Research and consulting firm ForgeAhead is to present its findings on the status and future of local government ICT uptake at the ICT in Local Government Summit next month.
The conference is to be held on 15 and 16 September at Kopanong Conference Centre in Benoni.
The ForgeAhead presentation is to outline the current ICT distribution levels in the nine provinces, and the challenges and opportunities faced by various local government departments in the country.
"The event will provide a better understanding of the current technology in use and government`s plan for the next three to five years for implementing new technology at municipal level. It will also provide essential insight for the public and private sectors to improve the contribution of technology to service delivery," says Adrian Schofield, head of research at ForgeAhead.
We anticipate our 2005 research will include data from more than 70% of the municipalities and districts, which will give us the clearest view yet on the ICT challenges and successes in local government, he says.
"This year, we are hoping to get more than 200 municipality responses to the survey questionnaire."
Last year`s report covered 140 of the 284 municipalities in the country. It found that skills, human resources and budget were the biggest inhibitors to the successful implementation of ICT, combined with a lack of understanding and meaning of ICT policies by the municipalities.
The programme will include a workshop on ICT case studies and discussions on topics such as local economic development and tourism, social development and infrastructure services and public sector administration.
Speakers at the summit include Nicholas Kimolo, an IT consultant for the Free Open Source Software Foundation for Africa, based in Kenya, and Allison Hornery, programme director for online solutions at the Local Government and Shires Associations in New South Wales, Australia.
Prof Gideon Hayford Chonia of the University of Zurich will speak about open source software challenges and opportunities in developing countries, while Lyndall Shope-Mafole, Department of Communications director-general, will address the issue of converging ICT infrastructures.
For more information on the event, contact Nonhlanhla Sikakane on (011) 603 1600.
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