Digital divide and e-governance in South Africa - Library
Digital divide and e-governance in South Africa - Library
Digital divide and e-governance in South Africa - Library
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The first phase of the study was to exam<strong>in</strong>e the content <strong>and</strong> maturity level of different aspects of the government<br />
departments’ websites. About 31 government websites were identified <strong>and</strong> visited. The follow<strong>in</strong>g sources were used<br />
to identify government websites to be <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> the analysis:<br />
• <strong>South</strong> <strong>Africa</strong> Government Onl<strong>in</strong>e: www.gov.za.<br />
• <strong>South</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>n Government Information: http://www.<strong>in</strong>fo.gov.za/aboutgovt/dept.htm<br />
The ma<strong>in</strong> reason for government to develop websites is to provide digital or electronic <strong>in</strong>formation services to the<br />
citizens. The content of the <strong>in</strong>formation on the websites becomes a critical issue that need to be analysed. Hence this<br />
paper provide a critical analysis of these contents. The availability of the follow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>formation was used as the bases<br />
to analysis of the websites:<br />
Fulltext government documents (e.g. Acts, Bills. Annual reports, policy documents, research<br />
reports)<br />
Government forms (forms <strong>in</strong>clude various forms rang<strong>in</strong>g from employment forms (Z83), application<br />
for identity card, passport, bursary, registrations forms for suppliers etc, )<br />
Onl<strong>in</strong>e application facilities (onl<strong>in</strong>e application facilities could help a number of <strong>in</strong>dividuals who are<br />
unable to travel to governments offices due to various reasons.<br />
Government contact details (people usually need to contact government departments. It is<br />
imperative to have these contact details available)<br />
Government news ( this <strong>in</strong>clude media releases, speeches by prom<strong>in</strong>ent government officials)<br />
Vacancies<br />
Call for tenders<br />
Department calendar of upcom<strong>in</strong>g events<br />
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): The web makes it easy to provide access to a list of frequently<br />
asked questions that could be updated<br />
L<strong>in</strong>ks ( to other related or useful sites)<br />
Site map (it serves as an <strong>in</strong>dex to the page, provide taxonomy or group contents under appropriate<br />
head<strong>in</strong>g. Data obta<strong>in</strong>ed from 31 government websites was coded <strong>and</strong> processed.<br />
Feedback facilities: citizens should be provided with the mechanism for provid<strong>in</strong>g comments on<br />
various issues.<br />
Search facility (which can enable the user to search though the page us<strong>in</strong>g keywords or phrase)
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