[okfn-za] [HacksHackers Jo'burg] Re: [HacksHackers Cape Town] Open Source in Government

Fri Aug 16 14:42:15 UTC 2013

Hmm, agree.

Well, I can say that a number of universities and schools are using Ubuntu,
plus that hilariously named Freedom Toaster thang, which is a public kiosk
that burns copies of freeware. Aside from the cost savings, there might be
an opportunity cost since open-source software could encourage young people
to programme well, whatever they wanted to programme. That speaks to
attempts to encourage innovation in rural and marginalised communities.
Tentative I know, but still ...

On 11 August 2013 12:20, Adi Eyal <adi at burgercom.co.za> wrote:

> Gobsmacked! I knew that open textbooks were money savers but that is
> some serious belt-tightening right there.
>
> I'm not so sure about the exact argument to follow with the open source
> idea.
>
> 1. The standard argument is cost-savings (followed by
> counter-arguments that open software sucks).
> 2. My idea was to argue for long-term economic strengthening by
> creating an industry around servicing government with a related result
> of sharing open source systems between departments (leading to
> reduction in duplication, standardisation of protocols and generally a
> much stronger eco-system).
> 3. Your suggestion takes it one step further and argues for a general
> culture of openness.
>
> For 1. I would like to avoid discussions around better vs worse
> software. Firstly it is a never-ending argument and change-makers
> quickly lose interest (leaving stuff IT bureaucrats arguing with open
> source fanatics). This issue is not a technical one.
> For 3, I completely buy into this ideology, pushing open data, open
> knowledge and open source will hopefully result in a more open
> government (I see open government as a way of thinking rather than a
> set of services that government provides). I think that this is too
> much to sell too quickly. Overloading the argument with too many
> ideals will possibly result in the message getting lost in the
> details.
> I prefer 2 - though, I might not be evaluating all the issues correctly.
>
> Happy to hear your thoughts.
>
> Adi
>
>
> On 11 August 2013 11:04, Nimi Hoffmann <Nimi.Hoffmann at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hi Adi
> >
> > Apologies for my long silence this last month.  I've been working crazy
> > hours.
> >
> > I think you could add to this the economic benefits of using open
> knowledge.
> > For example, think of Siyavula's open textbook project for maths and
> > science. In addition to saving a lot of money for the department of basic
> > education, it's also been a lifeline for kids who don't receive
> textbooks as
> > they can read them on MXit and online.
> >
> > It now costs government about R30 to print and distribute one of these
> > textbooks, whereas previously the Department of Basic Education had to
> pay
> > R150 per book[1]. In 2012, the Department of Education ordered 2.4
> million
> > mathematics and science textbooks from Siyavula. They spent R73 million
> on
> > these open access books, in comparison to an estimated R360 million for
> the
> > same number of books the previous year. This is a saving of R287 million.
> >
> > ________________________________
> >
> > [1] Toby Shapshak. 2012. Free textbooks project helps SA. Times Live.
> > Accessed at:
> >
> http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2012/03/18/free-textbooks-project-helps-sa
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On 5 August 2013 16:18, Adi Eyal <adi at burgercom.co.za> wrote:
> >>
> >> Hi Niki
> >>
> >> On 5 August 2013 16:05, Niki Moore <nikimoore007 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >> > With reference to my previous reply.... I switched over to Linux a few
> >> > months ago, and I am battling with it, it's not as easy as Microsoft
> and
> >> > requires me to phone my support desk almost weekly to find out how to
> >> > install programmes... and there are some of my appliances, like my
> >> > scanner,
> >> > that do not support Linux.  There is a scarcity of technical support
> for
> >> > people who are not computer programmers who have gone onto Linux.  I
> >> > have
> >> > just been having a chat with such a chap, who was telling me that as
> the
> >> > use
> >> > of OSS increases, so companies are forced to offer support, but unless
> >> > you
> >> > have some basic programming knowledge, Linux is extremely frustrating.
> >> > Can
> >> > you imagine your average civil servant handling the programming
> required
> >> > to
> >> > open source?
> >>
> >> I feel your pain. Funnily enough, I just bought a laptop which came
> >> with Windows 8. I battled for about an hour trying to figure it out
> >> and gave up in disgust. However, you're right, Linux is somewhat
> >> difficult for non-techies. Having said that, my sexagenarian motherin
> >> in law has been using Ubuntu for about a year now. She doesn't even
> >> know that she's using it. I'm not trying to sell Linux on the desktop.
> >> For most people used to Windows, it is a difficult switch. I find
> >> MacOS difficult too, but it's mostly because it is a new interface.
> >> Linux though is not the only open source system around. There is lot's
> >> of software that is opensource which runs on Windows.
> >>
> >> More importantly, bespoke software should be written as open source -
> >> there is no reason why software which is built specifically for a
> >> government department should be kept closed. Once built, it should be
> >> shareable with other departments with no fee (except for installation
> >> and support).
> >>
> >> One last thing - I didn't mention why I thought that the open data
> >> groups were a good avenue for this initiative. Open data by itself is
> >> a technical area which doesn't interest most people. If we pair open
> >> data with open government or active citizenry, we have a much more
> >> powerful tool to change society. This project is an example of how
> >> that can happen. Collecting data from government departments is the
> >> first piece of the puzzle.
> >>
> >> Adi
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > On Mon, Aug 5, 2013 at 3:55 PM, Adi Eyal <adi at burgercom.co.za> wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> They refuse to response to my PAIA requests. They have an open data
> >> >> policy - they also administer Microsoft licences valuing over a
> >> >> R100,000,000. I would like policy documents translated to real
> action.
> >> >>
> >> >> Adi
> >> >>
> >> >> On 5 August 2013 15:44, Niki Moore <nikimoore007 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >> > Why don't you ask the SITA?  They announced in their congress last
> >> >> > year
> >> >> > that
> >> >> > they are moving to open-source, so they should have an idea of the
> >> >> > spend
> >> >> > of
> >> >> > each department.
> >> >> >
> >> >> >
> >> >> > On Mon, Aug 5, 2013 at 3:16 PM, Adi Eyal <adi at burgercom.co.za>
> wrote:
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> Hi All
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> I'm working on a personal project which these groups may find
> >> >> >> interesting. I'd like to build a case for why moving government
> >> >> >> departments to using open source software makes economic sense.
> I'm
> >> >> >> doing this by laboriously contacting each government department
> and
> >> >> >> asking them what software they use and how much they pay for it.
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> Yes I know - I may be a little idealistic and a touch naive, but
> I'm
> >> >> >> not trying to argue the philosophical merits of why open source
> >> >> >> software may be better than proprietary software.
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> My logic is simply:
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> If government spends Rx billion annually importing proprietary
> >> >> >> software and they rather redirect that money to the local software
> >> >> >> community for installation, customisation, support and hosting
> then
> >> >> >> we
> >> >> >> can create Y new jobs.
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> It's a lot of work but hopefully I can convince a few more people
> to
> >> >> >> help me. I have data from 5 departments so far with a total annual
> >> >> >> spend of over R26m.
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> I would really appreciate your help. Collecting this information
> is
> >> >> >> time consuming. I plan to collect information across all spheres
> of
> >> >> >> government which you can imagine is a mammoth task. Any
> contribution
> >> >> >> -
> >> >> >> no matter how small would definitely ease the burden.
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> If you want more information - have a look at this link:
> >> >> >> https://github.com/adieyal/gov-software-audit
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> Just one caveat - this project is not about complaining about
> >> >> >> Microsoft or snide comments about whether government is useless,
> >> >> >> inefficient or incompetent. I am an idealist and I prefer a
> naively
> >> >> >> optimistic approach. Even if the project fails (and the odds are
> >> >> >> against it), I think it is a worthwhile cause and will add another
> >> >> >> voice to why this is a good thing.
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> Comments welcome.
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> Adi
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> --
> >> >> >> Adi Eyal
> >> >> >> Data Specialist
> >> >> >> phone: +27 78 014 2469
> >> >> >> skype: adieyalcas
> >> >> >> linkedin: http://za.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Adi/Eyal
> >> >> >>
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> >> >> >
> >> >> >
> >> >> >
> >> >> > --
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> >> >> > 031 - 205-8331
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> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> --
> >> >> Adi Eyal
> >> >> Data Specialist
> >> >> phone: +27 78 014 2469
> >> >> skype: adieyalcas
> >> >> linkedin: http://za.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Adi/Eyal
> >> >>
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> >> >
> >> >
> >> > --
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> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Adi Eyal
> >> Data Specialist
> >> phone: +27 78 014 2469
> >> skype: adieyalcas
> >> linkedin: http://za.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Adi/Eyal
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> --
> Adi Eyal
> Data Specialist
> phone: +27 78 014 2469
> skype: adieyalcas
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