ICT Blueprint for Enhanced Access and Effective Service Delivery at Thusong Service Centres

Gauteng, 10-11 July 2008 -

Almost all research and evaluation sessions conducted into the effectiveness and functioning of Thusong Service Centres since the inception of the programme in 1998, highlighted the absence of appropriate information and communication technologies (ICTS) to enable service-delivery in these one-stop centres.

Efforts to address this challenge to date have not been uniformly applied across government, but more importantly, encountered challenges of sustainability and affordability, and were often very sporadic and unco-ordinated.

The introduction of the ICT Blueprint for Thusong Service Centres, the brainchild of the Office of the Chief Government Information Officer, supported by the State Information Technology Agency (Sita) and GCIS, is aimed at finally addressing this historical challenge in a way that will effectively fast-track online service-delivery to communities using Thusong Service Centres.

The model was recently piloted on the occasion of the launch of the 100th Thusong Service Centre by President Thabo Mbeki on 7 June 2008 at Inhlazuka in KwaZulu-Natal. The process of developing a comprehensive roll-out and implementation plan for the ICT Blueprint was taken forward during a national blueprint workshop that took place from 10 to 11 July 2008.

“Our plan is to make sure that all Thusong Service Centres are connected with basic ICT infrastructure, and we aim to deploy the Blueprint to half the operational Thusong Centres (123) by September, and all centres that are ready by the end of November 2008”, said Michelle Williams, the Government’s Chief Information Officer in her opening remarks to the session.

The Blueprint will ensure that every service-provider operating from the Thusong Centre has access to their own departmental virtual private networks (VPNs). This will enhance government access and speed up service-delivery as citizens can be assisted in whatever service they require at a Thusong Centre without being sent elsewhere to access a particular service (e.g. a home affairs office), which will be able to print birth certificates, identity documents, etc.

Delegates were excited to hear about the proposal on security measures for the Thusong ICT Blueprint as this addressed some of their concerns about the security issues associated with decentralising the government network to Thusong Service Centres.

“The departments will specify how much of their services they are willing to expose, in line with their departmental security requirements or policies. They will have an option to either deploy their own networks or utilise the Thusong infrastructure, which will be paid for by the DPSA”, said Mr Zaid Aboobaker, Chief Director and Project Supervisor for the initiative from the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA).

It was also agreed that Sita will work on developing another model for maintaining and supporting the physical IT equipment at the centres, possibly through the establishment of youth-driven small, medium and micro-enterprises in close proximity to the centres, thus aiding local empowerment efforts.

Other issues discussed included the installation of the prototype General Service Counters (GSCs) for the Thusong Centres, to ensure that each centre has a frontline service and referral point, ensuring that citizens do not stand in long queues simply for information, to collect an application form, or get other information. This project will be implemented in partnership with the Umsobomvu Youth Fund and municipalities. Municipalities will recruit unemployed local youth while Umsobomvu will train, place and compensate them through a learnership to be implemented at the GSC.

The workshop was attended by over 80 delegates representing critical government departments in the Thusong Service Centre Programme, both at national and provincial levels. Governance structures present included the National Intersectoral Steering Committee (NISC), the provincial intersectoral steering committees from provinces, as well as government information technology officers from national and provincial government.

At the end of the session, delegates were able to leave with a clear implementation plan, which will see the three spheres of government collaborating in rolling out ICTs to the Thusong Service Centres. Without any doubt, the successful implementation of this Blueprint will take Thusong Service Centres to a new height in terms of speedy service-delivery, and make a definitive stand in fighting poverty and promoting a better life for all.