The technology behind the service is quite innovative if one takes into account that government services are normally the last on the uptake of technological possibilities. As an example, it was recently reported that the Department of Justice’s IT helpdesk has to deal with complaints from users (magistrates!) that the games on the computer doesn’t work. I have myself witnessed at various courts in and around the Cape (from Bellville, Wynberg, to Kuilsrivier, to Worcester and beyond – not to mention Cape Town itself where computers are seemingly only used to produce misspelt signs to advise the public of closing times and delays) that barely a single computer is really effectively utilised in the legal process, or at all.

Unfortunately the business of lawyering involves a lot of paperwork which cannot be avoided, but a new initiative by die Department of Justice seems to be the first step to shove the justice system into the twenty-first century. Since the beginning of the year the Department of Justice has been implementing an electronic case management system in the high courts (in particular the Cape of Good Hope Provincial Division) – which will be a great help to find a case if one only has the details of one of the parties to the case. I have witnessed myself on various occasions how members of the public had become greatly frustrated, and understandably so, when trying to obtain copies of their divorce or rehabilitation orders and being shown the court rolls of the past years – having to manually to manually page through the well-worn books.

The fact that SARS had managed to convince a good 600 000 tax payers to utilise the e-filing system (who doesn’t value the extra 3 months to submit one’s returns) shows how utilising technological innovation in the public domain can improve service delivery. Another obvious benefit is the costs savings (no manual capturing of tax returns and no standing in queues to hand in returns) to society in general.

The only negative thing one can say about the e-filing system is that it is a shame that it is the tax-collection system that is so well-organised… one would ideally wish that home affairs is well organised and the tax system disorganised, but so is life.