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Help:
Contact directory search
About
the contact directory database
GCIS maintains
a database of contact information for government structures and
bodies, media organisations, journalists, and a selection of other
institutions such as political parties, foreign representatives
in South Africa, tertiary and other institutions. The directory
contains general contact information for each of the institutions/organisations
represented, names and contact information for the heads of these
institutions/organisations and in some cases additional contact
persons, e.g. media liaison officers, senior managers, etc. The
database can be browsed
or searched,
while selected contact information is available as separate contact
directories and lists that can be printed or downloaded as complete
documents.
Note: The contact
directory does not contain the details of every employee who works
for each organisation/institution!
Search and browse: an overview
When you first
connect to the contact directory, you are presented with a brief
description of what it entails as well as options to either browse
or search the database or print or download the contact directories
and lists.
- browse:
Contact details are accessible per category. Browse national
government structures, provincial
governments, government
structures, bodies, commissions and task groups, international
representation in South Africa, media
contacts, political parties and private sector or information officers. You can access the
contact details of a person or organisation/institution by clicking
on the appropriate entry which appears on the screen. While browsing
these categories you can download or print the various categories
or the specific contact detail page you have accessed.
- search:
Search through the complete directory, either by doing a Quick
search or an Advanced search. You can search for surname,
first name, job title/position and institution/organisation.
- print
or download: Individual directories - Government Directory,
Directory of Contacts and Media Directory - as well
as certain contact lists frequently requested can be printed or
downloaded.
Quick search
Quick search
allows you to search on any word or phrase contained in the contact
directory.
How to search
- To enter a query into Quick search, type in one
or more descriptive words or phrases. To use more than one search
term or phrase, use a comma between the separate search terms.
The Quick search will return all entries containing any
of the words and/or phrases in your query.
Examples:
- smith will return all entries containing the word Smith
- mbeki, zuma
will return all entries containing the word Mbeki
as well as all entries containing the word Zuma
- environmental
affairs
will return all entries containing the phrase environmental
affairs, e.g. Department
of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Ministry
of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
- pahad, foreign
affairs will return all entries containing the word Pahad as well as all entries containing the phrase foreign affairs, e.g. Aziz
Pahad and Department
of Foreign Affairs.
- To specify
the number of search results to be displayed per page,
select 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 results per page from the dropdown
menu. The default setting provides 10 results, which is the fastest.
- Click on
the Search button
for a list of relevant results.
- To empty
the search field or, in other words, clear the criteria you
have specified, click on the Clear
button at the bottom of the Quick search.
How
to select search terms
Case
Searches are not case sensitive.
Example:
- Smith,
SmItH and smith will all return the same result
Phrases
To search for a phrase, type the phrase exactly as it should appear
in the results.
Example:
- foreign affairs will appear together in all results exactly as you have entered them, e.g. Department of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Tip: Be careful
when using phrases for searching names and surnames of officials.
For example, when entering thabo
mbeki, zero results will be returned. The reason for this
is that the phrase Thabo
Mbeki does not exist, as the correct phrase is Thabo
Mvuyelwa Mbeki. Rather use:
- thabo, mbeki
or
- use the
Advanced search.
Wildcard
searches
You can search for part of a word by means of wildcards. You can
effect a wildcard search by adding an asterisk (*) at the beginning,
end or both ends of a search string. This means that the search
may return results that do not exactly match your search string.
Examples:
- tha* will return all entries containing words starting with the letters
tha e.g. Thami
Didiza and Embassy
of Thailand
- *swa*
will return all entries containing the letters swa
e.g. Letsoalo Ntswaki,
Zoliswa Morweloi
and Fidelis Swai
- *ith
will return all entries containing words ending with the letters
ith e.g. Patti
Smith and Harrismith
Chronicle
Acronyms
To find an acronym, type it exactly as it should appear in the results.
Example:
- anc will only find the string ANC and not ANCWL.
Note
Quick search searches for words and phrases in the entire
directory. This means that when entering Smith,
the search will return John
Smith (surname), but also entries containing Smith
Street (address).
What can I search for?
Name search
If you know the name of an official you may find it by typing either
the full name (all first names and surname), only a first name or
only the surname of the official.
Examples:
- john smith will return all entries containing the phrase exactly as you typed it (e.g. John Smith and not John Peter Smith)
- smith will return all entries containing the word smith (e.g. John
Smith and Anne
Smith)
- john, smith
will return all entries containing the word john
as well as entries containing the word smith
(e.g. John Smith,
Anne Smith, John
Malope)
Institution/organisation
search
You can also search for an organisation or institution.
Example:
- parliament will not only return Parliament and Library of Parliament, but also all entries with the word parliament in the address, and all officials linked to Parliament.
You may also use an organisation's acronym
Example:
- saps will return South African
Police Service and all officials linked to the SAPS
or with saps
in the address.
Job title/position search
You can search for a job title or position of an official.
Example:
- president
will return all entries with the word president,
e.g. President of the
ANC, Deputy President
- deputy minister
will return all entries with the phrase deputy
minister, e.g. Deputy
Minister of Health, Deputy
Minister of Defence.
Advanced
search
Advanced
search is a feature that helps you refine your search. You can
refine your search by using specific search fields, including First
name; Surname; Job title/position; and Institution/organisation
name.
How
to do an advanced search
- To enter
a query into Advanced search, enter a search term/s
and/or phrase/s in one or more search fields.
- Select one
of the following options:
Search
must include any of the selected criteria: This option
is the default option. It searches for results that match either
one or more of the words you specified.
Example:
- the first
name john and
the surname smith
will return all entries containing the first name john
as well as all entries containing the surname smith
or both, e.g. John
Makgetla, Sheila
Smith, John
Smith.
OR
Search
must include all of the selected criteria: This option
searches for results that include all of the words you typed into
the search fields.
Example:
- the first
name john and
the organisation/institution name parliament
will return only entries containing both the first name john
and the organisation or institution name parliament.
- To specify
the number of search results to be displayed per page,
select 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 results per page from the dropdown
menu. The default setting provides 10 results, which is the fastest.
- Click on
the Search button
at the bottom of the Advanced search for a list of relevant
results.
- To empty
the search field or, in other words, clear the criteria you
have specified, simply click on the Clear
button at the bottom of the page.
How
to select search terms
Case
Searches are not case sensitive.
Example:
- John JoHn and john
will all return the same results.
Phrases
To search for a phrase, type the phrase exactly as it should appear
in the results.
Example:
- media liaison
officer
in the Job title/position field will return only officials
with the job title media
liaison officer
- media
in the Job title/position field will return only officials
where the phrase media
forms part of the job title e.g. Media
Liaison Officer, Head:
Media Liaison
- environmental
affairs
in the Institution/organisation field will return Department
of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Ministry
of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
Wildcard
searches
You can search for part of a word by means of wildcards. You can
effect a wildcard search by adding an asterisk (*) at the beginning,
end or both ends of a search string. This means that the search
may return results that do not exactly match your search string.
Examples:
- *hab* in the First name field will return all entries containing
the letters hab
e.g. Thabisa
Majaja
- *person
in the Job title/position field will return all entries
ending with the word person
e.g. Chairperson
and Spokesperson
- fin*
in the Institution/organisation field will return all
entries containing words starting with the letters fin
e.g. Department of Finance
and Ministry of Finance.
Acronyms/exact
matches
To find an acronym, type it exactly as it should appear in the results.
Example:
- anc will only find the string ANC
and not ANCWL.
What
can I search for
Advanced
search fields
- First
name: In this field, you enter the first name/s of an official.
Example:
- john
will return all entries with the first name john
(e.g. John Smith,
John Thabang Zwane).
If you can
specify as much of the name as possible, you will obtain more
concise results and reduce the search time.
Example:
- john
thabang instead of john
will return only entries with both the names john
and thabang
(e.g. John Thabang
Zwane).
- Surname:
In this field, you enter the surname of an official.
Example:
- smith
will return all entries with a surname smith
(e.g. Smith,
Smith-Langa)
- Job title/position:
In this field, you can either type in the job title, or position
or select a job title or position.
Type
in the job title/position:
Example:
- president
will return all officials with a job title or position which
includes the word president
e.g. Thabo Mbeki
- President, Jacob
Zuma - Deputy President.
Select
job title/position: You have the option to select either
head or all.
Example:
- head
will return the most senior official of organisations/institutions
listed in the directory e.g. President,
Chairperson,
Minister,
Chief Executive
Officer.
- all
will return all officials of organisations/institutions
in the directory e.g. Minister,
Media Liaison Officer
and Private Secretary.
- Institution/organisation
name: In this field you can type in the name of an institution
or organisation name.
Example:
- parliament
will return all organisations/institutions with the word
parliament
in the organisation or institution name. (e.g. Parliament
and Library of Parliament).
Results
Find an entry
from the results list
In the event of more than 10 entries matching your search criteria
or when the official or organisation/institution you are searching
for does not appear in the results displayed on the first page,
simply go to the following page until you find the listing.
Selecting
results and result search options
Click on the selection box next to the result you want further information
on. You can select more than one result by simply clicking on another
selection box too. Deselect a result by clicking on the selection
box again. After selecting the results you want more information
on, specify the contact detail options you want, i.e. Mail (postal
address); Tel (telephone number); URL (web address); E-mail; Street
(physical address); Fax (facsimile number) or All (all the contact
details available). Click on the
Show detail button to access the contact details required.
Navigate
result pages
The default setting for the number of results per page is 10. You
can change that to 20, 30, 40 or 50 results per page on the search
page. When the search returns more results than the default result
setting per page, you can navigate between the results pages by
clicking on Next 10 results
or Previous 10 results.
The number of results from the search is indicated at the top of
the page Results 1 - 10
of 100 - in this example the search returned 100 results.
Results list
The results from your search are listed alphabetically and in the
case of officials, alphabetically according to the surname. If your
search returned officials as well as institutions, the results will
first list all the officials and then the institutions
Further searches
from the results page
To start a new search from the results page, decide whether you
just want to change the current search or if you want to do a new
search. In case of changing the current search click on the Change
current search button
at the top or the bottom of the results page. In case of a new search
click on the New search
button at the top or the bottom of the results page.
FAQs
When I press
Enter after having
typed in a search request, my computer bleeps and the search is
not initialised. Why?
- To start a search please click on the
Search button.
How do I
search for a name/surname when I do not know how the exact spelling
thereof?
- You can effect a wild card search by adding an asterisk
(*) at the beginning, end or both ends e.g. *buda*,
mabuda* or *fhasi
to find mabudafhasi.
How do I
search based on function?
- The function of an official or organisation
is often reflected in the official's title or the organisation's
name. The Job title/position and Organisation/institution
name fields are provided for this reason.
How are accented
characters handled for searches?
- The contact directory does
not provide for accented characters. When searching for an accented
name, just omit the relevant accent, e.g. if you are looking for
a person with the surname Fouché
just type in fouche.
My search
failed to find the entry I wanted. Is it missing?
- If the entry
you were looking for appears to be missing, this does not necessarily
mean that it is not present in the directory. Check the spelling
or try a different search field. Please note that not all officials
are listed, but only heads and contact persons as specified by the
specific institution or organisation. For further information about
government you can contact the Information
Centre.
Why does
my search take so long?
- Response times for searches will always
vary depending on network traffic, communication line speeds and
design factors such as firewalls. Other factors that will affect
response times include the number of matches to your search and
the scope of your search (whether you searched only for John
or whether you search for John
and Smith and requested
Include all of the words).
How can I
make my search faster?
- Specify as much information as possible
in the fields and select the Include all of the words option
or use phrases in the Quick search
entry field.
When are
the directories updated?
- Updates are implemented twice a day
as the ministries, departments and organisations provide them to
us. The entire contact directory is checked/updated twice a year.
How do I
update our organisation's entry?
- You can request an update
by contacting Watson Kamanga. His contact details are
Tel: (012) 314 2377
Fax: (012) 325 6898
E-mail: watson@gcis.gov.za
Where do
I report errors/omissions?
- If you find errors or omissions,
please contact Watson Kamanga. His contact details are
Tel: (012) 314 2377
Fax: (012) 325 6898
E-mail: watson@gcis.gov.za
How do I
get a printed copy of the directory?
-
You can print
the directories (Government Directory, Directory of Contacts
and Media Directory), or sections in the directories from
the browse
pages or you may contact GCIS for a copy.
Tel: (012) 314 2377
Fax: (012) 325 6898
E-mail: watson@gcis.gov.za
How do I
get an electronic version?
- You can download
the directories (Government Directory, Directory of Contacts
and Media Directory) or sections in the directories from
the browse
pages.
What versions
of Internet web browsers are supported; Why are the search results
blank or indicate a script error ?
- The online contact directory
has been tested and confirmed to work with Microsoft Internet Explorer
versions 4.x and above. If you are using an older version of this
browser, or another product, we cannot guarantee that the online
search function will work as expected. Check your version of web
browser and if it is a lower version than that indicated above,
you should upgrade. This will enable you to use the online search
function on this website. For information about upgrading browsers
visit Microsoft
Internet Explorer.
Why do my
search return names of officials when I search for an institution's
name in the Quick search? (e.g. When I search for education
it returns the name of e.g. Nomsa
Jajula )
- The Quick search searches over the
complete directory. This means that the word education
will not only be found in an organisation field, but also when the
word education forms
part of e.g. a job title/position (in this case MEC
for Education). The results will then first display the name
of the official filling that position. The organisation names containing
the word education
will then be displayed at the end of the search result list.
Explaining
the search page
Each number is a link to that element's definition:
1.
Quick search
Quick search allows you to search for the name or part of the name
of an official, an institution/organisation or a job title/position
by typing in a few descriptive words or phrases in the same field.
2. Help
Links to a page that gives you advice on how to use the search.
3. Quick search field
The field where you can type in words or phrases to do a quick search.
4. Quick search button
The button to click on to initiate a quick search.
5. Advanced search
Advanced search allows you to do a specific search across specific
fields by typing in the name or surname of an official, an institution/organisation
or a job title/position.
6. First name of official field
The field to type in the first name or part of a first name of an
official you are looking for.
7. Surname of official field
The field to type in the surname or part of a surname of an official
you are looking for.
8. Type in job title/position field
The field to type in the job title or position of an official you
are looking for.
9. Select job title/position field
The field to select the job title or position of an official you
are looking for.
10. Institution/organisation name field
The field to type in the name, acronym or part of the name of an
institution or organisation you are looking for.
11. Search must include any of the selected criteria
This option looks for search results that include either one or
both of the words you typed into the search fields.
12. Search must include all of the selected criteria
This option is the default option. This option searches for results
that match all of the words you require.
13. Results per page
The default setting provides 10 results, which is the fastest. However,
you can increase the number of results displayed per page to 20,
30, 40 or 50.
14. Advanced search button
The button to click on to initiate an advanced search.
15. Clear button
The button to click on to empty your search form or to clear your
previous criteria.
16. Browse the contact database
When you are not exactly sure which search terms to use, you may
find it easier to browse the contact directory database.
17. Print or download contact directories or lists
You can also print or download the complete directories, specific
categories from the contact directories or lists (selected contact
information that can be printed or downloaded as complete documents).
Explaining the search
results page
Each number
is a link to that element's definition:
1.
Change current search button
The button to click on when you want to change the current criteria
of your search
2. New search button
The button to click on when you want to do a new or different search.
All previous search criteria will be cleared.
3. Print this page
The button to click on when you want to print the results from your
search without the navigation and banner of the website.
4. You searched for ' '
The criteria you searched for are indicated in single quotes.
5. Results 1 - 10 of 100
'1 - 10' indicates that the first 10 results from your search are
displayed The default result setting per page is 10. You can change
that option to 20, 30, 40 or 50 per page on the search page. The
'of 100' indicates 100 results from your search were returned.
6. First select a result(s) and then choose
an option
You have to indicate which results you would like further information
on.
7. [1]
This is the result number.
8. 
Click on this selection box if you want further information on this
result. You can select more than one result - simply click on another
selection box. Deselect a result by clicking on the selection box
again.
9. Surname, First name, Title OR Institution/organisation
The results from your search are listed alphabetically and in the
case of an official alphabetically according to the surname.
10. Next 10 results AND Previous 10 results
The default result setting per page is 10. You can change that option
to 20, 30, 40 or 50 per page on the search page. When there are
more results than the result setting per page you have chosen, you
can navigate the results pages by clicking on Next 10 results or
Previous 10 results.
11. Options:
After selecting the results you want more information on you must
also specify what information you want i.e. Mail (postal address);
Tel (telephone number); URL (web address); E-mail; Street (physical
address); Fax (facsimile number) or All (all the contact details
available).
12. Show detail button
After having selected the results and the options, click on the
Show detail button to access the contact details requested.
Explaining the search
results contact detail page
Each number
is a link to that element's definition:
1.
Back to results list
The button to click on when you want to return to the results page
of your current search.
2. Change current search button
The button to click on when you want to change the criteria of your
current search
3. New search button
The button to click on when you want to do a new or different search.
4. Print this page
The button to click on when you want to print the contact detail
from your search without including the navigation and banner of
the website.
5. Institution or organisation
The name of the institution or organisation relevant to your search
criteria.
6. URL (web address)
The URL or web address of the organisation. Please note that a person
usually does not have a web address, only the institution or organisation.
7. Mail
The postal address of the institution/organisation or official.
8. Street
The physical address of the institution/organisation or official.
9. Tel
The telephone number(s) of the institution/organisation or official.
10. Fax
The facsimile number(s) of the institution/organisation or official.
11. E-mail
The e-mail address of the institution/organisation or official.
12. Job title/position
The job title or position of the official.
13. Name
The title, first name and surname of the official.
Error messages
Search returned
zero results, please check spelling or search term/s.
- If this
message is displayed, one of the following is possible:
- The search
term is not available in the directory
- You could
have made a spelling mistake. Please check.
- Search terms
were entered incorrectly. Please see the descriptions of How
to enter a search term under Quick
search and Advanced search
respectively.
- You could
have used the wrong search field.
- Make sure
that you clicked on the relevant Search
button.
Please select
an option - If this message is displayed, one of the following
is possible:
- You did not
select one or more results from the results list. Select results
by clicking in the selection boxes next to the relevant result.
- You did not
select an option. Indicate which contact details you want, by
selecting an option.
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