Government services such as applying for a smart ID card, registering a company or collecting social security payments are increasingly being made available via the private sector.
The state's extension of service delivery into the private realm comes as it increasingly taps into the technology backbone banks and retailers have put in place; technology it should have also being investing in for years.
Analysts suggest this shift is likely to gain more momentum as it eases the service delivery burden on the state, and gives the private sector a bigger pool of prospective customers.
However, with the crossover between the public and private sector, there are questions as to how secure citizens' information will be, and whether the state will use the relationship as a means of surveillance.
Within a few days, citizens will be able to apply for smart ID cards through First National Bank (FNB), Standard Bank and the South African Post Office, thanks to government partnering with the private sector to speed up the rollout of issuing 38 million cards. These big four banks will be joined by Nedbank and Absa after agreements are wrapped up.
The Department of Home Affairs' bid to trim queuing time for citizens follows a 2013 collaboration between FNB and the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) that allows entrepreneurs to almost instantaneously register a company, while opening a bank account. That partnership, which aims to trim the red tape burden for companies, was hailed as a world first.
In addition, recipients of social security payments from the South African Social Security Agency can withdraw cash from several of SA's retailers, including Pick n Pay, Shoprite and Spar; a convenience made possible through the move to a card-based electronic system.
IDC analyst Mark Walker says such "public
rivate partnerships on steroids" are a great way of finding mutual solutions as it gives the state a way of improving service delivery, and the private sector a pool of potential clients. He adds government does not have the same level of money to spend on technology.
ICT commentator Adrian Schofield adds, while government may not admit to service delivery failure, it could well be talking with the private sector to boost delivery channels, and it would make sense for institutions such as banks to help it deliver. He anticipates a day when passports and drivers' licences are also delivered through the private sector.
"The banks in SA have seized on technology to improve service delivery; if government can take advantage of that by outsourcing transactions, that's all well and good. It's making good use of infrastructure that somebody else has invested in."
Walker can also see more such solutions being offered, such as passport renewal via an online channel, and the option of popping into a retailer to collect the document. Home affairs has already announced it is set to launch an eChannel, which allows for online application and then collection of cards from banks.
However, Walker has concerns around security and the interface between systems, noting the banks will have to get more out of the service than just more feet in the door. In addition, he says, the partnership will give government more insight into how banks work, which raises surveillance concerns.
Walker adds the banking system will have to be carefully ring-fenced so there is no cross-pollination of data. Already, the banks can connect to home affairs' database to verify identity details via fingerprints.
Lee-Anne van Zyl, CEO of FNB Banking Channels, says the bank's collaboration with the department "will greatly enhance and modernise client verification processes required under the Know-Your-Customer regulation, and will boost our efforts to protect our customers".
None of the other banks, or the department, responded to requests for comment.
However, Mpho Moloi, the department's chief director for channel management, has said a risk assessment has been done on the system to protect it from identity theft, which would be an ongoing process. "We are employing the best hackers to come attempt to hack the eChannel system to ensure our system is secure."
The pilot will run from May to July. In August, an assessment will be done to see if the system works.
Schofield adds he is "all in favour of government using the private sector to improve service delivery – as long as that objective is achieved and it is not a means of siphoning funds into inappropriate hands".
