Pretoria: The South African government has unveiled a comprehensive Roadmap for the Digital Transformation of Government as part of its ongoing efforts to improve the accessibility and reliability of public services. Despite significant progress in adopting digital technologies since the 1990s, many citizens still face challenges in accessing efficient government services.
According to South African Government News Agency, the government has initiated crucial steps to enhance service delivery through digital platforms. These platforms have enabled citizens to file taxes, apply for grants, and access some services online. However, inefficiencies persist, with information often hard to find and duplicated processes causing frustration. Some departments still operate in ways that do not meet the evolving expectations of citizens in a digital age.
In a recent address, Saul Musker, the Presidency Director of Strategy and Delivery Support, acknowledged the uneven progress in the country’s digitalization efforts. He emphasized the need for a coordinated approach to ensure more accessible, reliable, and user-friendly services. The Roadmap for the Digital Transformation of Government, launched as part of Operation Vulindlela Phase II-a joint initiative between the Presidency and National Treasury-aims to address these challenges.
Operation Vulindlela Phase II focuses on accelerating structural reforms to drive economic growth and job creation, with digital transformation being a key area. The roadmap outlines a strategy to modernize government service delivery through investments in digital public infrastructure, enabling citizens to access seamless services via a single, trusted platform. Improvements in identity verification, real-time payments, and data exchange will drive these reforms.
Musker highlighted the shift away from a siloed approach towards a more integrated Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). He stressed that digital transformation has the potential to restore trust in government, making services more reliable and accessible while reducing administrative burdens and costs.
The Digital Transformation Roadmap focuses on four key initiatives: a Digital Identity System for easy service access, a Data Exchange Framework to improve government efficiency, a Digital Payments System for secure, low-cost transactions, and a zero-rated Digital Services Platform for comprehensive service access.
The roadmap will be implemented in two phases, with Phase 1 running from March 2025 to February 2027, focusing on social protection and its connections to learning and earning opportunities. This phase aims to deliver immediate impact by digitizing services and linking social grants to employment and training opportunities.
Phase 2, from March 2027 to February 2030, will expand to other sectors like healthcare, education, and business services, leveraging lessons from Phase 1 to scale successful technologies across government.
To oversee the roadmap’s implementation, the Presidency is establishing the Digital Service Unit (DSU), led by South African tech entrepreneur Melvyn Lubega. Lubega, co-founder of the global platform Go1, brings extensive experience in advising governments on digital transformation.