Despite the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) facing a financial crunch, several departments refuse to move from Telkom lines to Voice of Internet Protocol (VOIP).
This was revealed in an audit conducted by the Gauteng Department of e-Government.
VOIP converts a person’s voice into digital data transmitted over the internet, enabling calls from computers, smartphones or specialised VOIP phones.
This would result in a 91% annual saving or R33,903,178.12.
The departments that are the biggest culprits are:
· Health – R29,143,931.24
· Education – R3,218,648.96
· Social Development – R916,918.19
Given the financial crisis the GPG is in due to reckless and excessive expenditure, departments should be saving costs which is not the case.
The department had a target of connecting 50 new VOIP sites per quarter, only three were connected due to the limited number of requests from the departments.
The DA Gauteng will engage with various departments through the Portfolio Committee on e-Government to find out why they do not want to move to VOIP despite the lower costs.
A DA-led Gauteng provincial government would prioritise expenditure that brings the best value to the residents of Gauteng. We would immediately ensure government departments move from Telkom lines to VOIP to save costs and re-use savings to improve service delivery.