The Western Cape Government (WCG) has been awarded an esteemed Public Service Innovation Award from the United Nations Public Service Forum.
The provincial government clinched the award out of 400 entries from over 70 countries.
The award ceremony took place in Incheon, South Korea, and this accolade recognises the provincial government's work towards ‘Citizen-centric Digital Transformation’.
The United Nations Public Service Awards recognises excellence in public service. It rewards the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive public administration towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde expressed his gratitude for the award.
“We have always worked extremely hard in developing and nurturing innovation in our government, which is a key value we hold in high regard. Only by embracing innovation can we continuously improve services, especially for the most vulnerable in our province. We know that sometimes we may not get it right, but you will not succeed if you are not willing to try, fail, try and ultimately succeed – that is at the core of innovation – being willing to try,” Winde said.
Representing the WCG at the ceremony were the Department of the Premier’s Centre for e-Innovation (Ce-I) Deputy Director-General, Hilton Arendse, Acting Chief Director Aneesa Basha, and Director Marc Cloete.
Arendse said the successes achieved through this project emphasised the province’s commitment to improving the quality of life for residents through innovative and effective use of digital technologies.
“This achievement is attributed to the commitment and competence of the more than 400 Ce-I team members who have collaborated across multiple departments to bring this vision to life. We must also acknowledge our province’s political and administrative executive leadership who have fostered a culture of innovation that enabled us to responsibly explore and implement innovative solutions,” Arendse said.
Implementing the Citizen-centric Digital Transformation Plan is a key programme of the WCG’s priority focus area that focuses on innovation, culture and governance. The provincial government set ambitious goals to positively impact residents’ lives by leveraging digital technology.
By doing this, the WCG successfully transitioned service delivery from traditional methods to a more efficient, reliable and citizen-centred model, Winde said.
“This shift has significantly enhanced the accessibility and quality of government services, particularly benefiting the 70% of the Western Cape’s population that is vulnerable,” he said.
Basha said through their vision of achieving optimised, citizen-centred service delivery, they consciously shifted the focus from predominantly implementing internal-facing solutions to developing and implementing solutions that either directly or indirectly translate into value delivery to our residents.
“While this award is a recognition of our past achievements, it also serves as encouragement to continue striving towards excellence in achieving public value. This honour should be celebrated widely across the province, as it highlights the significant progress we have made and the promising future ahead,” she said.
Cloete said their digital infrastructure initiatives have played a crucial role in bridging the digital divide, ensuring that all residents, regardless of their socio-economic status, have access to vital services.
“To this extent, our province’s investment in connecting all government sites to high-speed network connectivity and our large-scale cloud migration were key building blocks of our digital transformation process,” Cloete said.
The provincial government said it remains committed to building on its sound digital government foundations to further improve public services.
“As much as we pride ourselves on our increased emphasis on innovation, it is also the people behind the scenes, our WCG family of over 90,000 officials, who made this success possible. Thank you for all you do for the people of the Western Cape,” Winde added.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
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