Search results

The point of exit in this research is that there should be an internal audit department in a national government department in South Africa to render a top‐class internal auditing service that is cost‐effective and affordable, preferred by clients, continuously complies with the standards of professional practice of internal auditing and best practice and have a positive impact on the national government department’s bottom line. The empirical research has highlighted several factors, including the ignorance of key role players and lack of professional proficiency on the part of internal auditors, as factors that impede the establishment and operation of an internal auditing function in the public sector in South Africa. It is recommended, that audit committees in the public sector should launch a joint marketing action, directed at key role players, to promote the potential value of a top‐class internal auditing service in the public sector, as well as the factors that impede it.

This paper aims to report the deployment of open source electronic content management software in national government departments in South Africa, with the view to raise awareness of the free and open source software (FOSS) policy. Many countries including South Africa have developed policies that encourage the deployment of free and open source software (FOSS).

The paper opted for qualitative data collected through interviews with four chief information officers, five information technology (IT) officials, two records managers from government departments, one archivist from the National Archives of South Africa and one IT official from the State Information Technology Agency; these were selected purposively from national government departments. Furthermore, a free test trial of open source software, Alfresco Community Edition, was conducted for a 30-day period during September 2013. Alfresco was chosen as it is the preferred FOSS in government departments in South Africa.

The key finding reveals that, in contrast with the FOSS policy, governmental bodies in South Africa preferred proprietary software over FOSS, as only one government department has migrated to FOSS. The reasons cited for the low uptake of open source electronic content management include the perceived lack of support for FOSS or short lifespan support which was confirmed through the trial test, as well as a lack of IT skills by records management practitioners who are responsible for implementation of electronic content management and hidden costs as the internal staff would spend time supporting, tailoring and enhancing the software. It is observed that failure to raise awareness and benefits of the FOSS policy in South Africa will curtail the document into a dull epistle.

Due to the chosen research approach and sampling method, the results were not generalised to the population. It is hoped that the study will stimulate further research interest and raise awareness in government departments with regard to FOSS policy implementation, especially in the area of electronic content management.

The paper shows the difficulty in implementing a policy and putting it into practice without looking into its practical feasibility.

This research attempts to bridge the gap and bring new elements by assessing the level of FOSS adoption in the area of electronic content management which is often ignored by the government and also less researched by scholars.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implementation process of an open source (OS) enterprise management system in the South African Public Sector. Change management was observed in relation to challenges and opportunities in the alignment of the internal organisational changes to the imperatives of the national free and OS software policy.

An interpretive case study, using interviews, observation and document review was used.

Alignment of the organisational environment, change management strategies and technology is required to address many of the “common” change management challenges. However, information and communication technology policies are formed and adopted in a highly complex environment and have embedded property and power relations which impact the nature and direction of their implementation. In this case one of the main challenges arose from the alignment of internal organisational change to a national policy which did not seem to have the full support of the agency which was tasked with implementing it.

Many of the challenges faced by the public sector department are commonly described in change management literature, such as inadequate consideration for the social context in which the change was to take place. What emerges from this paper is a caution that there is not a sole voice within government and in a multi‐levelled and multi‐sectoral institution there exist many different rationalities. The internal alignment of the divergent voices within government would be a prerequisite for the organisational environment, change management strategies and technology to be aligned.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implementation process of an open source enterprise management system in the South African public sector. Change management was observed in relation to challenges and opportunities in the alignment of the internal organisational changes to the imperatives of the national Free and Open Source Software policy.

An interpretive case study, using interviews, observation and document review was used.

Alignment of the organisational environment, change management strategies and technology is required to address many of the “common” change management challenges. However, ICT policies are formed and adopted in a highly complex environment and have embedded property and power relations which impact the nature and direction of their implementation. In this case, one of the main challenges arose from the alignment of internal organisational change to a national policy, which did not seem to have the full support of the agency which was tasked with implementing it.

Many of the challenges faced by the public sector department are commonly described in change management literature, such as inadequate consideration for the social context in which the change was to take place. What emerges from this paper is a caution that there is not a single voice within government and that in a multi‐levelled and multi‐sectoral institution, many different rationalities exist. The internal alignment of the divergent voices within government would be a prerequisite for the organisational environment, change management strategies and technology to be aligned.

This paper aims to critically explore the forces and critical features relating to the adoption of a new reporting and budgeting system (RBS) in Indonesian local governments.

The study is based on an intensive analysis of document sources and interview scripts around the institutionalization of RBS by the Indonesian government and uses the adaption of Dillard et al. (2004) institutional model in informing its findings.

The authors find that at the national level, the key drivers in RBS adoption were a combination of exogenous economic and coercive pressures and the wish to mimic accounting reforms in developed nations. At the local government level, the internalization of RBS is a response to a legal obligation imposed by the central government. Despite the RBS adoption has strengthened the transparency of local authorities reports – it limits the roles of other members of citizens in determining how local government budgets are allocated.

The results of the study should be understood in the historical and institutional contexts of organizations observed.

The authors reinforce the notion that accounting as a business language dominates narratives and conversations surrounding the nature of government reporting and budgeting systems and how resource allocation is formulated and practiced. This should remind policymakers in other developing nations that any implementation of a new accounting technology should consider institutional capacities of public sector organizations and how the new technology benefits the public.

The authors argue that the dominant role of international financial authorities in the policymaking and implementation of RBS challenges the aim of autonomy policies, which grant greater roles for local authorities and citizens in determining the nature of the budgets and operation of local authorities.

This study extends institutional theory by adapting the Dillard et al. (2004) model in explaining the forces, actors and critical features of a new accounting system adoption by local governments.

Ireland has suddenly become a hub of activity around children's services ‐ at central and local government levels, involving the primary statutory and voluntary agencies, and engaging some of the more disadvantaged communities. Following a critical report when it appeared before the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child over a decade ago, the Irish Government set up the National Children's Office and developed a National Children's Strategy. Current developments in children's services designed to address ongoing weaknesses in provision are taking place against the backdrop of the increasing wealth of the state and families and considerable organisational change in local services. The relatively new Office of the Minister for Children (OMC) was established to consolidate these ideas and move them forwards.This article offers the perspective of Sylda Langford, Director‐General of the OMC. She outlines relevant aspects of the broader context in Ireland before describing the origins and work of the OMC, the accompanying opportunities and obstacles to progress. She also reflects on life as a civil servant in a cross‐cutting Government department, the possible forthcoming referendum in Ireland on the relative rights of parents and children and the challenges presented by collaboration with philanthropy. What follows is an edited transcript of Sylda Langford's comments.

This paper aims to assess how prepared public bodies are for the transfer of born-digital records to the National Archives (TNA) of the UK in line with the reduction in the transfer rule from 30 to 20 years.

The change in the transfer rule means that records of UK public bodies will be transferred to TNA for permanent preservation at 20 years as opposed to 30 years old. This move, which has been described as a major change that is going to be introduced in a manageable and affordable way (20-year rule, The National Archives), will inevitably witness the transfer of born-digital records to the archives much earlier than would have been the case if the change in the transfer rule had not been made. This paper reports on research carried out in the winter of 2017 on the extent to which UK public bodies are prepared for the transfer of born-digital records to TNA. Research was based on a survey of 23 public bodies which included ministries, charities and non-departmental public bodies. The target population was predominantly public bodies that had the highest level of transfer of records to TNA. The justification for this lies in the fact that these bodies, amongst others, transfer the most records to TNA, thus it would be interesting to gain an insight into how prepared these relatively larger public bodies are with regard to born-digital transfer. The remaining public bodies were chosen randomly amongst non-ministerial departments. The primary areas under analysis are plans of public bodies for the transfer of born-digital records, processes for transfer to be undertaken such as selection, appraisal etc., the use of technology in sensitivity review and the trigger date for the transfer of records.

An analysis of the research findings found that while a few UK public bodies surveyed had transferred datasets within the framework of the TNA Government Datasets (NDAD) initiative or as part of an inquiry, only one public body had transferred other born-digital records to TNA. The findings also reveal that most public bodies are yet to plan for, or to adjust, their current archival processes to take into account the different mind-set and skills required for the transfer of born-digital records. The level of preparedness is therefore limited primarily because public bodies have yet to undertake a transfer of born-digital records to the archives. The research findings also revealed that public bodies had not as yet made adjustments or changes to current practice to take into account the issues relating to the processing of born-digital records prior to transfer.

The findings of the research at hand are based on a survey submitted electronically to twenty-three public bodies with the aim of assessing how prepared they are for the transfer of born-digital records to the National Archives (TNA). The survey was sent to 27 public bodies with responses received by 23 public bodies. The survey sent to these bodies comprises eight questions that were deemed to be important in the current digital landscape with regard to the processes involved in the transfer of records, beginning from their creation. Thus, an element of subjectivity exists with regard to the outcome of the research, as the public bodies chosen were guided in prioritising any issues about digital transfer through the questions posed. The research carried out is also limited in that it focuses primarily on ministerial departments (14 of the 23 surveyed) and also constitutes a very small sample of UK public bodies overall. However, the originality of the data obtained through the study carried out by far outweighs the limitations of the research methodology.

This paper highlights that the transfer of born-digital records through original research amongst the 23 public bodies surveyed is not widespread, and that processes and procedures specifically for the management of processes for born-digital records are yet to be implemented. The study concludes that long-term planning for the transfer of born-digital records is yet to be undertaken and that public bodies are more likely to deal with the issue when their digital records are closer to reaching the point of transfer.

GUEST editor of this South African issue of THE LIBRARY WORLD is Hendrik M. Robinson, Director of Library Services, Transvaal Provincial Administration, Pretoria.

South Africa has been hailed as possessing one of the most progressive and visionary Constitutions in the world. It recognizes the right of everyone to have access to health care services. It also recognizes, in detail, various rights of accused, arrested and detained people, including the right to adequate medical treatment. However, despite the constitutionally entrenched rights, we (as civil society) are painfully aware that this does not magically transform the social conditions of the poor and marginalized amongst us. In fact, we have learnt that it is not only food, shelter and healthcare that cost money, but rights also. For without access to legal services in order to enforce one’s rights, they often remain not much more than paper ideals. This is recently demonstrated in the case of EN and Others v Government of the Republic of South Africa and Others , more commonly called the Westville Correctional Centre case (WCC case). This article will examine this case, and the implications of the right to adequate medical treatment for prisoners in South Africa, by addressing the factual background to the litigation, the legal and policy framework, the key issues that arose and the legal remedy.

The purpose of this paper is to understand how policymakers in different African countries negotiate the complex relationship between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and poverty reduction. The authors adopt a novel perspective on this problem by considering how the broader policy discourse and associated mechanisms tend to address (or neglect) the multiple dimensions of poverty.

A textual analysis was conducted on selected ICT and poverty reduction policy documents from Uganda, South Africa and Nigeria, between 2005 and 2012.

The findings show that the focus of ICT policy interventions continues to be on increasing economic capabilities amongst the poor. There is recognition in all three cases that human, political and social capital are also important. The continued dominance of an economic focus within ICT policies is supported by a techno-deterministic policy discourse, which tends to downplay social factors. Meanwhile, poverty reduction strategies adopt a similarly techno-deterministic perspective on the role of ICTs in development.

While there is negligible evidence of methods that could enable a more contested, discursive policy environment, there are signs in South Africa and Uganda of a strong but relatively high-level (and largely rhetorical) interest in participatory approaches to ICT implementation which may, if appropriated fully by policymakers and their agents, lead to a more contextually anchored approach to ICT-supported poverty reduction around a diverse mix of poverty dimensions.

This paper has developed a novel framework for analysing the extent to which the multiple dimensions of poverty are being addressed within African ICT policy and whether the appropriate institutional arrangements and policy processes are being adopted to do this.