The public cannot pay local councils using their cards, an audit of their IT infrastructure has highlighted.
None of the 15 local councils inspected by the National Audit Office (NAO) offer such a facility. As a result, all payments are being made by cash or cheque, which poses a security problem in view of the risks associated with routine deposits of council cash at the banks, the NAO pointed out.
Some councils, it reported, were having to incur the expense of hiring a security firm to collect and deposit the cash at the bank.
The NAO review was carried out across 15 councils to determine if they have the necessary controls to ensure data confidentiality, integrity and reliability.
The audit also focused on the infrastructure in place to issue permits such as for road closures. Of the 15 councils inspected, only three had a tailor-made system, called ORNIT, with the rest saying the cost of installing such software was prohibitive.
However, even where the system was installed, it was deemed inadequate. Users, for example, are not warned if a particular road has already been blocked.
Even where the ORNIT system was installed it was deemed inadequate
Some of the other issues identified were outdated maps and permit templates as well as no possibility to add new forms as the NAO recommended that councils invest in one centralised system.
In some aspects, the audit analysed all 68 councils. One in every six were found not to be adhering to the legal requirement to livestream meetings as the facility was not functioning.
On the other hand, in nine council offices, the cameras were found to be always on so that all activity within the meeting room throughout the day was streamed.
However, it was still difficult for residents to follow proceedings as the dates of the meetings were not being published in advance. Poor audio quality and a case of a camera being pointed at the wrong angle were also mentioned.
Apart from streaming meetings, councils are also bound to provide an on-demand service so that proceedings can be accessed at a later date.
However, this facility is only being offered in 13 localities.
Shortcomings were also found in the tracking of customer complaints because it turned out that there was no proper indexing facility.