Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] Local Governments Should Adopt a Business Model
Mymoena, Congratulations on the progress of your project. I am glad to see that ICT is really hitting home. Citywide ERP Solution? Wow! When I hear about corruption in Africa and other developing countries, I usually wonder how a country like the United States or UK would have been in the absences of the checks and balances from technology/electronic systems, yet dealing with the current 21st Century (SMART and sophisticated) human beings within the society. With that in mind, I'm really curious as to what the reaction of some of the politicians and local government leaders (including local elders) would be. Do they feel violated, disarmed or even colonized by these electronic systems? Mymoena, is it possible to share some of the real time social and political related implementation issues that you are encountering in this project. (I mean, let's assume that we are holding the technical/infrastructural issues constant for a moment, because there are myriads of them.) Thanks. Molly Egondu Uzoh Learning Right Technologies P. O. Box 51616 San Jose, CA 95151 Phone: (408) 531-1967 [EMAIL PROTECTED] At www.learningright.com we respect your right2learn the right thing, the right way; and at the right place, the right time and the right price. On Friday, May 27, 2005, Mymoena Ismail wrote: > Not all local authorities work on a cash basis. In South African > legislation (i.e., the Municipal Financial Management Act) requires > local authorities to account for every cent spent and income received. > The City of Cape Town recently implemented a SAP ERP solution to better > manage its finances but also to ensure that there exists one back-end > system to support all related e-governance projects. This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For past messages, see: http://www.dot-com-alliance.org/archive.html
Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] Local Governments Should Adopt a Business Model
Dear Mymoena Ismail and Colleagues: I do not know the legislation in South Africa, but it would be normal for the legislation to expect that entities account for every cent paid out and received. When there is reference to "cash basis" accounting it refers to how cash receipts and payments are handled in the accounts, and how invoices and accruals are handled. Most government systems ignore invoices and accruals...which is, in my view, a ridiculous situation...but legal for most government entities and funds, while being illegal since around 1880 for the corporate world. Talk about a double standard! When you talk about the South African Municipal Financial Management Act, does it require an entity to maintain "balance sheet accounts" and do its financial reporting with a full balance sheet as well as an income and expenditure statement? It might. Some progressive countries, notably New Zealand, have pushed forward to improve public sector accounting, but most countries firmly stick to weak and outmoded accountancy requirements that facilitate poor management of resources and grand corruption. Peter Burgess Peter Burgess Tr-Ac-Net in New York 212 772 6918 [EMAIL PROTECTED] The Transparency and Accountability Network With Kris Dev in Chennai India and others in South Asia, Africa and Latin America http://tr-ac-net.blogspot.com In a message dated 5/27/2005, Mymoena Ismail wrote: > Not all local authorities work on a cash basis. In South African > legislation (i.e., the Municipal Financial Management Act) requires > local authorities to account for every cent spent and income received. > The City of Cape Town recently implemented a SAP ERP solution to better > manage its finances but also to ensure that there exists one back-end > system to support all related e-governance projects. > > > On Mon, May 23, 2005, Peter Burgess wrote: > > > Following up on postings by Janice Brodman and Ed Cherlin ... the > > interesting thing about a company is that the stakeholders who are > > interested in its "value" look at both balance sheet and the profit or > > cash flow past and future. This is very helpful in thinking about what > > works and what does not. Governments (including local governments) do > > their accounting on a cash basis that cannot reflect the financial > > performance of the government entity in a meaningful way because > > expenditures that have life beyond the current period are essentially > > "off the books". It is a weak system, and I am sure has stayed in > > vogue for that very reason. This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For past messages, see: http://www.dot-com-alliance.org/archive.html
Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] Using ICT to Foster Development of a New District
Dear Davis, I can't offer an existing program, but can suggest some elements of a holistic approach to your problem. I'm assuming that you have little influence over the roads and power supply. I wonder where you currently email from, and what the local situation is regarding distance from cyber cafes and phone networks - perhaps you will have to arrange your own VSAT. You also mention the President, so I wonder if what you are doing might be some kind of pilot project. If so, that could influence some of the decisions you might take regarding building your local ICT4D initiatives. If in the long run you would be serving a wider area than just your local district then you could have more ambitious ideas for developing local skills and your general approach to technology transfer and your ICT4D programme - too big an issue for this mail but important to consider. I'm assuming you want: * Effective use of ICTs/digital technologies at the district headquarters, so that the administration is efficient, appropriate and transparent. * Improved communication "upwards and across" with central government and other district offices * Improved communication and administration of local services such as health and education. * Improved communication and administration regarding individuals in the districts you serve. * Maximum local economic benefit i.e. investments in ICTs should as far as possible impact positively on the local economy rather than draining resources to outside suppliers of goods and services. This means that you should be looking carefully at developing such local provision. These are suggestions: Before you place any orders for equipment you should set up a mechanism for informed debate amongst key stakeholders about the adoption of ICTs/digital technology in the district. (From now on I'll just call it ICTs for short - but I mean it in its wider digital sense - i.e not only computers). Start with some awareness training for local government officials and other key players, such as representatives from education, health, and local community groups. The training should: * "Break the ice" regarding operating a computer (give participants enough hands on experience to feel that "If I need to use a computer and I am given more training then I am confident about doing so".) * Demonstrate key applications and their relevance (so people can see how these relate to the kind of information processing and communication issues relevant to their personal responsibilities and tasks and to those of their staff and others involved.) * Introduce other issues relating to Total Costs of Ownership (such as staff training, software, maintenance and replacement of equipment, electrical power and generators, costs of going online ) * Start the informed debate and lay plans for continuing it. * Use the need for continuing the debate as a focus for a short needs analysis and planning project, to help participants to analyse what tasks go with what applications. You will have done your homework before hand and will have a "stock cupboard full of information for reference". (We are preparing an online one for an LGov course in Nigeria, so you are welcome to dip into that as well as your own). Don't just replicate the solutions that people have adopted elsewhere. Find out what they choose *and why*. You may want to achieve the same ends but in a different way. People often buy what they are used to, or what their technical team prefer to work on, or what is compatible with existing equipment. You aren't used to anything yet and you haven't got a technical team so your starting point is rather different. You are not tied into the past like other people are, so explore all the options. You have already heard the Simputer discussed. Find out all you can about unconventional solutions. I don't know about the Simputer, but I have been with the Solo during field tests. It was with the second generation prototype, which, along with its little solar panels was carried in a small suitcase - not much bigger than a modern generously sized briefcase/pilot's bag. We never needed to think about electricity supplies and we were able to send and receive emails wherever we went - way out in rural areas with no telephones or cyber cafes. Do look at all the new ideas that are becoming available. I haven't seen the latest version of the Solo, but I have seen a photo of it being put through its paces by Fantsuam Foundation in Kafanchan. You could learn a lot by visiting there, as they are rural , with problems similar to your own. I don't know if you will need to arrange your own communications - but if so you would also find it useful to see what they are doing in Kafanchan with their VSAT and discover their plans for rolling that service out into the wider community. There is far too much to discuss here in any detail, but i am happy to be contacted off list. I hope this has been some help. Pam Pamela McLean CawdNet Convenor
