Title:	THE STRATEGIC ROLE OF ICT IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLIC SERVICE: THE CIO POSITIONING WITHIN THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Author(s):	John Otumile, Ray Kekwaletswe
ISBN:	978-972-8939-47-2
Editors:	Miguel Baptista Nunes, Pedro Isaías and Philip Powell
Year:	2011
Edition:	Single
Keywords:	Strategic Role, ICT, Chief Information Officer, Positioning, Public Service, Organizational Structure, South Africa.
Type:	Full Paper
First Page:	95
Last Page:	102
Language:	English
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Full Contents:	click to dowload
Paper Abstract:	Post-apartheid South Africa is still faced with public service delivery challenges. These include the daunting task of redressing the imbalances of the past and meeting the needs of the approximately 48 million South Africans. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has been accepted globally as an enabler of both the public and the private sector businesses. This paper argues that the correct positioning of a chief information officer (CIO) is vital to achieving public service delivery. On the contrary, empirical evidence shows that Chief Information Officers in the South African public sector tend not to have the necessary influence to use ICTs strategically to change the plight of the millions of poor South Africans, through service delivery. To this point, this paper argues that the situation public CIOs find themselves could be attributed to various factors, one of which is the incorrect placement of the CIO position within the organizational structure. Using Structuration Theory as a lens, the contribution of this paper is towards improving the rigor with which we understand chief information officers and their place in the improvement of South African public service delivery.
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