Digital transformation in government was highlighted in the 2026 SONA as one of its national priorities in building an ethical, capable, and developmental state. This is a comforting statement of intent by government to embed technology as part of its infrastructure in the enablement of service delivery.
WHILE THE PROFESSIONALISATION OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE POLICY FRAMEWORK also took centre stage at the 2026 SONA, it would be amiss not to use the opportunity to highlight how digital transformation could support professionalisation of the public service holistically, without mapping it to a specific pillar of the framework:
- Current public servants could enhance their digital literacy, capabilities, and skills by integrating technology in the delivery of their day-to-day functions. This promotes continuous learning and development by embracing new innovations, such as the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and technology in the workplace.
- It creates a working environment that attracts and competes for top talent with digital acumen, bringing the level of expertise needed to innovate and digitally transform the public service.
- It propels the environment to become one that thrives in innovation, directly translating to efficient service delivery and easier access to the government and its services.
There is no doubt that the professional of today and that of the future will demand work environments that embrace technological innovations as part of key enablers for achieving improved productivity and efficiency. Future-ready work environments embrace AI, technology, and other innovations to achieve digital transformation in the delivery of their daily functions. It is paramount for government stay in line with such innovations to be able to position public service as an attractive environment for professionals.
While digital transformation in government stays on the table, some harsh realities need to be acknowledged:
- While urban areas may have the infrastructure and budgets to embrace innovation, rural communities often get left behind, causing a great divide when it comes to transforming communities to gain better access to government services. The inequality gap is too wide which deprives rural communities of the much-needed infrastructure, which poses challenges to basic functions such as communication, easier access to payment platforms, and easier accessibility to government services wholistically in such communities.
- A lack of understanding of the risks, implications and opportunities that come with digital transformation. As a relatable example for many of us, COVID-19 brought about a drastic overhaul of the world of work. For many government institutions, it prompted extemporaneous reliance on digital tools to communicate and execute on daily functions while providing services to its people. Government had to be agile and rely on a digitally connected workforce to respond to a crisis that threatened national security and global stability.
- The need for a strong ethical culture to aid the responsible implementation and use of AI, technologies, and innovations to digitally transform the public service. As the world evolves, so do the risks and opportunities for fraud, manipulation, and deliberate exploitation of the opportunity. This is
why is it crucial to position ethics at the centre of this transition. - In keeping up with cyber threats and security, perpetrators become more knowledgeable and smarter, increasing the risk exposure that comes with digital transformation. Government deals with consequential data and information which could compromise the national security and stability of the country, including legal implications from violating information governance and data protection laws.
Government must constantly invest in responding to such risks by continuously learning, collaborating with other governments that are much more advanced and taking advantage of available structures that offer international capacity-building on digital transformation reforms such as the United Nations Development Programme to ensure that the South African government improves its knowledge and becomes much better equipped and positioned to respond to any risks and opportunities in enabling the digital transformation agenda.
WHAT IS GOVERNMENT DOING ABOUT THIS?
Government has profiled, through its National Development Plan (NDP) 2030, digital infrastructure as an enabler for economic growth, prompting policy reforms to aid this developmental agenda. The advocacy for the development and implementation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) policy framework as an example, or using platforms such as the G20 to advocate for investment in digital infrastructure in Africa and actioning strategies that target a phased-in approach to digital transformation reforms based on government’s resource availability and priority areas. This leads us to government’s digital transformation strategy for some insights.
In May 2025, the Presidency launched the Roadmap to Digital Transformation for Government, a critical digital enablement reform with a purpose of creating a single platform to access government services. This reform is a target milestone for Phase II of Operation Vulindlela.
Through Operation Vulindlela, government has set up the Digital Service Unit (DSU) working with the Government Information Technology Officers Council (GITOC) to drive digital transformation reforms across various government sectors, collaborating with stakeholders of interest such as the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies and its ministry. The immediate mandate for these structures is to bring to life the Roadmap for Digital Transformation for Government.
ABOUT THE ROADMAP TO DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FOR GOVERNMENT
The roadmap is being implemented in two phases within the window period 2025–2030. Once again, this focuses on government’s immediate priorities to respond to digital infrastructure issues.
Phase 1 (2025–2027): Prioritising the strengthening of social protection – Government wants to digitise social protection and digital identity infrastructure, as these will reduce fraud and provide more reliable and integrated services using technology.
Phase 2 (2028–2030): Focused on expansion of technological advancement –This will build on phase 1 initiatives and introduce further innovative solutions across the ecosystem to provide a central access point to government services. The President, during the 2026 SONA, spoke about the MyMzansi platform that government has developed as an example.
There are four fundamentals that underpin this strategy:
- Digital identity solutions
- Centralised data exchange platforms to integrate government services
- Digital payment channels that are modernised for secure and efficient services
- Centralised reliable digital channels to access government’s information and services
It is quite clear that government’s priority is to make its services more accessible to its citizens through implementing technological infrastructure reforms.
WILL DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION DRIVE GROWTH, INCLUSION, AND EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY?
We should not lose sight of the reality that government wants to improve citizens’ lives and ensure the sustainability of livelihoods. With funding being a limited resource in the context of its competing priorities, it is still a point of contention as to how much of investment and allocation needs to be geared towards digital transformation reforms to continue improving and sustaining livelihoods.
Without a doubt, access to information enables economic activity, and by government prioritising such reforms to make daily transacting, access to information and basic services easy, this will perpetuate economic activity, drive economic growth and improve service delivery.
CONCLUSION
While these reflections focused on digital transformation reforms for economic activity and improved service delivery, there is still a use-case for digital transformation to strengthen functions such as compliance and reporting within realm of strengthened financial management and governance. Manual processes open-up opportunities
for fraud and error. Solutions to automate functions such as the financial close process, reporting, risk management, and compliance are as important for government. These innovations have built-in mechanisms that can strengthen the control environment and governance in government’s key processes. There is no doubt for the need for accelerated efforts to also drive such reforms, however, with government’s competing priorities, it remains to be seen how quickly government can get there.
Author
Mbusi Ndlovu CA(SA), Manager: Public Sector Growth at SAICA
