Busy year ahead for IT

Johannesburg, 22 Feb 2007

Several government departments will benefit from increased spending on IT after finance minister Trevor Manuel said yesterday services and institutions would be modernised.

This year, an additional R29 million was collected for government spending by the revenue service and Manuel has put additional money into IT systems at government departments. Over the next three years, R89.5 billion has been added to departmental expenditure plans.

"The 2007 budget strives to accelerate economic growth and work opportunities, modernise our public services and infrastructure and fight poverty and inequality, because we have a shared pledge to work together in action."

Fighting crime

To fight crime, Manuel will increase resources to the South African Police Service over the next three years by 34%, from R33 billion in the last financial year to R44 billion at the end of the three-year term in 2010.

"In this year's budget, we are allocating an extra R2.4 billion to the police to further expand police numbers and invest in technology and forensic equipment. By 2010, we will have close to 190 000 police officers on our streets. Electronic fingerprints and dockets will become the norm."

The modernisation trend will extend to the Department of Justice, which receives a further R1.5 billion over the next three years to improve court capacity, reduce case backlogs and modernise the administration of justice.

To enhance safety inside and outside of prisons, the Department of Correctional Services will receive R2.9 billion for the implementation of a master information systems plan, improved staffing capacity, and the roll-out of x-ray scanners and access control systems at all prisons over the next six years.

Fixing Home Affairs

Manuel said government would focus on fighting corruption and fraud in the Department of Home Affairs. "The challenges facing the department include corruption and fraud, the high incidence of fraudulent marriages and identity documents, and poor service."

Home Affairs and the long-awaited Home Affairs National Identification project will receive a boost from this year's budget. "Improving service delivery in the Department of Home Affairs has positive benefits for government, the economy and all citizens."

Manuel said the department would be turned around and he allocated an extra R900 million in support of this venture. Part of this funding will go towards purchasing a new passport printer and modernising IT and back-office operations.

The tax office

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) will receive R1.3 billion to upgrade core IT systems. "The modernisation will enable it to manage increased administration volumes. A single customer view, automation, e-business and improved walk-in services will be supported by enhanced risk management."

The minister said government was prioritising the modernisation of customs administration to cope with significant increases in volumes at all land, sea and air border posts.

"The acquisition of cargo and container scanning equipment will enable SARS to perform non-intrusive inspections on goods going through our ports."

Road congestion

The National Roads Agency recently invested R50 million in an intelligent transport system (ITS), as part of a bid to address traffic congestion in Gauteng. The budget review noted that, over the past two years, 1.3 million new cars were purchased in SA, of which 40% were sold into Gauteng, which is already overburdened.

The ITS will initially focus on a 22km section of the N1, between Johannesburg and Pretoria, and a fibre optic cable will be used to improve telecommunications and transfer traffic data between the Buccleuch and Geldenhuys interchanges.

Another 180km of road will benefit from this project, as the agency will extend it to the N3, N4, N12 and N17, with fibre optic cable and cameras due for completion in March.

Government has set aside a broad contingency fund of R3 billion, some of which will go towards funding Infraco and Sentech.