Page 8 - EngineerIT May 2022

OPINION

Fear of job losses is impeding

South Africa’s digital transformation

By Greg Gatherer. Account Manager, Liferay Africa

he South African state is, by some distance, the country’s largest single employer. It
employs more than 1.3-million people including teachers, nurses, doctors, municipal
Tworkers, police officers and defence force members. All too often, the public sector
has also been used to cushion the country’s shockingly high unemployment rate.
Those employment numbers come with a significant cost too. In the 2021-2022
financial year, the public sector wage bill hit R665.1-billion and is set to rise to R702 billion
in 2024-25. Put differently, while the government employs 13% of all workers in the
country, it pays 33% of all wages.
Of course, ordinary taxpayers wouldn’t mind footing that bill if it meant improved
service delivery. But it simply doesn’t. Even where public sector employees are doing their
utmost, they are constrained by outdated working models, inefficient IT systems, and the
slow rollout of digitalisation. While there are any number of factors at play when it comes
to these constraints, one of the most alarming is a pervasive fear that digitalisation could
lead to job losses. But with the right skills in place, that needn’t be the case. The right technologies
Finally, digitalisation can be made a lot smoother
Untransformed and afraid by departments choosing the right technologies.
There can be no doubt that many elements of the public sector have lagged when it These include, but are not limited to:
comes to digital transformation. While there are a few shining lights (SARS’ revamped • Self service portals: With specialised
eFiling system comes to mind), the picture is largely bleak. portals that authenticate profiles, users
The National Planning Commission’s (NPC) report Digital Futures - South Africa’s can securely access appropriate, useful
Digital Readiness for the Fourth Industrial Revolution highlights how bad things are. It information and collaborate with others.
suggests that there has been a wholesale institutional failure on the part of the state Personalised portals, whether for citizens or
when it comes to digital transformation. There’s also a very clear shortage of skills. In government employees, can make it easier
2021 for example, it was revealed that 62% of municipal councillors lacked the basic for users to find what they need, increasing
computer skills needed to pass municipal budgets. trust and improving mission outcomes.
Far more concerning, though, are the people who are actively trying to prevent • Modern intranets: Protected, customised
digitalisation out of a fear that the increased efficiency it brings will result in job losses. intranets enable employees to find the
At its worst, this fear can result in people destroying technology. Earlier this year for information they need when they need it.
example, the City of Johannesburg experienced two attacks in two weeks, in which Secure, modern intranets help employees
computers and hard drives were damaged and destroyed. better manage their benefits and career
At the time, mayoral committee member Belinda Echeozonjoku said that incidents planning, allowing for higher satisfaction
were a clear sign of pushback against a digitisation project that was designed to speed up and better employee retention.
the processing of building plans. That’s just one example, but if there is similar pushback • Websites: The best websites appeal to
around the country (not necessarily just in the form of vandalism but also in a refusal to citizens, improve user experience, and
adopt new technologies and processes), then it’s easy to see how digitalisation is being boost engagement. Ideally, a site should
held back across the country. provide appealing and efficient web
experiences that solve the user’s problem
The need for long-term thinking in a single location.
In order to overcome these fears and some of the obstacles, it’s important to ensure that
public sector workers understand that delivering secure, streamlined experiences that are An immediate imperative
tailored to the citizen’s needs, is in their own best interests. The imperative to push for this kind of change
The better and more streamlined service delivery is, the more attractive South Africa has never been greater. Improved service
will be to domestic and international investors. With a growing economy and lower delivery is crucial to South Africa turning its
unemployment rate, there will be a larger tax base, meaning that more money can be fortunes around and quelling frustrations
directed into public sector programmes. That, in turn, means more jobs, not fewer. among its citizens. Digital transformation is one
Individual departments can further ease fears that digital transformation will cost jobs of the most effective ways of achieving this.
by ensuring that everyone has the necessary skills to benefit from new technologies. After Fears of job losses, which aren’t grounded in
all, once you understand how something works, it becomes a lot less scary. reality, cannot be allowed to impede it. n

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