DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
BY JESSIE TAYLOR
UNLOCKING POTENTIAL: How digitisation can transform the public sector
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igital transformation has become a necessity for almost all sectors, and government services are no exception. Globally, governments and companies have looked to digitise their processes, cut costs, increase revenue and become more accessible. The shift towards digital solutions has also been prioritised in service delivery by the South African government. Although the pandemic has highlighted the need for more remote access to various public sector services, the government has been developing its digital platforms for the last five years. Turning to technology for transformation e-Government – the innovative use of communications technologies – is considered a
pivotal enabler for governments to deliver better services, more efficiently, while improving their relationship with businesses and citizens. A digital government uses ICT services and digital technologies to make government processes more efficient, strengthen public service delivery and enhance participation by citizens in governance matters.
The strategy identified around 150 government services that could be considered for digitisation. But digital transformation is about more than just making government services accessible: South Africa could add over R2-trillion to society through digitisation, according to
20 | Public Sector Leaders | April 2021
research. Accenture and the World Economic Forum (WEF) developed a framework to measure the impact of digital technology on government services, business and society. This framework can be used to look a decade ahead at the value these technologies can create. Using the framework, Accenture established that using digital technology in government services could add over R2 trillion in value to the South African economy. By comparison, digital technology across industry sectors has the potential to add around R3-trillion. The framework’s measurements estimated that the government sectors that could house the biggest change through digitisation were public infrastructure maintenance, public administration and healthcare – these three sectors
