Gauteng reorganises IT

Johannesburg, 30 May 2008

Gauteng's provincial Cabinet has approved proposals and draft Bills to corporatise its controversial Gauteng Shared Services Centre (GSSC) and set up a Gauteng Transport Management Authority (GTMA) in what will be a major revamp of its ICT management infrastructure.

The GSSC provides State IT Agency-like functions to Gauteng and also operates the province's centralised contact centre. The GTMA will be responsible for planning, co-ordinating and facilitating transport province-wide and is to take charge of a universal e-ticketing project for Gauteng.

Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa's office says the GSSC will now change from a provincial department to a public entity and will be renamed the Gauteng Shared Services Agency (GSSA). It will migrate from operating under the Public Service Act to the Public Finance Management Act.

"The change from department to public entity will give the agency the flexibility necessary to transform into a world class service delivery institution," spokesman Thabo Masebe said in a statement.

"Such flexibility is particularly important, given the constant need to harness technological advances. In its new form, the agency will be able to generate revenue on the basis of a charge-back model and attract and retain talent by offering competitive remuneration and creating a desirable working environment," Masebe added.

The statement says the GSSA will provide the same services that are currently provided by the GSSC. All current employees of the GSSC will be transferred to the GSSA, in accordance with the Labour Relations Act.

"The change will be effected once the necessary legal and administrative processes have been completed," Masebe says.

GTMA

The GTMA will fill a gap in the province's transport infrastructure. There is currently no clearly accountable institution to determine transportation planning, standards and implementation parameters or to perform a co-ordination role between local authorities.

The GTMA, Masebe says, will drive the development of a "world class transport system to be designed, established and managed along the lines of highly efficient inter-modal operability and enforcement".

This will included an electronic single ticketing system, which will allow users to change modes without being inconvenienced.

Establishment of the GTMA will require an amendment to the Gauteng Transport Framework Revision Act. Shilowa's Cabinet approved a draft bill to that effect and says it will soon be tabled at the Gauteng legislature.