SAP,IBM offer support to Gauteng Social Develpment drive

SOON, gone will be days whereby millions of disadvantaged children, women and elderly people queue for years to have their applications for social grants processed now that the Department of Social Development goes electronic.The Gauteng Provincial Department of Social Development has partnered with the world’s leading software provider-Systems Application Product (SAP) and IBM to improve services.

The new technology solution showcased in South Africa’s nine provinces is
the first of its kind to be implemented and utilised by an African nation, with Gauteng Province taking the lead.

The new technology solution to governments is the second ever in the world after Britain, whose government is now using to service its citizens for social grants with efficiency and accuracy.

In an interview with IT News Africa on the sidelines of the ceremony at Parktown on Friday, Gauteng Provincial Head of Social Development, Bheki Sibeko, said he was pleased to see the province becomes the first ever in Africa and second in the world to utilize such technology.

He said this remarkable milestone would address what he dubbed as “stressful process” of accessing the government’s social grants.

“The department has moved from manual paper work to electronic. Any social development worker linked to Information Communication Technology including internet and emails makes working and delivering services efficient.

“This latest technological achievement will quicken the process of availing social grants to the needy,” said Sibeko.

He said the new technology solution was provided by hardware and software firms SAP, IBM, Gijima Assist, and Consnet in conjunction with the Gauteng Provincial Government.

In a separate interview, SAP Solution Manager, Manti Grobler, said she was pleased to see the work that they started some three years back paying dividends this year.

“We are using technology to touch the deserving people in order to make a difference. It’s not technology that would go static, but the technology that would assist boost assistance in social care,” said Grobler.

IBM Global Business Services’ Shirley Jones attributed the historic success in the use of technology by the Gauteng Social Development Department to teamwork between the provincial government and other service providers.—ITnewsAfrica.com.