the Internet via a broadband connection leased from an Internet Service provider) or provided as a service to a set of citizens (such as through a privately owned telecenter or PC users club, where citizens access the internet and pay a fee based on the time used for connection) depends on the degree of liberalisation, and on the number of private operators in the market competing for the consumers’ business. It is no wonder, in developed countries with an established governance culture, competition in telecommunications provision, and a legal framework for institutional functionality of government agencies, that focusing on the CIO role, as leader of change for the public service providers has been a reason for the sustained success of eGovernment services rollout. In fact, based on several impact studies, the public services are improving because of their availability on the internet to all viewers. Heads of agencies are listening to what their customers (citizens) are saying through the generic ‘contact us’ button – now a fixture on most government portals – and innovations and improvement ideas are collected for free from the grassroots. A similar argument is used in anti-corruption research, where public and media access to a specific project’s budget allocation and implementation status has proven to reduce the amount of graft related to that project, and to increase the chance for that project’s success and completion. In developing countries, we see a link between the speed of adoption of internet in doing daily business; and that of rollout of eGovernment services. This link is simple to explain: government is the largest employer in many countries; so a government which computerises its departments or agencies and provides ICT training for its public servants is in fact helping create an information society nucleus, and is contributing to the expansion of its information society pyramid. These same civil servants will also familiarise their spouses, children, extended family, communities, etc.  on computer usage. They will start using email and demanding electronic transactions from their own service providers (utilities, local government, schools, banks, etc.) and will play a vital role in spill-over effects. Several researches done by MIT, as well as usage statistics compiled by US-based research firms such as Gartner Group, IDC and Forrester have shown that the adoption of ICTs in daily life is an irreversible process: With time, most citizens use email more, not less than in their earlier stage of adoption. Usage and focus may change, but the fact is that in the US and Europe, people spend more time on internet and email every year. Similarly, the South African government should play a critical role in liberalisation and introducing competition in the telecommunications provision. These policies bring the cost of data telecommunications down; and allow more small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) and private citizens to have access to the internet from the SME location or from home. The impacting factors on eGovernment strategies’ success include: Existence of a governance framework, high commitment and leadership, liberalisation of telecoms sector, introducing competition in service provision, establishing the legal framework, and transforming government and the civil servants’ culture. eS: Can you explain the workings of the Public Services Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) programme – its objectives and how it will grow? Badimo: In an attempt to correct the level of racial inequality in South Africa, Government embarked on a progressive journey known as Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) transformation. This process of BEE transformation is recognised as a mechanism of addressing inequality and providing a range of opportunities to previously disadvantaged individuals. South Africa is currently experiencing high levels of economic growth, yet there are still sobering realities in terms of unemployment, skills shortages and poverty that need to be addressed. These challenges mainly affect the majority black population which has been patiently waiting for economic transformation to follow the political transformation. The Broad-Based BEE (BBBEE) Act is a means of addressing this transformation. The BBBEE Codes of Good Practice, finalised at the end of 2006 and gazetted by government, is the national standardised measuring tool, which business must use to determine their BEE compliance. The BBBEE Codes of Good Practice include a scorecard as a means of obtaining verification. BEE transformation as predicted before has become one of the key competitive advantage strategies for South African business. South African businesses are directly impacted by the implementation of BBBEE and the BEE Codes of Good Practice and BEE ITC Charter. The trend is the disclosure on BBBEE as it focusing on the CIO role, as leader of change for the public service providers has been a reason for the sustained success of eGovernment services rollout eGovernment 81 SAP interview.indd 3 28/6/07 17:28:03
  • 3. eStrategiesAfrica relates to the Codes of Good Practice which provides a broader framework for business to work towards BEE compliance using a standardised measuring tool. BEE transformation effectively determines business’s right to operate within a South African context with the intention of readjusting the imbalances of the past and progressing towards a six per cent economic growth as targeted by ASGISA. And clearly through its several legislations (Preferential Procurement Act, Employment Equity Act, etc), ICT charters and the Codes of Good Practice, BEE clearly indicates that it goes beyond equity ownership. The seven elements in the BBBEE Codes of Good Practice provide great opportunity for companies operating in the local economy to actively participate in contributing to economic, social and financial elements of this country so as to ensure that the economy of South Africa grows in a sustainable manner to the benefit of all South Africans. Hence the emphasis is on: Increasing the number of black people that manage, own and control enterprises and productive assets; Facilitating ownership and management of enterprises and productive assets by communities, workers, cooperatives and other collective enterprises; Human resource and skills development; Achieving equitable representation in all occupational categories and levels in the workforce; Preferential procurement; and Investment in enterprises that are owned or managed by black people. From this definition, it is quite clear that enterprises wishing to become BEE compliant with a focus on attaining a high BEE score should not only address the issue of equity but should also include an holistic BEE strategy that is developed with clear targets encompassing all seven BEE elements. Therefore, it has to be re-emphasised that broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) is but one project of an array of interventions brought by government to redress the socio-economic legacy of apartheid. It aims to ensure entry of the previously disadvantaged community in our society into South Africa’s mainstream economy and, as such, BBBEE will touch on each and every one of our business practices. Strategically and from a marketing perspective, the question is how BBBEE will impact on the business in time to come? eS: What are the problems with establishing eGovernment in developing countries and how do you overcome them? In the long run these are some serious digital divides to bridge in some areas – before eGovernment can take root. What have you witnessed being done to encourage ICT in communities in Africa? Badimo: Governments around the world are pressured to compete with information from various sectors and organisations. Internet is the most innovative way information is distributed across the world. The problem though is the size of the information highway and the initial costs in both hardware and software to be linked to the information highway, which are inhibiting factors. Unavailability of infrastructure in remote areas is a serious inhibiting factor. Institutional capacity must be enhanced to draw people to centres (such as multi-purpose centres) where ICT facilities should be made available. Schools and community libraries provide the best infrastructures to access information and enhance educational capacity. The telecomms regulatory environment is seen as one of the major inhibiting factors in driving the take-up of technology. Economic factors constitute the major inhibiting factors restraining innovation and technology take-up – especially the lack of budget. This is of particular significance to the very small government departments. Within the government levels, lack of skilled personnel is the most significant inhibiting factor. Problems occur in departmental organisational structure with rigid ways of thinking combined with outdated policies and procedures as barriers to progressive and innovative thinking culminating in non-transformation – also very long tendering cycles. In overcoming the digital divides, South African government departments no longer have to rely on telephone lines to access the internet, email and private networks. They can access the latest technology in radio and television signals, VSTAR, a bi- directional broadband service via satellite. VSTAR represents the first of a large family of satellite and terrestrial wireless broadband communication services. VSTAR services will allow government departments anywhere in South Africa – irrespective of the availability of land lines – to get connected. VSTAR delivers broadband access at speeds of up to 512 kilobits per second to each user site. The main benefits of VSTAR services are: High-quality, and high-speed two-way broadband access that always includes internet access directly to all users, including those in the remotest areas. Advantages are: Always-on access (no dial-up); A fixed monthly fee for connectivity including internet access, equipment rental and maintenance (no additional usage based fees); Unlimited throughput (no maximum limits on bandwidth consumption for heavy users); Available anywhere in South Africa – no need for land line availability, Rapid installation, includes email addresses and a high quality support service, Distance insensitive, with the same costs for services The eGovernment team composition and set of common skills is now deemed even more critical to project success than the regulatory landscape surrounding eGovernment initiatives – as the latter is often a consequence of the leadership, and human resource core competencies in the eGovernment policy and strategy team eGovernment 82 SAP interview.indd 4 28/6/07 17:28:03
  • 4. www.britishpublishers.com within the footprint. Some of the additional benefits are that government department can use this technology for linking remote sites to corporate networks and offices via VPNs (Virtual Private Networks), for video conferencing, multicasting of data, news etc to multiple sites. What I have also witnessed being done to encourage ICT in communities in South Africa is that, as high-speed wireless and broadband networks become a reality in South Africa – owing both to technological advances as well as changing regulatory conditions – they are being adopted by municipalities across South Africa to help improve service delivery. Service delivery is at the heart of the government’s mission. However, extending services to the previously under-or un-serviced puts an enormous strain on resources – a strain that can be addressed in some ways by the data connectivity provided by wireless technologies and the necessary regulatory environment (i.e. Telecommunications Act) which would remove legislative barriers for the establishment of private communications networks. However, the process of deregulation is gaining pace and legislation is within the control of government, although it is of course influenced by the constituencies and interest groups. The deregulation of the industry has resulted in the entry of more players into the communications market, especially in the field of data connectivity. It has also resulted in the awarding of licences to municipalities, enabling them to create their own high-speed metropolitan area networks. Municipalities have enterprise applications which must be deployed over large areas through high-speed data connectivity. This will enable the municipalities to rapidly roll out services to new areas, they can consolidate infrastructure and improve the utilisation of IT resources, and they can dramatically improve the communications between the individuals, departments and agencies which are necessary for service delivery. It also opens the door for municipalities to deliver more value- added services to the people within their jurisdiction. The progress is still hampered by some challenges – for example, municipalities are not known for their ability to innovate or for their effectiveness in collecting revenue. However, many have demonstrated a willingness to adopt new technology and are enjoying the business benefits of high-speed wireless communications. eS: How are you measuring the successes and failures of eGovernment initiatives? What benchmarks are you using? Badimo: SA can learn from the successes and failures of eGovernment initiatives in other countries which can best be understood if we can divide eGovernment initiatives into three camps: Total failure: the initiative was never implemented or was implemented but immediately abandoned. Partial failure: major goals for the initiative were not attained and/or there were significant undesirable outcomes. Success: most stakeholder groups attained their major goals and did not experience significant undesirable outcomes. In terms of the eGovernment success/ failure a University of Manchester (UK) survey and poll uncovered estimates about eGovernment initiatives: 35 per cent are total failures 50 per cent are partial failures 15 per cent are successes Therefore, to achieve success and minimise failure; 1. The South African government can benefit from working with the private sector to both define a process for eGovernment service delivery and the tools to achieve transformation to eGovernment. (a) eGovernment transformation should be based on a vision and a strategic plan. The SA governments should set forth progressive objectives, but start with manageable goals and performance measures. (b) eGovernment is more about the transformation of operational process and the service delivery model than it is about using technology. Technology is only a tool. eGovernment is about more than just putting government information up on a website.  eBusiness programs developed by the private sector to improve the efficiency of their operations can and should be referred to in the implementation of eGovernment programmes and services. (c) eGovernment programmes must be citizen centric and customer oriented – the private sector can supplement government’s understanding of changed citizen service needs and expectations in the ‘Internet Age’ and suggest methods to improve customer service management. (d) eGovernment programs and services should be designed to address the needs of small and micro- enterprises. An important aspect of serving SMEs is designing programs and services that enable these companies to interact with their government in a cost efficient and easy manner, and help them grow their businesses by reducing costs and improving efficiencies. (e) The constituency for eGovernment programs includes citizens, government employees, businesses and equivalent components of other (local, foreign) governments. 2. In determining the degree to which eGovernment programs are considered successful, it is necessary to take into account the degree of improvement, if any, in constituent service levels, operational efficiencies, and political returns. 3. In implementing eGovernment programs, attention must be given to motivating and enabling both government employees and constituents to make use of the electronic offerings. Therefore, human capacity development initiatives that support IT literacy and skills development and a multitude of efforts to empower government workers to support the eGovernment transformation.  It is important that eGovernment development be an inclusive process designed to ensure that solutions fulfill citizen demand. eS eGovernment 83 SAP interview.indd 5 28/6/07 17:28:03
  • 5. eStrategiesAfrica John Dekker, Managing Director of SAP Africa Region Developing and extending Africa’s information technology infrastructure is widely acknowledged as being central to the continent’s renaissance. Already a number of African nations are making significant advances in using IT to strengthen their public administration, governance and accountability. Further, as we engage more intensively with governments, NGOs and businesses in Africa through the delivery of effective and value generating IT systems we are seeing the tremendous opportunities for unlocking development are crystallising into specific actions that can accelerate African transformation. The actions outlined here should involve not only governments in Africa but also business and donor organisations: Financial support: Equipping governments and their agencies with efficient IT systems that provide timely, accurate and relevant information is a significant component of economic planning and growth-enhancing policies. The key here is that the governments need to raise financial support for IT investments to a high priority area. Funding: Many governments have constrained capital or development budgets. Where these are supplemented by donors, the conditions are understandably very stringent and the processes can be long and tedious. Streamlining of the funding and engagement processes eGovernment: How to change the system Two visions on what is necessary for successful transformation through eGovernment in Africa presented by prominent figures from SAP Africa, John Dekker and Kgabo Badimo would accelerate implementation of systems and infrastructure thereby delivering value sooner. IT strategy: More strongly integrated planning will help minimise the cost of linking governmental departments, agencies and their applications. Most African countries do not have explicit government-wide plans or policies on IT. The use of IT is more often the outcome of isolated initiatives without the benefit of explicit IT strategies and policies. Tariffs: Governments need to create the supportive external environment for promoting the use of information technology. It is essential to reduce or abolish import tariffs on hardware such as computers, printers and connectivity enabling equipment. In some countries this equipment is treated as a luxury item and heavily taxed. However, the numerous long- term benefits of facilitating the use of IT through the reduction of taxes on hardware would more than offset the loss of government revenue. Effective procurement: The high cost of computers and software represents a serious impediment to Africa's accessibility to the world of information technology. For example, the cost of personal computers is higher than the per capita income of many African nations. Experience around the world in both public and private sector has shown that the capacity of computers and software is seldom fully utilised by the majority of their users. Buyers of these products are paying for features they are not going to use, something that more critical and specific procurement procedures can address. Skills: In both IT and IT-enabled processes governments around the world experience difficulty in attracting, training and retaining key staff in many crucial IT roles. Governments that appreciate the importance of IT skills are looking for solutions that are more innovative than standard employment contracts and relationships. ROI Value: The lack of systematic attention to how government investments in IT generate results of value from the social upliftment view of the public. The inability to measure rate of return arises from weak or absent methods for tailoring public ROI assessments in line with the specific context and goals of a government IT investment. Equally, the lack of accountability prevents the accurate measurement of both before and after figures. eGovernment Developing and extending Africa’s information technology infrastructure is widely acknowledged as being central to the continent’s renaissance 84 SAP article.indd 2 28/6/07 17:25:54
  • 6. www.britishpublishers.com Kgabo Badimo, General Manager of SAP Public Services in South Africa The South African government’s eGovernment strategies are both visionary and sensible, but project and change management will make or break their implementation. Government’s Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) project is aimed at creating one platform on which all departmental systems will operate and, therefore, be able to share information and in the process create a single view of each citizen. The very nature of this project demonstrates that the South African government understands and wants to exploit the collaborative nature of modern technology. And, the phased way in which government is procuring the components for IFMS demonstrates that it is being systematic and structured in the way that it achieves its ultimate IFMS goals. I believe, however, that we need to see more detail of how government is taking into account the way people, both inside and outside government, are going to be helped through the transition over the next decade. Recent experience around major IT projects both within South Africa and internationally indicate quite clearly that successful outcomes – on time and within budget – depend mostly on decisions taken well before the project commences. In particular, we have seen the critical importance of clear scoping up front, rigorous stage-by- stage project plans and very limited customising of solutions once a project is underway. These thoughts on change management in the context of transformation of government go well beyond simply training users on new technologies or even on new ways of managing specific departments. It is a matter of changing an entire culture. Government employees are used to doing things more or less manually. More importantly, they are used to doing things in silos. There is very little collaboration across departments on service delivery to citizens. So there is no voluntary sharing of information. IFMS will succeed only with collaboration at every level, including information exchange. It is very difficult to just 'switch on' a collaborative mindset across thousands of employees on the day you take an integrated system live. You have to start inculcating a sharing culture now and you have to do it right across the public sector. There is a very significant budget allocation for IFMS, a great deal of which will be spent on IT vendors during the next 10 years. It seems to me that a sum of such magnitude should be spent in such a way that it empowers the economy along the eGovernment eS Recent experience around major IT projects both within South Africa and internationally indicate quite clearly that successful outcomes – on time and within budget – depend mostly on decisions taken well before the project commences lines of government’s Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA), which is aimed at halving poverty and unemployment by 2014. In other words, IFMS represents an unprecedented opportunity, via South Africa’s IT industry, to create jobs and redistribute tax revenue in a way that would have a direct positive influence on the people disadvantaged by South Africa’s political history. South Africans can therefore look forward to benefiting from significant multiplier effects from government’s investment in IFMS, with the development of large numbers of skilled IT staff set to create an extended and sustainable impact on the economy. Contact Details SAP South Africa (Pty.) LTD - Johannesburg SAP Business Park 1 Woodmead Drive Woodmead South Africa Phone: +27 (11) 235 6000 Fax: +27 (11) 235 6001 85 SAP article.indd 3 28/6/07 17:25:56