and ICT, and the revision of the current policy would be a systemic one. The wider opportunities for collaboration with emerging stakeholders can be embraced. This systems approach will also include the shifting priorities of the DSR in its own evolution.
Research by Ellis and Shockley-Zalabak (cited in Cho & Ringquist 2011:60), has indicated that “managers displaying the characteristics of honesty, consistency, professionalism, interpersonal benevolence, and openness in communication presided over organisations seen as more effective by their employees.”
Dlamini (2011:8) is of the view that “given that the bulk of public sector organizations have to deliver their services or products to an enormously diverse population, it is important for them to communicate smarter but for a lot less.” This assertion brings into question the government regulation on the non-use of social media such as Twitter and Facebook, which are the cheapest and fastest forms of communication as well as key conduits to the youth in the main. President Jacob Zuma’s challenge to all government communicators (Dlamini, 2011:11) that government needs to communicate more consistently and regularly to the media “as the people need to know what services are being delivered, how, where and by whom, and we can inform them through meaningful and regular communication.” The current communication policy needs to be revised to include the use of social media, as emphasised in the research study.
laggards.” The increasing access and use to ICT will subsequently result in a more digitally-skilled and e-governance savvy society. Research by Kunstelj, Jukic and Vintar (cited in Wimmer et al. 2007:311) has also shown that the following factors influence the use of e-Government:
No Internet use (access);
No interest (in e-Government services);
Lack of awareness (of e-Government services available);
Preference to use traditional means (custom); and
No need yet (will use e-Government services if and when required).
Notwithstanding the above, SITA is promoting the use of e-governance within all spheres of government. This is fast gathering impetus as Hetherington (2011: 26) reports that SITA “provides a secure environment for e-government, allowing citizens to interact with government securely via the Internet, instead of having to travel long distances and queue for hours.” Subban et al. (2007:240) state that the South African government has created Multi-purpose community centres (MPCCs) as one-stop shops that provide a wide range of government services and products under one roof. Such centres improve communication between government and its beneficiaries, as well provide government information on the (at least) six government departments that comprise an MPCC.
There is currently little importance attributed to use of ICT within the DSR. The website hosts limited information as gleaned incidentally and published. The calendar on the website does not include all activities/events/programmes for the year, so visitors to the website are not made aware of all the activities and programmes scheduled for the rest of the year. Many officials refrain from utilizing their emails optimally, opting rather for telephonic communication. Similarly, lack of sharing of information by various committees and sub-committees contribute to the ethos of mistrust prevalent in the organization.
The IT Governance Institute (2005:57) states that the “success of ongoing consensus within the enterprise depends on how well management communicates with its stakeholders in building a common culture, and in common acceptance and ownership of
its mission and strategy.” Effective information-sharing activities for consensus is often referred to as two-way communication. Decisions based on this knowledge base will provide strategic direction for achievement of value creation and organisational objectives.
At present there is no use being made of social media platforms to promote the activities of the DSR, which is deemed an essential aspect for enhanced communication. Whilst the State Information and Technology Agency (SITA), which manages all government technology activities, had until very recently not allowed the use of social media by departments as a direct result of concerns that officials will spend much of their time on such platforms, it has of late reviewed this perspective.
McCabe (2012:4) defines social media as “content that is generated by users.” Such content could include user’s ratings of articles on news sites, to uploading of photos or videos on YouTube to publishing personal information on Facebook.
GCIS is now championing the promotion of use of social media in the light of technological advancement and increasing usage of these platforms by the public, especially the youth who form a key target market for government. The Western Cape Provincial Government already has an established Directorate for Social Media based in the Office of the Premier, and this directorate is being used extensively by the GCIS to promote the benefits of these platforms for government. The DSR is currently revamping its website to include Twitter and Facebook as two key social media platforms.
The above situation holds dire consequences for the accountability of the DSR to the citizens of KZN, as well as the sharing of information within the DSR to minimize the ‘silo’
effect of components and officials working very often not in sync with each other. The use of the CSC as a support service to all facets of the department needs to be maximized to ensure optimum service delivery through the adoption of strategic communication for good governance. A public policy approach is advocated to examine the current communication process in DSR.