Government to switch to open-source software

[Dave A]

The Cabinet has approved a policy and strategy to implement free and open source software (Foss) in government departments, government communications head Themba Maseko said on Thursday.

"All new software developed for or by the government will be based on open standards and government will itself migrate current software to Foss," he told a media briefing at Parliament following Wednesday's Cabinet meeting.

This strategy would lower administration costs and enhance local information technology skills. The Cabinet noted that all major IT vendors in the country had supported the initiative and made contributions to developing Foss, he said.

Government departments would now incorporate Foss in their planning programmes.
full story from M&G here

[duncan drennan]

They've actually been saying this for quite a while, but their actions haven't matched up with their words so far.

[Dave A]

Good grief. October 2005! No wonder stuff takes so long to happen.

[stephanfx]

I saw that the new traffic licensing website is also done using Joomla as it's interface. Me and a friend were talking about this fact and stated that the government is either getting stingy with its money or it is getting smarter

The new site is at http://www.enatis.co.za

[Dave A]

Aah yes. The wonderful new program that means I can't get my driver licence renewed. Apparently in KZN they are only processing emergency documentation, and my driver licence on the verge of expiry does not count.

[stephanfx]

Sorry to hear that, here in PTA, things are just as (pat)hectic. A guy who works with me, scheduled a renewing of his license before the system went offline.

Now he has to do learners and driving tests again. It really is a pain in the @$$.