THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 1977
A
TREASURY TO INSTALL NEW COMPUTER
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IN ITS CONTINUING EFFORTS TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY IN MEETING NUMEROUS BILLING AND ACCOUNTING FUNCTIONS AS WELL AS TO COPE WITH NEW ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS BEING DEVELOPED, THE TREASURY HAS PLACED AN ORDER FOR AN ICL 2960 COMPUTER TO REPLACE ITS EXISTING COMPUTER.
THE NEW COMPUTER IS A POWERFUL MEDIUM CAPACITY SYSTEM, THE LATEST ADDITION TO ICL'S 2900 RANGE, WHICH WAS LAUNCHED IN JUNE LAST YEAR.
THE NEW SYSTEM, THE FIRST ICL 2960 IN HONG KONG, IS TO BE INSTALLED EARLY NEXT YEAR AS A +2960/DME VERSION+, ABLE TO HANDLE THE WORKLOAD OF THE EXISTING COMPUTER WITHOUT ALTERATIONS TO CURRENT PROGRAMMES.
BY JANUARY 1979 IT WILL BE OPERATED UNDER THE OPERATING SYSTEM +VME/B+ AND WILL THUS BE COMPATIBLE WITH THE DUAL ICL 2970 SYSTEM BEING INSTALLED AT THE DATA PROCESSING DIVISION.
REFERRING TO THE EXISTING COMPUTER, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE TREASURY SAID THE COMPUTER WAS COMMISSIONED ALMOST SEVEN YEARS AGO AND IS NOW APPROACHING THE END OF ITS USEFUL LIFE.
+ALTHOUGH VARIOUS ENHANCEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE DURING
THESE YEARS, THE POINT HAS NOW BEEN REACHED WHERE, FOR ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSES, FURTHER ENHANCEMENT AND THE PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL FACILITIES IS NOT POSSIBLE,+ HE SAID.
BESIDES HANDLING THE PAYROLL OF SOME 107,000 CIVIL SERVANTS AND 30,000 PENSIONERS, THE COMPUTER ALSO HANDLES RATING VALUATION, THE BILLING AND ACCOUNTING OF RATES AND PROPERTY TAX, CROWN RENTS AND PREMIA, AND THE GOVERNMENT'S WIDOWS AND ORPHANS SCHEME FOR ITS EMPLOYEES.
+ THE VOLUME OF WORK HAS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE THE COMPUTER WAS COMMISSIONED AND TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY OPERATION IS NOW REQUIRED AT PEAK PERIODS EACH MONTH,+
HE RECALLED THAT IN 1970-71, THE YEAR THE COMPUTER INSTALLATION WAS COMMISSIONED, THE DEPARTMENT (BESIDES OTHER ACCOUNTING DUTIES) DISBURSED SOME $2,999.9 MILLION AND COLLECTED $1,113.4 MILLION.
+IN THAT YEAR IT ALSC ISSUED SOME 1.5 MILLION DEMAND NOTES, 2.7 MILLION RECEIPTS, PROCESSED SOME 1.1 MILLION SALARY AND PENSION PAYMENTS AND EXAMINED AND PASSED FOR PAYMENT SOME 315,000 BILLS AND CLAIMS.
+BY 1975-76, THE AMOUNT OF MONEY DISBURSED AND COLLECTED BY THE DEPARTMENT HAD MORE THAN DOUBLED REACHING $8,579.2 MILLION AND $2,391.6 MILLION RESPECTIVELY, HE SAID.
THERE HAVE ALSO BEEN INCREASES OF MORE THAN 40 PER CENT IN THE NUMBER OF DEMAND NOTES AND RECEIPTS ISSUED, A MARKED INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF SALARY AND PENSION PAYMENTS PROCESSED, AND A MORE THAN FOUR-FOLD INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF BILLS AND CLAIMS EXAMINED AND PASSED FOR PAYMENT.
/SYSTEMS