Demystifying Digital Transformation
By Job Angula
Digital transformation should be leveraged as a strategic enabler for efficient service delivery. The advent of information technology means that technology should be utilised to streamline operations. What is digital transformation? A simple definition of digital transformation is the adoption of digital technology to enhance efficiency and spur innovation.
As a patriotic Namibian, I have come to realise that open collaboration and system integration is the key to effectively digitising services. Siloed operations could significantly hamper the effectiveness of a digital transformation program. The reality today is that information technology has become a strategic enabler of efficient business processes and outdated manual processes continue to hamper innovation. Why is it that when applying for a passport, Home Affairs asks for copies of identification documents when such documents were issued by Home Affairs? An ID card is a print out of an electronic record so should it not already exist on some system? Perhaps it’s a measure to combat fraud but is that the most efficient way to do it?
In a country with rampant youth unemployment, it still baffles me as to why some organisations still require a job applicant to submit physical copies of their identification documents and qualifications when applying for a job. This is an issue because the jobs that do get advertised attract thousands of applicants each submitting not less than four pages out of which only a handful of the applicants are selected for interviews and only one applicant gets hired. If one quantifies and extrapolates this over a calendar year, it is possible that millions of pieces of paper go to waste. Talk about climate change and deforestation. The unfortunate part is that all these copies need to be certified and so one wonders, how much time, stamps and ink can the commissioners of oath save if we come up with innovative recruitment methods?
For example when you register a business as a sole proprietor in the Netherlands, the Dutch Chamber of Commerce automatically informs the Tax Authorities for VAT registration. Furthermore, the tax filing system is automatically pre-populated with known income and wage taxes paid when filing annual tax returns. One only needs to validate and verify that the information is correct. Won’t such collaborative integrations aid NAMRA with their tax collection activities? Collaboration and system integration possibilities are endless: Ministry of education integration with universities, universities with NSFAS, NSFAS with banks and NAMRA to name a few. I am talking about a direct application programming interface (API) endpoint to deliver data in realtime and not manual submissions.
There should be a balance between the needs of the urban and rural populations. Manual paper based processes should be reserved for those that do not have access to the internet and digital options should become the norm. Namibia has a unique opportunity to become the Estonia of Africa given our small population. Namibians need to challenge assumptions and identify new possibilities. Strategic questions such as “why do we do it this way?” or “is this the best way to do this?” should be asked in order to pave the way for digital transformation. We should not get bogged down by bureaucracy and stuck with the notion of “this is how it is historically done” because that impedes innovation and our digital progress as a nation.
