‘e-Government a need, not a choice’
GOVERNMENT departments must leverage technology and make it sufficiently meaningful, beneficial and appropriate for all citizens, the Public Service Commission (PSC) has said.
This was said by Service Commissions chairman, Dr Vincent Hungwe, as well as the Secretary to the Commissions, Dr Tsitsi Choruma, at the official opening of the PSC strategic planning retreat at a Nyanga hotel on Sunday.
The theme for this year’s PSC strategic workshop was ‘Accelerating NDS1, implementation of high-impact service delivery and rural economic growth and development, through digitalisation, devolution and decentralisation’.
Said Dr Hungwe: “As things stand, a lot of energy is expended in Government investing in gadgets and applications that were designed to work for us, but do very little because we have not given them executable instructions.
“The Commission must ensure that all institutions with ICT and e-government related mandates integrate their interventions into a seamless National ICT Enterprise Architecture System in support of the national effort to transition to digitalised Government business processes across all sectors, and at national and sub-national levels.
“We have prioritised the utilisation of ICT in service delivery through the adoption of digital technologies to facilitate access to services and to increase efficiency. In this regard, e-government facilities have been introduced in recruitment, procurement, training, as well as in research and development.”
Dr Hungwe noted the need to close the gap between Government institutions and the citizenry.
“The Client’s Satisfaction Survey of 2022 reveal the pace of movement to bridge the gap between Government institutions and citizens remain sluggish. Going forward, strategies must be designed to quicken the pace and ensure that we stay ahead of the increasingly enlightened expectations of the citizenry,” Dr Hungwe said.
He also said the PCS must not be content with urging others to adopt ICTs while the Commission pays little or no attention to what it does.
He said PSC must lead by example in its provincial and district offices.
An electronic government (e-government) makes use of technological communication devices such as computers and the internet to provide public services to citizens and other persons in a country or region.
In her welcome remarks during the same event, Dr Choruma underscored the importance of harnessing ICTs in removing disjointedness in Government.
“Talking about the future, one cog that is inescapable is the digitisation of our processes as Government. I implore participants to invest their mental and discursive efforts in delivering a strategy that will kill, destroy, annihilate and decimate the disjointedness of systems in Government.
“That is the definition of the whole of Government. It should flow seamlessly, unhindered by any glitches. Technological advancements will ease the work of public servants and yield pleasure to the citizens as they become beneficiaries of automated and market-facing services.
“Let the discourse of strategy be about how to leverage technology and make it sufficiently meaningful and appropriate to who we are as administrators and facilitators of structure, talent, and devolved services in Government.
“Let me ask bold questions, why is it that our fingerprints do not uniformly facilitate service across all Government institutions?
“Why do we still need to carry physical identification to every service encounter when there is a biometric record for each one of us?,” she said.
Dr Choruma said the theme of this year’s strategic plan workshop dovetails into the country’s vision.
“In framing this theme, we considered President Mnagagwa’s bidding that services should go to the people, economic growth is not negotiable and modernisation is a need, not a choice.
“Our strategic message should gravitate towards everyone,” she said.
Among many other key functions, the PSC is responsible for appointing qualified and competent persons to hold posts in the public service as well as fix and regulate conditions of service.