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IST-Africa 2014 Conference Proceedings Paul Cunningham and Miriam Cunningham (Eds) IIMC International Information Management Corporation, 2014 ISBN: 978-1-905824-44-1

Copyright © 2014 The authors www.IST-Africa.org/Conference2014 of 12

The e-Service Delivery in South Africa and the Contribution of Research Institutions

such as the CSIR-Meraka Institute Thato FOKO1, Acheson Charles PHIRI2, Nare MAHWAI3

CSIR-Meraka Institute, Box 395, Pretoria 001, South Africa Tel: 0027 12 841 3028, Fax Number 0027 12 841 4720

Email: {tfoko, cphiri, nmahwai}@csir.co.za

Abstract Most South African citizens are confronted daily with problems of accessing basic public services. With the mandate of carrying out research and development intended to improve lives of ordinary South Africans the role of research institutions such as the CSIR’s Meraka is important. This allows these research and development organisations to be reliable partners to Governments in their endeavour to provide quality service delivery as proposed by the Batho Pele (People First) principle. The aim of this paper is to use Meraka Institute as a case study to portray potential benefits Government can derive by partnering with R&D institutions in the delivery of services. These R&D institutions can provide solutions on the different service delivery challenges. The methods section describes the overall evaluation design and data collection strategies employed in this study, which are based on the design-based-research as a set of analytical techniques intended to bridge theory and practice. The study is based on personal feedback from Meraka’s researchers and by carrying out desktop study on the contribution and potential contribution to e-service delivery. The results show that it is the focal point of Meraka’s ICT R&D agenda to contribute to delivery of services by government and its agencies for the benefit of all citizens. Keywords: E-service, service delivery, information and communication technology, ICT, development, ICT, collaboration, local government, municipal government, Internet, Design-Based Research, Interpretive research, case study.

1. Introduction A thread that goes through the departments of South African Government is how best to overcome challenges of poor public services delivery. Research institutions have taken the responsibility of responding to these government challenges by engaging in research and development for betterment of the lives of all the citizens. The role of technology is going to play a major part in the services delivery. The developments in the ICT area are pushing societal changes from the industrial to networked societies where the Internet and mobile phones are at the heart of communication and collaboration (Smith et al. 2008). Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is therefore transforming the way services are delivered and allowing spaces for formations of collaborations between key stakeholders. At the heart of these collaborations is the understanding of that which needs to be delivered and how to deliver it.

Therefore, core to the CSIR Meraka Institute (Meraka) research endeavours is the notion that research is not carried out just for the sake of research but to change the lives of most South Africans (CSIR, 2010). Meraka is the CSIR unit mandated to carry out ICT research, development and innovation (RD&I). Meraka operates in the pre-competitive space and areas of market neglect by collaborating with Government, academia, industry and civil society (Meraka, 2007). Meraka has the capacity to partner with the national,


provincial, local Governments, and communities with the aim of providing e-solutions to the challenges of service delivery. Meraka has to understand and comply with Government policy position regarding service delivery and respond to it by carrying out R&D for service delivery. Meraka contributes to RD&I solutions addressing ‘Digital Divide’ and problems of ICT access to South Africa and other developing countries (Meraka, 2007).

2. Background In 2013 most South Africans are confronted daily with problems of accessing basic public services. This goes from people’s dissatisfaction with the delivery of basic municipal services such as running water, electricity and erection of toilets, especially in informal settlements, to lack of provision of houses. In South Africa, it is the responsibility of Government to make policies and laws about the rights and responsibilities of citizens and the delivery of government services. However, over the years, service delivery protests have become a norm. Observations at various levels of society show that the South African Government is not able to meet its responsibility to ensure adequate health, education, water and sanitation to their people (Institute for Security Studies 2009). The Institute of Security Studies explains that the problem is exacerbated further by high rates of unemployment estimated at over 23%. These add to the growing dissatisfaction in mostly poor communities. Scepticism remains high about whether investment in ICT is worth the effort and whether these ICT can really improve the delivery of services, i.e. quality, choice and efficiency in public services (Jones & Williams 2005). However, what makes Meraka’s contribution special is the fact that Meraka as an R&D institution recognises that effective services must be designed with and for the people and their communities. Therefore, as we enter 2014 Meraka is able to support Government with many solutions that can benefit mainly our poor communities, particularly with ICT solutions for service delivery

2.1 Service Delivery and Three Spheres of Government

Within a development context, it is roundly accepted that ICTs are enablers of the development as they facilitate organisational processes to be fast tracked and better managed. The constitution (1996) provides for three distinct, interdependent and interrelated spheres of government to be at the heart of service delivery and these are: (i) National Government; (ii) Provincial Government; and (iii) Local Government.

2.1.1 National Government The national Government departments are attempting to put in place service delivery systems that are citizen-centred. This necessitated the Government to install the necessary infrastructure for enabling more access. The huge amounts of data transmitted have led to the need for more broadband. For example, according to Fisher (2008) during the 2010 world cup, the South African Government allocated R600 million to the Broadband Infrastructure Company of South Africa (Infraco) to upgrade the telecommunications network with another R727 million set aside to be spend over three years for more investment on the internet infrastructure and reduction of internet costs.

2.1.2 Provincial Government

In providing service delivery the provincial Government is best placed as it is the middle sphere of Government which links both the local and the nation Government spheres (Western Cape Government, n.d.). According to the Western Cape Government this sphere of Government is (i) responsible for a significant amount of Government expenditure on service delivery in the areas of health, education, and social services; (ii) constitutionally responsibility to ensure that local government does its work. The Provincial Government


performs the following roles according to White Paper on Local Government (1998): (i) A fiscal role by providing monitoring of the financial status of municipalities; (ii) A monitoring role of local government in order to ensure that high standards of public service and good government are maintained; and (iii) An intervention role by protecting and promoting minimum standards of local government delivery and democracy and ensure that local Government fulfils its constitutional mandate.

2.1.3 Local Government

There is little doubt that local Government, as the sphere of government that is closest to the people, is at the coalface of service delivery. According to section 152 of the Constitution (1996) the objects of local Government among others are: (a) to provide democratic and accountable government for local communities; (b) to ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner; and (c) to promote social and economic development. Therefore, in South Africa local Government plays a vital part in the provision of service delivery and development. Hence, the extent to which municipalities are responsive to the needs of the community will always be determined through the quality of services they offer to their communities (Human Sciences Resource Council 2005).

According to Visser and Twinomurinzi (2009) the challenge here is to ascertain to what extend are Government ICT technological innovations adhering to the principles of “people first” and are enabling the improvement of service delivery to all South Africans?

2.2 Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

At the heart of service delivery we find among other government departments the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. In terms of the South Africa Constitution of 1996, CoGTA is responsible for coordination and policy development support, policy implementation and providing support to service delivery within and between the spheres and tiers of government. This mandate is to make government work better and to ensure that the different arms of government work in tandem with communities and key stakeholders. CoGTA provides coordination across the three spheres of government and ensures effective service delivery by provinces and municipalities. This is all done in order to contribute to the ensuring that the government achieves on its promises and priorities such as creating decent Jobs, fighting crime, rural development, health, and education.Challenges to Service Delivery in South Africa

There are a number of factors, which have affected the ability of Government at all its spheres to provide quality service delivery to all citizens. In order to address challenges the Government established a number of initiatives. The White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service (WPTPS) is one of them and puts a lot of pressure on the local government to deliver quality services to citizens. The WPTPS further indicates that the transformation of South African social and economic landscape and the quality thereof, from apartheid era to the new democratic dispensation, can be judged by the effectiveness of the public service in meeting the “basic needs of all South African citizens”. Therefore, people need to ask why the government is not able to fulfil its mandate i.e. to provide effective and efficient service delivery and where are the bottlenecks? The Department of Agriculture, Environment Affairs and Rural Development of KwaZulu-Natal (n.d.) identified the following challenges to service delivery: (i) Impact of HIV/AIDS -Complying with the myriad of policy and legislation; (ii) Adjusting the culture of the organisation towards service excellence and integration; (iii) Aligning the organisational structure to the strategy and breaking down the silo effect; (iv) Inadequate focus of human resources development; (v) Financial management capacity of managers;


(vi) Responding to public complaints; (vii) Complacency within government institution; (viii) Inter-governmental relations; and ix) Organisational capacity.

By just looking at the three levels of Government one can see that skills transfer or their acquisition is a major challenge. The Government has tried to respond to these challenges by invoking what it termed the “Batho Pele principles, developed to serve as acceptable policy and legislative framework regarding service delivery in the public service” (Independent Police Investigative Directorate n.d.).

2.4 Batho Pele Principles: The response to quality service delivery

According to Batho Pele Handbook to understand the real meaning of quality service, in 1997 policy and legislative framework was developed by the South African Government and which became known as the Batho Pele principle, with its main thrust being the improvement of service delivery in the public service. This principle defined what a good government service is and what are the implications of using ICTs to facilitate the delivery of a good service? Batho Pele Handbook was later developed to assist civil servants by highlighting the eight Batho Pele principles that provide guidance to service delivery in the public service.

The following are the principles according to the Department of Public Service and Administration (n.d.): (i) Consultation- Citizens should be consulted about the quality of the service they receive; (ii) Service standards - Communities should be informed what level and quality of service they will receive so that they know what to expect; (iii) Access - All citizens should have equal access to the services they are entitled to; (iv) Courtesy - All members of the community should be treated with courtesy and consideration; (v) Information - Communities should be given full and accurate information about the public services they are entitled to; (vi) Openness and transparency - Citizens should be informed on how local authorities function and the information they are entitled to; (vii) Redress and handling of complaints – If community members do not receive promised services they should be entitled to a full explanation and also to a speedy remedy; (viii) Value for money – Services should be provided economically and efficiently in order to provide citizens with the principle of best value for money.

Batho Pele Handbook further explains that the Batho Pele philosophy focuses on putting people first for a smooth service delivery and the underlying principles are aligned with the Constitutional ideals of: (i) Promoting and maintaining high standards of professional ethics; (ii) Providing service impartially, fairly, equitably and without bias; (iii) Utilising resources efficiently and effectively; (iv) Responding to people's needs; the citizens are encouraged to participate in policy-making; and (v) Rendering an accountable, transparent, and development-oriented public administration.

The importance of this paper is to show how Meraka can contribute by supporting the South African Government to achieve its goals of providing quality services to its people through the use of ICTs.

3. E-services in context E-service was earlier defined “as Internet-based applications that fulfil service needs by seamlessly bringing together distributed, specialised resources to enable complex, (often real-time) transactions,” Tiwana & Ramesh (2001). Tiwana and Ramesh indicate that at the heart of e-services is the platform for service delivery, which is the Internet. This definition was expanded upon by Rowley (2006) by adding the second and third elements above that of the Internet as the delivery platform for e-services and these are: (i) government as a service provider and (ii) the public as service receiver. Rowley defines e-services as, “…deeds, efforts or performances whose delivery is mediated by information technology.


Such e-service includes the service element of e-tailing, customer support, and service delivery”.

Therefore, in this paper, e-services are seen as the transparent use of ICTs to facilitate the delivery of services provided by both business and governments to the public. In the South African context the e-services are grounded on the principle of the Batho Pele (People First). Most effective ICT for stimulating demand and supply for public services could be in the form of radio, broadband, mobile devices. Radio has the widest reach of any ICT, delivers content in local languages, and provides content that anyone can use. Broadband enables local e-content delivery in a range of formats i.e. text, audio & video. Mobile device have seen an increased number of user and it offers increasing interactivity.

Mobile phones are taking the centre stage due to their pervasive nature and more people are providing platform for access to the Internet). Mobile devices are effective ICT for stimulating demand and supply of public service delivery (Global Summary Report 2007). These phones have helped to increase the Internet in developing countries (Cieslikowski et al. 2009). This has prompted governments to take advantage of this increase by offering their services via mobile phones.

3.1 The Impact of ICT as e-Service Drivers

As indicated above, e-services application represents a mechanism for directly delivering services by government and its agencies to the poor people and to receive feedback. ICTs offer opportunities for strengthening the on-going process of improving services by focusing on demand-orientation, targeting of the poor, monitoring and evaluation (in order to increase transparency and accountability), and providing a voice for the poor (UNDP 2007). South Africa has developed e-government policy framework in the form of the Batho Pele principles intended for successful delivery of public service to the citizens.

The impact of e-Government services are seen in (i) the provision of services through ICT platform and greater participation of citizens; (ii) eliminating the necessity for physical travel to government offices and departments; and (iii) simplifying and speeding up of services to citizens through remote access to services. There is a need to clarify and align how ICTs conform to and facilitate the achievement of Batho Pele principles.

3.2 Relevance and Impact of E- Services

The relevance of e-Government services is succinctly summarised as “Effective and operational e-Government will facilitate better and efficient delivery of information and services to the citizens, promote productivity among public servants, encourage participation of citizens in Government and empower all Kenyans” (Directorate of e-Government Kenya 2011). DGK further states that e- services are relevant for the government to: (i) be able to offer an increased portfolio of public services to citizens in an efficient and cost effective manner; (ii) allow for transparency; and (iii) Simplify processes and enable easy access to Government information.

3.3 Impact of e-Services

The Impact of e-services are seen in (i) the provision of services through ICT platforms and greater participation of citizens; (ii) eliminating the necessity for physical travel to government offices and departments; and (iii) simplifying and speeding up of services to citizens through remote access to services. It is easier for governments to provide good services to citizens where a two way communication between Government agencies and their clients (citizens, government departments and business) is established. Hence, one needs to differentiate between instances where government use ICTs to inform relevant


stakeholders and where stakeholders are encouraged to engage with government as equal partners in the provision of services.

Figure 1: Triangular e-service delivery framework

showing relationships of policy, research and benefits

Therefore, for meaningful e-service delivery to occur there are three important components that need to be satisfied as indicated in figure 1 above. These include having a distinct (i) policy and lawmakers, Government service providers and beneficiaries of these services. All these legs have to be transparent and accountable in their interactions. Without a legal framework it will be difficult for service providers such as Meraka and Government agencies to engage with each other in a collaborative manner for the benefit of all citizens.

4. CSIR Meraka Institute Case Study According to Meraka (2011), Meraka is an operating unit of the CSIR focused on ICT. It further indicates “Meraka’s R&D focus on strategic basic Research, applied research, experimental development and related scientific and technological activities to address socio-economics needs and the technology challenges facing industry, community and national interest”. Meraka is divided into the following competency areas for ease of its own R&D focus and outputs:

i. Wireless Computing and Media Networks Competency Area: carries out fundamental and applied research on wireless communications and networking, media streaming and closely related fields. It investigates adaptive delivery of media information over large-scale and resource constrained (such as energy and bandwidth) networks. These networks are linked through wireless nodes, and are auto-configuring and autocorrecting/self-healing (Meraka 2011e).

ii. Integrative Platforms, Systems & Technologies Competency Area: Focuses on the research, design and development of next generation ICT systems, platforms, frameworks and components. In order to achieve this it focuses on wireless and mobile communication infrastructures in both urban and rural areas; service oriented architectures and middleware, composition and orchestration of end-2-end solutions applications; and linking and integrating the physical world (objects, things) to the digital world: Internet of Things paradigm (Meraka 2011a).

iii. Human Language Technologies & Knowledge Technologies Competence Area: Covers research on speech technologies and speech application for South Africa’s indigenous languages as well as knowledge representation and reasoning (Meraka 2011c)

iv. Earth Observations Science and Information Technology Competency Area: utilises ICT for earth observation and remote sensing to determine spatial hotspots and of


strain/stress on municipal infrastructure caused by increase in population (Meraka 2011b).

5. Conceptual Framework We are putting forth qualitatively the research carried out by research institutions on enhancing the socio-economic performance of citizens in South Africa while also creating space for assisting the Government to meet its service delivery mandate. This will be done under the rubric of Design-Based Research (DBR) Methods. Proponents of Design-based research include Brown (1992) and Alan Collins (1992), Thomas Reeves (2000). According to Collins, Joseph & Bielaczyc (2004) DBR is dominant in education as it attempts to (i) address theoretical questions about the nature of learning in context; (ii) identify approaches to the study of learning phenomena in the real world rather than the laboratory; (iii) go beyond the narrow measures of learning; and (iv) to derive research findings from formative evaluation.

Amiel & Reeves (2008) elucidate that DBR is also known as design research, development research, etc. They distinguish between empirical and development research. The difference between empirical research (predictive research) and DBR (development research), illustrated in figure 2 below, is simply that empirical research is based on hypothesis based upon observations and or existing theory while the DBR is based on analysis of practical problems by both researchers and practitioners (Reeves & Hedberg 2003). They further argue that DBR: (i) focuses on broad-based, complex problems critical to education, (ii) involves intensive collaboration among researchers and practitioners, (iii) requires long-term engagement that allows for continual refinement of protocols and questions, and (iv) maintains a commitment to theory construction and explanation while solving local problems.

Figure: 2 Predictive versus design-based research

6. Research Approach

6.1 Problem statement

The paper’s main objective is to create an insight into the state of South African e- services delivery, and the contribution research institutions such as the Meraka play in helping Governments to address challenges of e-service delivery. The paper uses the case study of Meraka to give an insight on the role research institutions play in service delivery.


7. Methods and Tools The methods section describes the overall evaluation design and data collection strategies employed in this study, which are based on the DBR as a set of analytical techniques intended to bridge theory and practice. These methods support our research paradigm because of their flexible use, particularly with technology, while allowing future developments.

The research employed interpretive methodologies paradigm. Interpretive is grounded in social sciences and it accepts the notion that individuals create meaning within a specific environment (Hanson 2008). “Interpretive methods start from the position that our knowledge of reality, including the domain of human action, is a social construction of human actors” (Walsham 2006). For data collection this study will use the case study, desktop research method together with researchers’ views and Meraka’s internal reports.

The case study method which is defined as an empirical study that uses multiple sources to investigate a contemporary phenomenon in a real-world context (Yin 1984) and emphasise detailed contextual analysis of a limited number of events or conditions and their relationships (Soy 1997). The aim is to use Meraka as a case study to portray potential benefits government can derive by partnering with R&D institutions in the delivery of service. The weaknesses of case study methods, according to Mikkelson (1995), are that sometimes they serve as a foundation for generalisations, which might be erroneous.

Again, rich data were collected using desktop methodology with the objective of ascertaining how the different Meraka research groups can contribute to R&D for socio-economic development and towards quality service delivery by the government. Meraka’s reports were used to gather some more data. The only information of interest was that which illustrated the R&D activities relating to e-service delivery.

Finally, researchers’ opinions were solicited as part of triangulating the findings. One of the tools used to collect data is a questionnaire sent via e-mails to identified individuals. All these methods were utilised because they provide rich data leading to adoption and generalisation of results.

8. Results In 2013 the following are some of the solutions in different areas of ICT Meraka can provide to Government so that it can successfully address issues of service delivery to its citizens:

i. Wireless Computing and Media Networks Competency Area: According to Thomas Owal, “The Wireless Mash Network (WMN) is a communication infrastructure through which ICT content/service is distributed, transported or delivered from the generated point to the destination point a few or several miles away.” Now the group has been involved in carrying out the TV White Space wireless network trials which was launched in Cape Town March-April 2013, to provide high speed Internet to 10 schools and around 1600 students and teachers.

ii. Integrative Platforms, Systems & Technologies Competency Area: One example is the Digital Doorway: A robust free-standing computer used to encourage self-learning in areas where no computer infrastructure exists. This is a partnership project between the Department of Science and technology and Meraka. Under this initiative over 250 DDs were deployed across the country. Communities which benefited include Khuma and Kopela in the North West who received two brand-new Digital Doorways and are now part of the knowledge society. DD’s content is customised for each community.

iii. Human Language Technologies & Knowledge Technologies Competence Area:


One of the successful projects under the HLT competence area is the Lwazi. This is a speech-driven telephone system in SA’s indigenous languages, which gives access to government information. The highlight of the project includes piloting an automated health helpline in Botswana at the Botswana-Baylor Children's Clinical Centre of Excellence for caregivers of HIV-positive infants and children (Meraka, 2012). Karen Calteaux says, “Speech technologies can be used to obtain information from citizens quickly, effectively and cost-efficiently, disseminate information to citizens quickly, effectively and cost-efficiently and to monitor government service delivery endeavours.”

iv. EO Science and Information Technology Competency Area: In partnership with Eskom, the University of Maryland and NASA, and with funding from the South African government, the CSIR has developed the advanced fire information system (AFIS) to locate fires in near-real time over southern Africa. AFIS has been exported to other countries such as Kenya. Now fire data received at Kenya (in Malindi) are archived and fed-back to the main AFIS server in South Africa, making this a repository of fire information from southern, eastern and central Africa. This means that it is possible for AFIS to predict where fires are likely to occur in many parts of Africa.

Meraka also engages in research that cuts across these different competence areas and involves many groups such as education, health and rural development. These include:

i. ICT for education and ICT for rural development where Meraka is currently involved in the Cofimvaba School District Technology Project, an experiment in whether and how technology can improve teaching in rural areas. This is collaboration between the Department of Science and Technology and CSIR whereby learners in the some of the schools are given tablets loaded with all their textbooks and study material for their own use in order to enhance their mathematics skills. Merryl Ford says, “We want to give tablets to each teacher in the 26 schools – about 350 – and eventually the 7 000 learners,” (Vodacom 2013). Under this project the CSIR is looking into developing water sanitation and infrastructure to ensure safe and healthy toilet facilities and to provide expertise in processing indigenous foodstuffs. The government can benefit from tapping into Meraka’s knowledge gain through many years of implementing the Digital Doorways in remote rural areas.

ii. Lastly, Meraka has developed The SAnote (An indigenous technology focusing on low cost/affordability and value benefits) whose aim is to improve accessibility for persons with disabilities through the use of ICT. Pilot was successfully field-tested with blind users at the beginning of April 2013. Meraka can help Government to implement ICT led interventions which support people with disabilities and other citizens at schools, health centres and other general government services.

9. Results Analysis Most often inadequate service delivery relates "to lack of accountability, transparency and commitment in making services work for the poor” (UNDP 2007). Because Meraka’s research and development is intended to have impact on the lives of ordinary South Africans the results reveal the importance of DBR intervention and the impact these interventions have on e-service delivery. It is the focal point of Meraka’s R&D agenda to contribute to government’s e-service delivery for the benefit and satisfaction of both the citizens and Government. This is in line with our triangular e-service delivery framework, which brings together policy makers, service providers such as R&D institutions and communities as equal partners in service delivery.


Meraka as a service provider has developed practical ICT solutions in line with DBR principles intended to enhance the quality of life and economic competitiveness of South Africa people. These technologies are of great benefit in this way:

i. Wireless Computing and Media Networks Competency Area: These technologies allow people to get connected to the Internet where they can access government services. The TV Whitespaces will allow citizens to access Internet via their TV.

ii. Integrative Platforms, Systems & Technologies Competency Area: Through the DD deep rural areas are able to have access to internet connected computers though Wi-Fi and are able to access information from government and its agencies for the improvements of people’s lives.

iii. Human Language Technologies & Knowledge Technologies Competence Area: These technologies can assist citizen who cannot read and write to communicate with government services through speech and using their own languages.

iv. EO Science and Information Technology Competency Area: These socio-economic benefits are immense as both people and government can use some of the technologies to predict for example where fires are going to occur.

These socio-economic benefits are immense as both people and government can use some of the technologies to predict for example where fires are going to occur. Meraka’s R&D can be applied to assist government in (i) creating decent jobs; (ii) fighting crime; (iii) rural development; (iv) addressing health issues, etc. The results show that Meraka has stayed in line with its e-service delivery mandate of developing new technology that enables ICT access and inclusion.

10. Conclusion In conclusion, it is in the interest of the Government to partner with service providers such as Meraka in order to provide well researched quality services to their people. The government needs partners who have little to gain as they are not driven by profit but more to give as they are driven by an objective of making an impact on the lives of people through research. Research and development institutions are crucial in the provision of efficient and effective service delivery based on the Batho Pele principle.

Meraka’s R&D in ICT activities are intended to enhance people’s socio-economic status and e-service delivery. As indicated in the e-service framework above, it is imperative that the government puts in place the legal framework upon which R&D institutions can ground their work for the benefit of these institutions, government and citizens. The R&D activities are in areas of access to both the technology and services such as wireless mash networks, human language technologies respectively.

Therefore, on the basis of our research question and the corresponding research data we conclude that there is a massive role research institution such as Meraka can play in helping governments to address challenges of e-service delivery. Lastly, it is crucial for people to have access to ICTs so that they can receive government services based on the Batho Pele principle. In conclusion R&D institutions, governments and their agencies should be natural partners in service delivery as they all have a role to play.

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