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Purpose and aim of the
website
Scope of information on
the website
Languages
Other website
features
Frequency of
updating
Ownership of information
Document
formats
Need help with problems experienced on the
website?
Purpose and aim of the website
The purpose of the South African Services website is to provide
information about services offered by the South African government in one place
The intended users of the website are South African residents, current or
prospective South African businesses and organisations, and citizens from other
countries who need services from the South African government.
A critical target audience is intermediaries, such as Thusong
Service Centres, Community Development Workers (CDWs) and the Gateway Call
Centre, who provide information to those unable to directly access the
Internet.
Scope
of information on the website
The website contains information about services provided by national
government departments and some government bodies. Information is categorised
according to three audiences:
- Services
for residents: services for South African citizens and other residents
- Services
for organisations: services relevant to organisations and businesses in
South Africa
- Services
for foreign nationals: information for citizens from other countries who
need services from the South African government.
The information in each of these categories is structured
according to topics. The topics are further divided into different areas where
the government offers services.
Links to related websites
are displayed in the right navigation bar of pages with information on
services.
Languages
All information on the website is published in the eleven official languages of South Africa,
namely English, Afrikaans, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sesotho sa Leboa,
Sesotho, Xitsonga, Tshivenda , siSwati and Setswana.
Information is originally written in English and then posted on
the website. Information in the other languages is posted after it is
translated.
Other website features
- You
can use the contact us
page to comment on or enquire about the Government Services website.
- The
SA Government Online
link provides access to the South Africa Government Online website, which
is the official entry point to South African government information.
- The
site map
is a visual representation of the website structure. It is presented
hierarchically, breaking down the site’s information into increasingly
specific subject areas. It therefore enables you to orientate yourself to the
website’s content structure.
- The
home page lists the services most visited by users. The list is adapted
according to the statistics for pages visited.
- A
search box is available on all pages on the website. When you enter a
search term, the complete website will be searched for this word.
- Links
to external websites are indicated by the wording ‘outside link – opens in
new window’ which will appear in a box when your cursor is moved over the
link. The website will open in a new browser window.
Ownership of information
Government departments and bodies are the owners of the services
information that is published on the website. They are therefore accountable
for the comprehensiveness, accuracy and currency of information on the website.
Government Communications (GCIS) is responsible for the overall management and co-ordination of
the website’s content. Frequency of updating The website is updated on a continuous basis. We post information
on the website as and when it is provided by government departments or bodies.
However, the developers of the Government Services website cannot guarantee the
currency of information that is published on other websites that we link to. See
Terms and Conditions, par. 4.3.
Document
formats
The main format for information on the website is HTML. In some
cases, PDF versions of documents (e.g. Acts, forms) are provided to preserve
the original layout and to assist users to download and print it.
To open PDF documents, you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. It will open documents directly in
your browser.
Sometimes it takes long to open PDF documents. In this case, we
recommend that you download it to your computer and open it from there.
Tips to download PDF documents to your computer:
When using Internet
Explorer as your browser:
- With
your mouse, right click on the document you want to download.
- In the drop-down menu, choose
‘Save target as’.
- In
the ‘Save as’ window, choose the location on your hard drive where you want
to save the document and click on the ‘Save’ button. The file will be
downloaded to the location you have specified.
- Open
your Acrobat Reader application and open the documents that you have
downloaded.
When using Mozilla Firefox as
your browser:
- With
your mouse, right click on the link to the document that you want to download.
In the drop-down menu, choose "Save Link As."
- In
the "Save Page As" window choose the location on your hard drive
where you want to save the document and click on the SAVE button. The file
will be downloaded to the location you have specified.
Open your Acrobat Reader application and open the documents that you
have downloaded.
Need help with problems
experienced on the website?
Please contact us (electronic@gcis.gov.za) if you have problems with the website. |