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South African-European Union Dialogue Facility Series

of scope and scale. Moreover, there are in- the development of digital skills along with plans and
stances where expenditure on ICT shows measurable targets. A raft of human capability inter-
little or any return on investment for a variety ventions would be required to drive digital transfor-
of reasons; mation, starting with an audit of existing digital skills
and identifying gaps.
§ The societal digital gaps, inequalities in
accessing service delivery points, and the Naturally, a fully scaled-up digital transformation
generalised lack of universal access to ICT programme for the Public Service would hinge on
undermine the vision for digitalised public an equally massive change management drive and
services; and incorporate digital literacy and data handling skills/
§ Most of the identified gaps could be traced information management responsibilities. The cen-
to a non-existent government-wide archi- trality of political, executive and senior management
tecture and the consequent lack of stan- layers of leadership in driving the digital transforma-
dardisation of service capabilities within tion agenda makes them as critical change manage-
departments and across the Public Service. ment targets as the implementing public servants.
This leads to misaligned ICT interventions st
and the business processes they seek to The Public Service seeks to solve complex 21 Cen-
support. tury challenges with outdated legal instruments, as
pointed out at the beginning of this article. Conse-
Political will and leadership quently, wholesale adoption of digital transformation
Several initiatives, both from a policy and implemen- necessitates similarly scaled changes to the legisla-
tation perspective, are encouraging steps toward tive regime for the Public Service. Additionally, digital
the digital transformation of government and ser- transformation costs money, and appropriate mech-
vice delivery. However, these are primarily dispa- anisms for centralising funding and directing change
rate and projectised. They tend to only respond to interventions should be investigated. These might in-
sectoral or problems at hand rather than adopting a clude establishing funding mechanisms for standard
whole-of-government view of digital transformation. government ICT requirements, establishing a Major
The PC4IR, read with the National Development Plan Projects Committee to oversee critical government
(NDP), provides ample material for reimagining the ICT investments (financial and scope) perspective,
vision and mission of a future Public Service. Like and implementing Government Framework Agree-
most interventions of this envisaged scale, the im- ments for various ICT goods and services.
petus for change and transformation would hugely
benefit from establishing an Inter-Ministerial gov- The digital transformation strategy would hinge
ernance structure to oversee and provide policy di- around the recommendations of the PC4IR as a way
rection to the digitalisation of the Public Service. In of updating the National e-Government Strategy of
line with the 1998 Presidential Review Commission 2017. With political will, it would be easier for the dig-
and the 2020 Fourth Industrial Revolution Commis- ital transformation policy framework to be approved
sion recommendations, the high-level inter-ministerial through cabinet and consensus built on how the
structure would help push for establishing a digital strategy is implemented across the Public Service.
government coordination function within the Presi- Digital transformation would also require progres-
dency, as recommended by these two commissions sive amendments to existing legislation along with
at different times. Moreover, such political oversight the introduction of new regulatory frameworks where
and accountability would ensure that digital transfor- necessary. The nuts and bolts, operationally, would
mation is a programme rather than a project driven require the development of norms and standards for
through concerted implementation, monitoring and areas such as data management (information, secu-
evaluation mechanisms and against specific targets rity), use of cloud and service design, including the
(mission-driven). following:

Building capacities and capabilities § Need for streamlining functions and asso-
The modus operandi for a new policy direction is ciated business processes for internal effi-
generally one of “sink or swim”, and frequently it is ciency and good citizens experience;
the latter. It is common in the Public Service for an
idea to be dreamed up elsewhere without consider- § Need to review/establish operating and ser-
ing the required capacities and capabilities to deliver vice delivery models;
on a particular policy. This means that the current re- § Establish process/data/service owners in
view and development of the Public Service Human departments;
Resources Development Strategy ought to prioritise

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