State of govt IT under scrutiny

By Damaria Senne for SITA
Johannesburg, 20 Aug 2007

The state of government IT will come under scrutiny this week as the State IT Agency (SITA) holds its second annual GovTech conference this week.

The event takes place from 21 to 24 August, at the Cape Town Convention Centre.

Speaking at a media briefing in the lead-up to GovTech 2007, SITA chief of business operations Noedine Isaacs-Mpulo said the conference would focus on ICT's role in making SA globally competitive.

The conference will review the challenges faced by SITA and government in using ICT to deliver services to citizens, she said. "We're not planning a talk-shop; we're trying to achieve a continuous dialogue with the ICT industry."

Deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ncquka will deliver the keynote address at the gala dinner tonight.

Public service and administration minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi will deliver an opening address tomorrow. ICT entrepreneur and open source advocate Mark Shuttleworth will speak on the second day of the conference. Telkom acting CEO Reuben September will deliver a presentation on "transforming government through ICT".

Conference workshop tracks will cover government transformation issues, sourcing and delivery models used by government, as well as updates from state entities on their ICT initiatives.

In terms of government initiatives, presentations will include lessons learnt from the eNatis project by Department of Transport director Werner Koekemoer, and the eHealthRecord and what it means to citizens.

SITA expects more than 1 000 participants to take part in the conference, with a 60:40 split in favour of the ICT industry, Isaacs-Mpulo noted.