M. Tech. Business Information Systems / The government's intention is to extend the provision of government services to citizens beyond the traditional boundaries of time and space. Additionally to the face-to-face provision of government services, this could also be achieved through utilization of the Internet and the evolving information and communication technologies. This concept is what has brought about what is called the electronic government or e-government as some would refer to it. E-government is meant to facilitate service provision to citizens and businesses that the government has a mission to serve - including those handicapped due to physical, social, economic, geographical or cultural factors - independent of time and space. Equity and fairness, which drive governments social inclusion, dictate that disadvantaged groups should not experience inferior access to public services compared to other groups. Therefore, no matter what channel is decided upon by government to use to provide these services, it remains government's responsibility to cater for all its citizens and residents. How e-government is accepted and utilized by South African residents, especially in rural areas, is not adequately and properly understood. This study utilized and applied Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology to explore the acceptance and use of e-government in rural South Africa.

In recent years, an increasing number of people move into cities to search for better opportunities for themselves and their families. This movement is known as urbanisation and makes it difficult for the local government to fully understand citizens’ needs particularly pertaining to public safety matters. During the first phase of the Public Safety Smart City project, it was identified that there is a need for feedback loop to facilitate effective communication of public safety issues between citizens and local government. This means that EL citizens do not have a better channel in place to address their public safety issues to the local government. This could lead to the decisions made by the local government in public safety not fully communicated back to the citizens. The primary objective of the study is to develop a feedback loop model that will assist in more effective reporting of public safety issues between citizens and the local government. The study followed an interpretivism paradigm and the research methodology employed is the qualitative approach. This was influenced by the existing De Fleur model of communication, secondary data and also semi-structured interviews. The interviews were conducted with eleven citizens and four managers from the Department of Public Safety. It was ascertained that the lack of a feedback loop about public safety issues between citizens and local government is likely to increase public safety issues. Findings revealed that this is because citizens are not continuously updated about their reports and also about the state of public safety matters. Furthermore, the methods of communication utilised lead to poor communication of public safety issues. The study concludes that the introduction of an Information and Communication Technology enabled feedback loop between citizens and local government can help in reducing public safety issues and make public safety officials proactive rather than reactive.

Thesis (MPA (School of Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / South Africa has a shortage of skilled labour, which prevents the country from economically competing in the global village. Unfortunately little money was spent on the training and development of workers during the apartheid era. The new government has implemented legislation and various programmes to rectify the situation. Organisations in South Africa are beginning to recognise that a skilled workforce has the potential to provide them with the competitive edge. Instead of viewing training and development as an expense, as they often did in the past, many organisations are now beginning to view expenditure on training as an investment. Training and development is one of the many functions performed by human resources (HR) departments. Today HR is also required to play a larger strategic role within an organisation. Daily administrative duties, however, often prevent human resources managers from playing a more important strategic role. However, modern technology can simplify the way in which human resources departments perform their daily tasks. There are various computerised information systems and programs that can be used for this purpose. The high unemployment rate and the poor economic situation have also affected local government. Many municipalities have a limited budget with which they must provide their communities with basic services such as electricity and water, sanitation and refuse removal, municipal health services and fire fighting services. Municipalities also play a role in the development of their communities. The quality of services provided by the municipalities will depend on the employees of the municipalities. It is therefore important to improve the skills and competencies of the workers to ensure better service delivery to communities. Technology is increasingly being used to address challenges faced by municipalities, to enhance service delivery as well as to improve internal efficiency. Raw data can be converted to useful information that can help key decision makers make a more informed decision about projects. In this study, the Breede Valley Municipality was used as a case study to learn more about the problem under study. The objectives of the study was to identify: a) the advantages web-based technologies can hold for HR employees in their daily work; (b) how training and development is implemented within the municipality; and (c) the challenges, constraints and recommended steps for improvement. A thorough literature study formed the basis of the research and was supplemented with individual interviews with relevant employees at Breede Valley Municipality. This municipality, like most in South Africa, is tasked to deliver services to their communities with limited financial resources at their disposal. Optimal use of technology can assist the HR department to play a more strategic role within the municipality, in freeing them from their administrative tasks.

Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / The purpose of the research study was to explore how information is managed, in selected South African government departments, since the South African government is moving into the age of e-government and electronic service delivery. This study has tested and found that the degree to which information and knowledge are captured and used to support good governance depends on whether a strong underlying information management infrastructure is in place. A descriptive literature study was conducted to obtain information and views from available related literature that also served as the theoretical basis for the subsequent argument that the success of e-government depends on good information management, not just establishing an on-line presence. The primary data collection for this study was conducted from government employees, junior, middle and senior management level, employed by various Departments, in the National Offices. The findings indicate that a carefully considered plan and strategy for information management infrastructure development are required that include generating a shared vision for information management, a strong action and wide awareness and support by the key stakeholders. Various conclusions have been reached through this study i.e.: • The creation, use and preservation of electronic records pose special challenges requiring new techniques and tools but based on traditional information management principles and goals. • A learning culture and strong infrastructure of laws, policies, standards, practices, systems and people are required to support information management for both traditional and e-governance needs. • Good recordkeeping is a core component of good governance, especially in an increasingly information and technology-intensive environment. A number of recommendations are made, including suggestions that the South African Government should develop the information management structures within the Departments and identify the barriers to information sharing, and also barriers related to culture and structure.

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996) stipulates that every person has the right of access to information held by government. To give effect to this right, legislation in the form of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act 2 of 2000) was promulgated. This study explores the access to information regime that was established by die aforementioned legislation with specific reference to similar regimes in the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Attention is also devoted to the prerequisites and potential obstacles associated with the implementation of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000. Based on the practices in other states, the conclusion was reached that the nature of information that may be requested in the South African context should be expanded, that cabinet records should only be excluded to the extent that disclosure thereof would be harmful, that frequently requested records should be made automatically available and that decision-making guidelines of government institutions should be published. As far as procedural requirements are concerned, it is proposed that information officers should acknowledge receipt of requests and that, where necessary, records should be translated to ensure that they are useful to a requester. It is further proposed that the wording of the ground of refusal regarding policy formulation and decision-making in government institutions be amended to take account of the consequences of disclosure. It is imperative that appeal and review mechanisms be accessible to members of the public and it is therefore proposed that an information commissioner be instituted to settle disputes in information related matters. Lastly it is proposed that sanctions be imposed against officials who deliberately undermine the public's right of access to information and that separate units be established in government institutions to deal exclusively with requests for access to information. / Public Administration / D. Litt. et Phil. (Public Administration)

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996) stipulates that every person has the right of access to information held by government. To give effect to this right, legislation in the form of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act 2 of 2000) was promulgated. This study explores the access to information regime that was established by die aforementioned legislation with specific reference to similar regimes in the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Attention is also devoted to the prerequisites and potential obstacles associated with the implementation of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000. Based on the practices in other states, the conclusion was reached that the nature of information that may be requested in the South African context should be expanded, that cabinet records should only be excluded to the extent that disclosure thereof would be harmful, that frequently requested records should be made automatically available and that decision-making guidelines of government institutions should be published. As far as procedural requirements are concerned, it is proposed that information officers should acknowledge receipt of requests and that, where necessary, records should be translated to ensure that they are useful to a requester. It is further proposed that the wording of the ground of refusal regarding policy formulation and decision-making in government institutions be amended to take account of the consequences of disclosure. It is imperative that appeal and review mechanisms be accessible to members of the public and it is therefore proposed that an information commissioner be instituted to settle disputes in information related matters. Lastly it is proposed that sanctions be imposed against officials who deliberately undermine the public's right of access to information and that separate units be established in government institutions to deal exclusively with requests for access to information. / Public Administration and Management / D. Litt. et Phil. (Public Administration)

Many scholars lament of poor infrastructure to manage and preserve digital records within the public sector in South Africa to support electronic government (egovernment). For example, in South Africa, the national archives’ repository and its subsidiary provincial archives do not have infrastructure to ingest digital records into archival custody. As a result, digital records are left to the creating agencies to manage and preserve. The problem is compounded by the fact that very few public sector organisations in South Africa have procured systems to manage digital records. Therefore, a question is how are digital records managed and stored in these organisations to support e-government? Do public organisations entrust their records to the cloud as an alternative storage given the fact that both physical and virtual storages are a problem? If they do, how do they ensure accessibility, governance, security and long-term preservation of records in the cloud? Utilising the Digital Curation Centre (DCC) Lifecycle Model as a guiding framework, this qualitative study sought to explore digital curation of records in the cloud to support e-government services in South Africa with the view to propose a framework that would guide the public sector to migrate records to the cloud storage. Semi-structured interviews were employed to collect data from the purposively selected Chief Information Officers in the national government departments that have implemented some of the electronic services such as the Department of Arts and Culture, Department of Home Affairs, Department of Higher Education and Training and the Department of Basic Education. Furthermore, the National Archives and Records Services of South Africa was also chosen as it is charged with the statutory regulatory role of records management in governmental bodies. So is the State Information Technology Agency (SITA), a public sector ICT company established in 1999 to consolidate and coordinate the state’s information technology resources in order to achieve cost savings through scale, increase delivery capabilities and enhance interoperability. Interview data were augmented through document analysis of legislation and policies pertaining to data storage. Data were analysed thematically and interpreted in accordance with the objectives of the study. The key finding suggests that although public servants informally and unconsciously put some records in the clouds, government departments in South Africa are sceptical to entrust their records to the cloud due to a number of reasons, such as lack of policy and legislative framework, lack of trust to the cloud storage, jurisdiction, legal implications, privacy, ownership and security risks. This study recommends that given the evolution of technology, the government should regulate cloud storage through policy and legislative promulgation, as well as developing a government-owned cloud managed through SITA in order for all government departments to use it. This study suggests a framework to migrate paperbased records to cloud storage that is controlled by the government. / Information Science / D.Lit. et Phil. (Information Science)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the implementation of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system at Western Cape Government (WCG), South Africa. The study evaluated the state of the implementation in order to establish whether the system met information and records management requirements and objectives. A probability sampling was used on a total population of 51 respondents and participants. The data were triangulated using multi-methods, whereby both qualitative and quantitative approaches were adopted in a sequential manner. A structured online survey questionnaire, online interviews, and document analysis were used to collect data, which were descriptively analysed. The study revealed that although the WCG has embarked on digitisation projects, which culminated in the department-wide implementation of ECM, the system was not evaluated regularly and consistently. This resulted in an inability to capture the lessons learnt – as well as a failure to realise the full benefits of implementing the system. The findings also showed that ECM implementation at WCG encountered some challenges – for example, inadequate training provided to staff, lack of adequate technology infrastructure, and poor technical support with regard to systems for managing digital records – that impacted on the system’s efficiency. Some of the recommendations of the study are that WCG should consider conducting regular ECM reviews to determine whether the system performs as required in terms of bringing about expected benefits, such as easy retrieval of digitally stored content. Departments should also ensure that there is an alignment among various digital applications for the purpose of creating a single enterprise platform that promotes collaboration and knowledge sharing. A study of ECM implementation in other provinces would enable a comparison of how the system performs elsewhere, including how it could be used as a viable option for organisations to promote digitisation. / Information Science / M. Inf. (Information Science)

The dawn of democracy in South Africa ushered an increasing need for government to interact with the citizens. This study assesses the use of the state of the province address (SOPA) as a communication platform to keep the citizens abreast of the government programmes and deliverables in Limpopo province, South Africa. SOPA is broadcasted mainly from the legislature whilst the communities can view the proceedings in identified public viewing areas. Since SOPA’s inception, there is limited academic studies conducted on the effectiveness of SOPA in general and public viewing areas in particular. To fill this paucity of research, this study reviewed the government communication strategy with specific reference to government communication and information systems (GCIS) which emphasises on the need for government to interact with stakeholders at all levels. Using communication effectiveness and stakeholder theories (also called Izimbizo), this study evaluated the planning process of SOPA and citizens’ views on the effectiveness of the public viewing areas. In-depth interviews and survey were conducted with campaign planners and Mokwakwaila citizens respectively. Data was analysed using thematic analysis for interviews and descriptive statistics for survey. This study found that the internal planning process of the campaign (SOPA) is accordingly linked to the strategic objectives of the province, but inadequate funding hinders the longevity of the campaign. It is also this study’s finding that whilst citizens found SOPA to be effective they however feel that government does not do enough to source feedback after the campaign. This study recommends that there could be an exploration of the new media utility to produce more awareness about the campaign in order to accommodate audience that do not use radio and newspapers. The implications on campaign planners is that they should conduct feedback to improve public participation in future government programmes / Communication Science / M.A. (Communication)