WCG DoTP APP 2023/2024

UPDATED SITUATION ANALYSIS

6.

6.1.

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

6.1.1.

Factors contributing to organisational performance

The department drives provincial attempts to reduce the public sector wage bill together with the Provincial Treasury and the 2023/24 financial year will see the further implementation of the WCG Compensation of Employees Strategy which will bring strategy coherence across the WCG in managing the provincial wage bill. Investment in technology and ICT infrastructure and its exploitation for efficiency in the wake of continued and increasing resource scarcity is key, inclusive of the need for continuous refresh of outdated technologies, software and hardware. The Digital Transformation Plan outlines the proposed interventions in this regard. The ICT Ecosystem of the WCG comprises of various interlinked and interdependent technologies and processes. The Broadband programme of the province provides the foundation for this ecosystem as it enabled the roll-out of new technologies that were key to our province’s resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. These include our migration to the cloud, implementing Office 365, of which MS Teams is a key component, our Enterprise Content Management solution and the Contact Centre on Demand service, to name a few. These solutions enabled this province to be operational throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and its successful application also gave rise to many departments shifting to a hybrid work model, allowing certain employees to work from home. This hybrid work model also enabled this department to surrender two floors that were used for office accommodation, resulting in a substantial annual saving. Due to the dynamic change in information technologies and the fact that these technologies and solutions are interlinked, it is critical that provision is made for the strategic re-allocation of funds as a change in one area inevitably impacts on another. The department entered into a 3-year Microsoft License Software agreement that serves the entire WCG and covers strategic developments pertaining to the cloud, cyber security and collaborative toolsets (eg MS Teams), to name a few. As communicated over the past few years, but more specifically post the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for digitalisation has grown exponentially, bringing with it significant benefits but also risks and challenges. The increased demand for digital transformation is managed through a structured programme to enable departments to improve services to its citizens. A key citizen-facing technology that the department is in the process of exploring is a new Digital Experience Platform (DXP) to replace the existing WCG website and Intranet. The current sites were built on Drupal 7, an open-source platform that has now reached end of life. With the significant changes in business requirements as it relates to the WCG’s ability to interact with citizens and providing digital services via our website, there is a dire need to change to a new platform, which will require either new funding or re-allocation of funds. A new and enhanced WCG website is a fundamental piece of technology if we are serious about strengthening citizen centricity and increasing citizen interaction and engagement. One of the major risks that technology advancement has brought about is the opportunity for cyber criminals to exploit vulnerabilities and our dependency on technology. The department has therefore developed a WCG Cyber Security Strategy and invested heavily in strengthening our information security ecosystem. The department also continues to run cyber security awareness programmes amongst all ICT users of the WCG.

36

DOTP ANNUAL PERFORMANCE PLAN FOR 2023/2024