About the conference

The adoption of the National Development Plan in 2012, with Vision 2030 assured a better life for all citizens and a renewed sense of hope and optimism in the country. Now, with 2030 looming large upon us, our strides in achieving our developmental agenda have faltered due to many reasons including the COVID-19 Pandemic and the recent geo-political developments.

To mitigate against this, the 2024–2029 Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP), as announced by President Ramaphosa in the 2025 State of the Nation Address (SONA), listed three key priorities for the 7th Administration:

• • Driving inclusive growth and job creation.
• • Reducing poverty and tackling the high cost of living.
• • Building a capable, ethical, and developmental state.

At stake here is firstly having in place, a government that works for the people. Said President Ramaphosa: “We need a state that is capable and competent, underpinned by a professional public service. South Africans want a state that treats all people with dignity, humility and respect. A state with leaders who are prepared to serve our people with complete dedication, and public servants who are ethical, skilled and properly qualified.”

Secondly, such a government needs to embrace the culture of innovation in the Public Sector. Given the rapid technological explosion and its proven limitless potential to reshape the workspace and the global economy, government should constantly work innovatively to explore new and effective solutions to ensure universal access to quality services.

It is thus crucial that an innovative landscape for digital government is created. Digitalising various government services and information creates a digital government and an inclusive digital society where all citizens, regardless of location, age or disability can benefit from the opportunities offered by innovation to improve their quality of life. It is for this reason that government, led by the Presidency is now driving the Digital Transformation Roadmap for the Public Sector.

Press Statement

CPSI hosts its 19th Public Sector Innovation Conference in Ekurhuleni

The Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) kicked off its 19th Public Sector Innovation Conference in Ekurhuleni, emphasizing a renewed commitment to citizen centric digital transformation and inclusion across all levels of government. The two-day conference, held at the ANEW Hotel and Conference Centre, on August 28-29, brings together a cross-section of innovators from all spheres of government, business, academia and civil society. The conference aims to explore strategies for accelerating digital adoption in government services and fostering greater inclusivity for all citizens, ensuring that advances in technology benefit all members of society.

The two-day conference is centered around addressing the growing demand for faster and more digitally accessible public services nationwide. Its primary objective is to facilitate the exchange of digital knowledge and innovative ideas, aimed at enhancing and developing solutions to support public sector service delivery.

In her opening address, Acting Executive Director – CPSI, Ms. Lydia Sebokedi, emphasized that the conference will not be a talk shop and that real tangible digital solutions must be developed and implemented post knowledge sharing in the two-day conference.
“The purpose of this conference is to bring together all government digital solution developers, to share skills and develop new solutions to help reduce administrative and citizen costs.” Said Acting Executive Director – CPSI, Ms. Lydia Sebokedi

“The purpose of this conference is to bring together all government digital solution developers, to share skills and develop new solutions to help reduce administrative and citizen costs.” Said Acting Executive Director – CPSI, Ms. Lydia Sebokedi
“The adoption of the National Development Plan in 2012, with Vision 2030 assured a better life for all citizens and a renewed sense of hope and optimism in the country. Now, with 2030 looming large upon us, our strides in achieving our developmental agenda have faltered due to many reasons including the COVID-19 Pandemic and the recent geo-political developments” she added.

Ms Sebokedi also spoke proudly about DevCon - a developers’ conference which is running parallel with the main conference. With an attendance role of well over 100 public service developers, , the main objective behind DevCon was to encourage the sharing and insourcing of government digital skills to aid various public service needs across the country. His keynote address, the Hon. Nkosi Mzamo Buthelezi, Minister for the Department of Public Service and Administration, acknowledged all the digital champions in the room and welcomed all attendees, with a great emphasis on the importance of embracing digital innovation within the public sector.
“Over the past 19 years - CPSI has proven one truth beyond doubt, and that is when we innovate with purpose, we deliver with impact, and this has been proven through award winning service solutions over the years. For all these years CPSI has proven that innovation is not only important, but rather powerful.” Said Hon. Nkosi Mzamo Buthelezi, Minister for the Department of Public Service and Administration.

He highlighted that the conference was taking place at a time when the country is focusing on citizen centric transformation and that this journey is bending in a new direction. Said Minister Buthelezi: “We are in a time were innovation demands courage and clarity and we must be a government that works for all those it seeks to serve” The CPSI is a government component reporting to the Minister for the Public Service and Administration, and it’s mandated to drive and entrench the culture and practice of innovation in the public sector to improve service delivery.
In fulfilling this mandate, the CPSI has to Advance needs-driven research and development, unearth new innovations, support the replication of innovative solutions and partner with public, private, academic and civil society sector for further digital solutions.“Over the past 19 years - CPSI has proven one truth beyond doubt, and that is when we innovate with purpose, we deliver with impact, and this has been proven through award winning service solutions over the years. For all these years CPSI has proven that innovation is not only important, but rather powerful.” Said Hon. Nkosi Mzamo Buthelezi, Minister for the Department of Public Service and Administration.
The attendees of the conference included, local and international digital decision-makers throughout all spheres of government, innovation practitioners, system developers, service delivery champions, partners from the private, NGO as well as academic sectors.
The event will also be a springboard for the upcoming yearly CPSI Public Sector Innovation Awards taking place later this year in November.

For more information about CPSI visit www.cpsi.co.za or follow our social media platforms for daily developments and updates contact:
Mmabatho Mashaba
Tel: 012 683 2800 / 2814
Email: Mmabatho.Mashaba@cpsi.co.za

Issued by:
Centre for Public Service Innovation
Pretoria