Download CPRsouth 2016: Otieno, Omwenga, Waema

E-Government Strategy and Policy in
Developing Countries
Ibrahim OTIENO1, Elijah OMWENGA2, Timothy WAEMA3
1, 2, 3
University of Nairobi, P.O. BOX 30197- 00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254-20-3318262, Fax: + 254-20-3318262
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[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
The development of e-government is viewed as a way of improving access to information and
services to citizens through the use of ICT to enhance transparency, responsiveness, accountability,
efficiency and effectiveness of public service. In spite of the fact that e-government has great potential
this opportunity has not been fully exploited particularly in developing countries. This is attributable to
the fact that these countries face various barriers including the availability of an effective e-government
strategy together with associated policy and legislative framework to support its implementation.
Developed countries have more robust e-government infrastructure, strategy, supportive policy and
legislative framework. Consequently, developed countries have continued to advance in e-government
as evidenced by their dominance in e-government benchmarking rankings and high levels of maturity in
the e-government maturity models continuum.
This study reviews the extant e-government strategies, policy and legislative framework in the
U.S.A. and several developing countries in Asia and Africa including: China, India, South Africa,
Kenya, Tanzania and Botswana. It is apparent from the study that most governments in the developing
countries have developed respective e-government strategies. However, the legislative environment in
most of these countries is not yet mature to fully support e-government and the developing countries
have a long way to go in creating conducive environment for e-government. This study makes
recommendations out of the review to inform future strategy and policy particularly in the context of
developing countries. This study also takes cognisance of the fact that the operating environment in
developing and developed countries vary in terms of historical, political, social, economic and cultural
context that affect the growth, implementation and impact of e-government on the target population.
Keywords: E-government, Strategy, Policy, Legislation, Governance, Public Administration
1. Introduction
The main goal of e-government is to promote the concept of informatization by facilitating
access and use of government information and services by citizens through the use of ICT to enhance
transparency, accountability, efficiency and effectiveness of public service (Shan et al., 2004; Njuru,
2011; Gulati et al., 2012; Jadi & Jie, 2014). Lowery (2001) alludes to the fact that e-government has
successfully brought about innovation and tremendous reforms in public administration as we
advance in the Digital Age. These reforms in the public sector have brought about significant
changes not only in government but also in the way government interacts with its citizens leading to
pervasiveness of service, responsiveness, transparency and accountability in government. However,
it is also evident that the potential of e-government has not been fully exploited (Löfstedt, 2005).
Consequently, the expected reforms and impact that would come along with it have not been fully
realized particularly in developing countries (Chen et al, 2006; Cloete, 2012). In order to reap the
full benefit of e-government, it is imperative to re-engineer government processes and upscale
services to the transaction level in the e-government models maturity continuum (Castelnovo, 2010).
Hachigian (2002) also portends that success in the implementation of e-government requires
re-engineering of government processes; active partnerships with citizens and private sector; and a
participatory approach. Vuksic et al.(2010) and Jadi & Jie, (2014) contend that significant change in
business processes and infrastructure as a result of the implementation of e-government, which
sometimes involves multiple organizations, cannot be realized without change in policy, legislation
and organizational structures. Institutionalization of these changes and practices is important for e1
government to be successful. However, it is also important to note that employees in public service
have a high tendency for resistance to change, are less innovative when it comes to change and
would therefore not engage in projects that require business process changes (Vuksic et al., 2010). It
is therefore important to institute change management strategies in public service as e-government
projects are implemented to minimize resistance and manage the change process (Mulder, 2004).
This will include creating awareness about the available systems and user involvement at all stages,
It has been observed that some of the challenges facing public sector organizations include:
competing and not complimentary objectives of public sector organizations; lack of suitable
criteria to measure achievement of goals and some public managers have conflict of interest
(Vuksic et al., 2010) leading to failure of e-government projects. For successful implementation of
e-government, institutions must have an enterprise-wide approach to e-government with strategy,
policies and a legislative framework that govern all facets of the organization. It is also important
to develop an effective framework for integrating e-government strategy and policy from the top
to the lower levels of e-government administration.
It has also been established that e-government in developing countries face a number of
barriers including poor ICT infrastructure, low government funding, digital divide, poor project
management; low literacy levels, low ICT skills and inadequate policy and regulatory framework
(Jadi & Jie, 2014; Otieno & Omwenga, 2015). Consequently, in spite of the successful
implementation of some of the e-government projects, previous studies present many cases of egovernment project failure. It is apparent that the rate of failure of e-government projects even in
developed countries is high. It is estimated that 20-25% projects are never implemented or
abandoned immediately after implementation and a further 33% fail partially (Chen et al., 2006;
Heeks, 2003). The rate of failure is alarming and even higher in developing countries compared to
developed countries (Cloete, 2012; Otieno & Omwenga, 2015).
Rabaiah & Vandijck (2011) define e-government strategy as a plan for e-government systems
and related support infrastructure which guides management in achieving its objectives. The
implementation of e-government initiatives can be done at micro (organization) level, meso
(national) level or macro (international) level (Mulder, 2004). InfoDev/World Bank (2009) and
Mulder (2004) portend that the implementation of e-government at meso and macro levels involves
different players and therefore require an appropriate strategy and policy for coordination of the
activities of the different players at the various levels. This emphasizes the need to develop coherent
e-government strategies, strong regulatory and policy frameworks to harmonise operations at those
levels and build consensus among the different players. This is important in creating a sound
architecture for implementation of e-government. Moreover, sometimes e-government will also
require collaboration between public and private sector in the form of Public-Private-Partnerships
(PPPs) and hence the need for relevant collaboration framework and policy to support them.
In order to reap from e-government, business processes must be reviewed and reengineered
and the infrastructure revamped to support new emerging ways of conducting business (Lowery,
2001; Basant et al., 2006). Jadi & Jie (2014) and Lowery (2001) concur that e-government also
increases the level of citizen participation and their satisfaction with e-government services.
However, Njuru (2011) and Hachigian (2002) argue that e-government is not a panacea to all public
administration challenges facing developing countries and therefore it is important to use a multiprong approach to address other governance issues bedevilling developing countries. Cloete (2012)
argues that e-government must be given special attention in developing countries not only because of
its potential for stronger institutional capacity-building but for its ability to transform public service
delivery for both citizens and businesses.
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This paper begins with a brief background of e-government, the challenges of e-government,
the need for appropriate legislative and policy framework and the potential of e-government in
improving service delivery in public administration. It then proceeds to underscore the problem
statement followed by justification for conducting the study. Subsequently, it highlights the research
questions to be addressed by the study and the methodology to be followed in addressing these
questions. The paper then gives a detailed review of literature on e-government strategy and policy
and concludes with recommendations for improving e-government in developing countries.
2. Problem Statement
It is important to note that implementation of e-government does not occur in a vacuum and the
government must provide a conducive legislative environment for its implementation to be
successful and to realize the intended impact. Alghamdi & Beloff (2014), Shan et al. (2004) and
InfoDev/World Bank (2009) contend that that the government must put in place standards and
legislative framework to guide the implementation of e-government with respect to management of
electronic signatures, electronic documents, electronic transactions, interoperability, privacy, data
protection and information security. The inexistence of the required policy and legal instruments to
govern these issues will impede the progress of e-government. Therefore, it is imperative to review
the existing legislation to ensure that it is not retrogressive but promotes progress of e-government.
E-government development and progress in developed countries has been more successful and
advanced compared to the progress in developing countries. However, due to the differences in
historical, technological, social, political, cultural and economic contexts we cannot apply the
same principles that have worked in developed countries to the local context (Jadi & Jie, 2014;
Chen et al., 2006). Gulati et al. (2012) also contend that e-government success, development and
participation are greater in countries that promote a culture of good corporate governance and
enforce the existing policies and regulatory framework. Developed countries perform better in the
e-government arena because they have better infrastructure, more mature governance structures
and an elaborate ICT regulatory framework that is usually enforced (Chen et al, 2006).
Sukhbaatar & Odgerel (2005) contend that the Mongolian government intended to create a
favourable policy and regulatory environment through development of appropriate laws on IT, egovernance, electronic signatures and electronic transactions to support e-government. In the case
of South Africa, Cloete (2012) argues that one of the reasons that led to the stagnation of the
progress of e-government after the development of the first e-government strategy in 2001 was the
lack of strong leadership required to coordinate e-government and an impeded policy development
process. E-government researchers contend that one of the greatest barriers hampering the
progress of e-government and particularly in developing countries is inadequate laws and
regulatory framework to support e-government. This together with the resistance by managers to
reengineer, innovate and adopt new business processes to support e-government has hindered egovernment progress in many developing countries. It is evident from literature review that
government in developed countries have put in place vibrant e-government strategy and policy
which are constantly being reviewed to adapt to the changing technological and political
environment (Chen et al., 2006). One of the strong recommendations coming out of the study by
Cloete (2012) is regular review of the extant e-government strategy and its implementation plan
including creating a favourable regulatory environment.
A vibrant e-government strategy, policy and supportive legislative framework will promote egovernment adoption, development and implementation (Alghamdi & Beloff, 2014). This will
include the implementation of a uniform and common government systems and infrastructure (Shan
et al., 2004; InfoDev/World Bank, 2009; Cloete, 2012). InfoDev/World Bank (2009) postulates that
some of the policies required to reform the ICT environment and e-government by extension include:
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a) introduction and enforcement of competition; b) universal access; c) establishment of strong and
independent regulatory authorities; and d) simplification of procedures and licensing requirements.
It is also important to note that most countries including the developing ones have realized the
importance of formulating an e-government strategy to support e-government implementation and
progress (Rabaiah & Vandijck, 2011). These strategies are at different levels of implementation.
Some of the developing countries that have established e-government strategies include Kenya,
Tanzania, South Africa, Botswana, Mongolia and India (Monga, 2008; Cloete, 2012; Nkwe, 2012;
Karokola, 2012; Sukhbaatar & Odgerel, 2005; Njuru, 2011). Most of the e-government strategies
for these countries focus on infrastructure development through Public-Private-Partnerships
(PPPs). One of the greatest barriers identified is the formulation of a regulatory framework and
enforcement of policies required for successful implementation of e-government (Sukhbaatar &
Odgerel, 2005; Nkwe, 2012; Njuru, 2011 ; Dwivedi & Bharti, 2010). It was also observed that
some of the challenges hampering the adoption of e-government include: public organization
cultures, low citizen participation and pubic-private partnerships (Sukhbaatar & Odgerel, 2005).
It is evident from the extant literature that the issues of e-government strategy and policy
are important in fast-tracking the development and progress of e-government. E-government in
developed countries is more advanced because of the existence of appropriate strategy, policy and
a regulatory framework that is regularly reviewed to adapt to changing technological, social,
economic and political environment. However, developing countries have dragged behind in this
respect and will have to address these barriers to favourably compete with their counterparts in the
developed world. In this study, we explore issues pertaining to strategy and policy that are
necessary in supporting and enhancing progress of e-government in developing countries. The
results of this study will assist in identifying existing gaps and challenges and make
recommendations to address them.
3. Justification of Study
The role of e-government in introducing the much needed reforms in public administration and
enhancement of public service delivery cannot be gainsaid. E-government has potential that has
not been fully exploited especially by developing countries. This potential has not been fully
exploited and the intended impact realized because of various barriers hampering e-government
progress in developing countries (Chen et al., 2006). The key barriers include: lack of ICT
infrastructure, inadequate policy and legislative framework, low literacy levels and inadequate
ICT skills (Jadi & Jie, 2014; Otieno & Omwenga, 2015).
There exists a gap with respect to the issues of formulation and enforcement of policy and
legislation particularly in developing countries. This study intends to address the barrier of
inadequate or inappropriate e-government strategy, policy and legislative framework. The results
of this study will be relevant to scholars, e-government policy makers and implementers. Scholars
will gain from the new knowledge generated and the policy makers and implementers will be
informed on the matters to address when developing e-government strategy and policy required in
supporting effective implementation and management of e-government initiatives. This will help
in improving the success rate, adoption and progress of e-government projects particularly in
developing countries.
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4. Research Questions
The main question for this research is: “what are the barriers to the effective implementation of
e-government in respect to strategy, policy and legislative framework in the context of developing
countries and how can we overcome them?” The specific research questions arising from the
overall research question for this study are:
a) What is the level of development and progress in implementation of e-government
strategies in developing countries?
b) What are some of the barriers in the development and implementation of e-government
strategy and policy in the context of developing countries?
c) How can we overcome these barriers and enhance the progress of e-government in
developing countries?
5. Methodology
This study conducted a desk review of the outcome of e-government based on the
grounded theory. The study performed a comparative analysis of outcome of e-government
strategy for one of the top world e-government implementers and those of selected six
developing countries. In order to be included for the study, the country was to be in Africa or
Asia; be implementing an e-government strategy; and be experiencing challenges in
implementation of e-government. The study went ahead to make recommendations based on
the findings, taking into consideration the operating context of developing countries. The study
collected mostly qualitative data for analysis and the unit of analysis was country.
The study went ahead to discuss policy and legislative issues that e-government strategies
for these countries have addressed and barriers that hamper e-government implementation in
these countries compared to their counterparts in developed countries. The study concluded by
making recommendation on how to overcome the barriers identified. The study was guided by
the conceptual framework for e-government implementation process of e-government
strategies developed by Chen et al (2006). The framework identifies three major factors (egovernment infrastructure, cultural and societal factors) as having an effect on the egovernment implementation process and outcomes.
6. Literature Review
Gulati et al. (2012) argues that most of the studies in e-government have ignored the impact
of strategy and policy on e-government progress that in turn enhance adoption and participation
by citizens. Lowery (2001) emphasizes that e-government strategy is important in steering the
development and implementation of e-government. E-government strategy gives an overall
vision; identifies specific goals and objectives to be realized; creates a policy framework
necessary to support e-government; and defines an appropriate business model and
implementation plan including sustainability (Lowery, 2001; Sukhbaatar & Odgerel, 2005;
Vuksic et al, 2010). It is imperative to note that e-government project goals and objectives must
be in line with government policy. Rabaiah & Vandijck (2011) define a generic e-government
strategic framework based on best practices and recommend that e-government strategies must
be kept concise.
When developing an e-government strategy, it is important to incorporate an appropriate
marketing and communication plan as a part of the strategy to facilitate citizen awareness and
adoption of e-government. Many e-government initiatives have not realized the intended impact
because of inadequate marketing and awareness campaigns targeting citizens. E-government
involves marketing and processing of commercial transactions that may give rise to legal issues
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that are important to consider when rolling out e-government. Privacy and security concerns that
are important in building citizens’ trust in e-government must also be addressed by the strategy
as they pose a great risk to the implementation of e-government (Lowery, 2001).
Lowery (2001) also contents that e-government is meant to provide access to information and
services to all citizens equitably including citizens with disabilities, the marginalized and
vulnerable groups. This is important in reducing the digital divide and encouraging citizen
participation in the governance process (Njuru, 2011). An excellent strategy must address this
concern and beyond. There are many possible services that can be provided to citizens using egovernment, but because of funding and other constraints, it is important to prioritize them in
terms of importance; chances of success or citizens’ demand. It is recommended that as they
develop strategy, governments should conduct citizen surveys to establish their demand and
preferences for e-government services. This will assist in prioritization of important services
from the citizens’ perspective and also increase the chances of success of e-government projects.
The current trend of e-government is to focus on the demand-side (citizen-centric) rather
than the supply-side bringing to fore the paradigm shift of “from efficiency to effectiveness”
(Otieno & Omwenga, 2015; Hachigian, 2002). Hachigian (2002) enumerated ten questions
that e-government leaders in the developing countries must ask themselves when
implementing e-government. It is evident from the article that having a clear e-government
vision and identifying key priority areas at the onset and at the national level is very important.
The vision should be citizen-centred, shared by all, involve all key stakeholders and be
communicated across the government and the public. Hachigian (ibid) also explains the
importance of developing a conducive business climate to support e-government including
legal framework, information security and establishing protections and legal reforms to ensure
privacy, security and legal recognition of electronic transactions and electronic signatures. It is
also important to develop a detailed business model and work plan showing how key priority
areas of e-government will be implemented. Monitoring and evaluation of the impact and
progress of implementation of the e-government strategy is also important. Hachigian (2002)
and Monga (2008) also contend that the private sector should be seen as a partner and play a
significant role in implementation of the strategy.
Chen et al. (2006) contends that most if not all e-government strategies, policies and
implementation plans of developing countries have been based on experiences of developed
countries and follow pressure from the citizens to implement e-government. However, because
of the differences in technological, political, social and economic operating environment of
developed countries, their strategies will not necessarily work in the developing countries.
Most of the strategies for top e-government implementers are market-driven, focus on citizencenteredness and result-orientation in e-government implementation (Sukhbaatar & Odgerel,
2005; Chen et al., 2006). For example, the e-government implementation strategy for the
U.S.A. is market based and focuses on supporting citizens’ requirements which is assessed by
specific and clearly defined results.
7. Conceptual Framework
Chen et al. (2006) alludes to the fact that most if not all e-government strategies of
developing countries are based on theories and experiences of developed countries. However,
the context of developing counties is quite different from that of the developed countries and
therefore these strategies may not necessarily be applicable in the context developing
countries. Chen et al. (ibid) adapted four main factors that differentiate between developed
and developing countries in terms of implementing e-government. These factors are referred to
as the National E-Government Infrastructure (NeI) factors.
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This study was guided by a conceptual framework for implementation process of egovernment strategies as proposed by Chen et al. (2006). Figure 1 below shows the proposed
conceptual framework:
National E-Government
Infrastructure (NeI) Factors
Network Access
Network Learning
Network Economy
Network Policy
Culture Factors
Society Factors
National Culture
Organizational culture
Social Norms (Resistance
to Change)
History
Citizen
Governance
Organizational Structure
Politics and Information
Availability
Implementation Process of
E-government Strategies
Implementation Outcome
of E-government Strategies
Figure 1: E-government Implementation Conceptual framework: Adopted from Chen et al. (2006)
Chen et al. (2006) identified three main factors as having an effect on the implementation
process of e-government strategies: National E-government Infrastructure (NeI), Cultural and
Societal factors. Chen et al. (2006) also identified four National e-Government Infrastructure
(NeI) factors that describe differences between developed and developing countries: i) network
access; ii) network learning; iii) network economy; and iv) network policy. Network policy is
the extent to which the policy environment determines the effective use and adoption of ICT
and includes legislation, laws, policies and strategies. Cultural factors include national and
organizational factors and society factors include history, governance and politics.
Bwalya (2009) in his study on adoption factors in developing countries also concluded that
there are several factors that affect the adoption of e-government and these vary across
countries depending on the local context. Bwalya (ibid) therefore concluded that adoption
factors in developing countries will be different from those developed countries. Bwalya
(2009) extended Kumar et al. (2007) adoption model by identifying culture awareness and ICT
infrastructure (NeI factors) as additional factors to be considered in models for adoption of egovernment. Verdegem et al. (2010) also identified contextual variables or e-readiness (NeI
factors) as having an effect on the impact of e-government. This is in line with Chen et al.
(2006) conceptual model which we consider generally broad and appropriate to our study as it
incorporates context when evaluating the implementation outcome of e-government strategy.
8. E-Government Strategy and Policy in Developing Countries
Chen et al. (2006) emphasizes that the U.S.A. has put in place a complete set of laws to
support e-government implementation. These include: the privacy act, the computer security
act, the government paperwork elimination act, and the electronic government act. The U.S.A.
has also developed a robust e-government strategy to guide the implementation of egovernment. The web portal of the U.S.A. is currently at stage four of the e-government
growth models continuum as it integrates internal and external government services to
improve on efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery. The U.S.A. has one of the best egovernment infrastructures in the world. Consequently, it doesn’t face any technological
challenges but rather is more concerned with policy and behavioral issues.
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Chen et al. (2006) alludes to the fact that though China is one of the fastest growing
economies in the world, there is still a big gap in terms of NeIs between it and the developed
economies. Network policy is one of the weakest NeI factors for China. It has established legal
systems, laws and regulations gradually over the years but is far from complete maturity to
manage a large developing economy. The democratic and policy systems are also far from
maturity largely because of the long history of feudal system of government. However, there
are numerous e-government legislation and policy that have been formulated and ratified. The
ultimate goal of e-government strategy in China is different from that of the U.S.A. as it
focuses more on improving transparency; government efficiency and effectiveness; and
improving the interaction and cooperation between the government, private sector and citizens.
The China government should focus on strengthening its policy and laws on e-government and
address governance issues that may be hampering it from progressing in e-government.
The government of India approved the National e-Government Plan (NeGP) in May 2006
(Ganapathy & Kumar, 2014). The NeGP addresses critical issues like setting up e-government
network infrastructure across India, coordination of government activities, building
institutional capacity and relevant legal framework, marketing e-government to the public,
building relevant partnerships and developing standards required for e-government. The main
goal of NeGP was to make all services available to the public. The main focus of the strategy
was on public service delivery (Sachdeva, 2002). The priority areas within the strategy were
identified as development of institutional and human capacity; marketing and awareness;
infrastructure development and establishment of state-wide area networks (SWAN); use of
common service centres; identification and implementation of pilot e-government projects;
development of relevant e-government legislation and policy; and monitoring and evaluation.
The specific objectives of the plan were to: develop high level commitment and awareness;
develop capacities necessary to strategically implement e-government; develop necessary
human and data infrastructure and implement pilot e-government projects. The plan also
considers use of local languages with provision for translation from English to the local
language because of the problem of language barrier. India is doing well among the
developing countries; however, it is challenged by infrastructure and cultural issues.
Trusler (2003) and Matavire et al. (2010) argue that when discussing issues of egovernment in South Africa, one has to take cognizance of the historical and social context of
e-government implementation including a number of harsh realities that South Africa faced.
Some of the emerging issues included the need to develop ICT infrastructure particularly in the
rural areas and address the inequalities in the society. South Africa has legislation that guides
conduct of electronic transactions and e-government. The South African constitution (guided
by the Access to Information Act), just like the Kenyan one, obligates the state to grant
citizens access to information that should be in the public domain. South Africa has an
outdated Electronic Communication Transactions Act (2002) for the prosecution of cybercrime
Cloete (2012) contends that South Africa developed its first e-government strategy (DPSA,
2001) in February 2001 which was updated in 2012 (DPSA, 2012). The strategy was
developed through a consultative process and the framework for the strategy was based on the
following key issues: i) government vision; ii) key priority focus areas; iii) prerequisite NeI
factors; iv) recommendations for implementation of the priority areas; and iv) monitoring and
evaluation. The strategy focused on three value benefits of: improved service delivery, costeffectiveness and increased productivity as depicted in figure 2 below:
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Figure 21: Conceptual Framework for South Africa e-government Strategy: Adopted from DPSA (2001)
The South African strategy was based on four main priority focus areas: interoperability,
security, economies of scale and elimination of duplication. The South African strategy just
like the U.S.A. and Mongolian e-government strategy recognizes the need for customer focus
and citizen-centric approach and at the same time appreciates the need for internal efficiencies
in the operations of government. The strategy also recognizes the importance of new business
models including Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). The revised strategy of 2012 was based
on principles of Batho Pele1 and good corporate governance guided by the COBIT framework.
Apart from the key focus areas of the previous strategy it was based on key strategic areas with
12 strategic outcomes. The priority areas were broadened to include digital inclusion. Trusler
(2003), Matavire et al. (2010) and Cloete (2012) confirm that leadership, uncoordinated
strategy, project fragmentation and resistance to change are some of the factors that have
hindered e-government progress in South Africa.
The Kenyan government established its e-government strategy in March 2004
(Government of Kenya, 2004) as a means of realizing its national development goals. The
strategy proposed the establishment of the Directorate of e-Government (DeG) to coordinate,
implement, monitor and evaluate e-government implementation in the country. The strategy
was seen as a means of facilitating better and efficient service delivery; modernization of
government; implementation of the much envisioned public service reforms, encouraging
citizen participation and empowering the public. It was also viewed as a way of improving
transparency, accountability and good governance; making the government more efficient and
effective and being citizen-centered. The Kenyan e-government strategy also recognize the
importance of human capacity building, standardization, process re-engineering and change
management without which the full potential of e-government cannot be realized. The strategy
also identifies and documents key priority areas, an implementation framework and
underscores the need to provide a conducive regulatory and legal framework that can support
e-government. The Kenyan Constitution just like in the South African case obligates the state
to grant citizens access to any information that should be in the public domain. The
implementation of the strategy and lack of policy and legislative framework has be one of the
key challenges for implementation and progress of e-government in Kenya.
The United Republic of Tanzania developed its e-government strategy in September 2012
(Government of Tanzania, 2012). The document sets up the vision of the Tanzanian
government and identifies the goals with respect to the implementation of e-government. The
Tanzania strategy also outlines seven guiding principles that are necessary for the
implementation of e-government and highlights certain objectives to be met with specific
timelines. The strategy focuses on improved service delivery to the citizens and businesses,
1
South African word meaning putting people first
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improved integration, accessibility, responsiveness and internal efficiency of government
operations, transparency and accountability. The strategy was developed through a
participatory, consultative process and a situational analysis done to identify challenges
inhibiting the progress of e-government and conceptualizing the envisioned future position. It
recognizes the importance of developing a common government infrastructure and human
capacity to support e-government implementation. It also identifies the risks involved, key
performance indicators (KPI) and critical success factors (CSF) for implementation of egovernment. The strategy defines an effective monitoring and evaluation framework and
emphasizes involvement of the private sector through public-private partnerships; however,
just like in Kenya, the problem has been implementation. Tanzania has a weak legal, policy
and institutional framework for e-government; low level of e-readiness (NeI factors); low
private sector and community participation; and attitude and cultural challenges in use of ICTs.
The government of Botswana developed its national e-government strategy in 2011
(Government of Botswana, 2011) through a consultative process. The strategy identified five
key priority programmes (areas) with specific projects that should be implemented by 2016.
The main focus was on improvement of the convenience, quality and efficiency of public
service delivery. The strategy recognizes the need to improve internal government efficiency,
deliver effective customer services, eliminate duplication and enhance coordination of egovernment services. The need for setting up a common government call centre and
Telecentres (kiosks) to provide access to e-government services from a common service point
including in remote parts of the country also comes out strongly. In order for the strategy to be
successful, the government will be required to reengineer a number of components including
the organizational structures and business components, job designs, policies and procedures.
Nkwe (2012) alludes to the fact that the government of Botswana appreciates the importance
of e-government and is in the right path of developing relevant policy, regulatory framework
and creating awareness. It is apparent that Botswana like other developing countries is still
grappling with the issue of setting up adequate and appropriate infrastructure to support its egovernment services.
The main issues and challenges arising from the comparative analysis can be summarized
in Table 1 below:
Table 1: Issues and Challenges from Arising from Comparative Analysis of E-government Strategy
No
Issue
Challenge
1.
ICT Infrastructure
The ICT infrastructure in most developing countries is inadequate and
impedes the development and progress of e-government
2.
Legislative Environment
Majority of the developing countries have non-existent policy and legislative
framework and the existing ones hinder the progress of e-government
3.
Policy Enforcement
The implementation or enforcement of few existing strategies, laws and
policy on e-government in the developing countries is low
4.
Citizen Awareness
Developing countries have not realized the importance sensitizing citizens
on the existing e-government services, policy and legislation.
5.
Integrated Approach
Majority of developing countries have not consolidated their efforts at
regional or continental level to derive the benefits of implementing egovernment as a bloc
6.
Governance and Cultural
Issues
The implementation of e-government in most developing counties has been
affected by governance and the prevailing contextual social, cultural and
political environment they operate under.
10
Table 2 below summarizes some of the key issues emerging from the analysis of the e-government strategy and policy issues in selected developed
and developing countries.
Table 2: Issues Emerging from E-government Strategy Analysis
No
Issue
Country
U.S.A.
China
1.
Vision
Clearly stated
2.
Focus
 Citizen-centered
 Transparency
 Result-orientation
 Efficiency
 Market-driven
 Effectiveness
3.
-
India
South Africa
Kenya
Tanzania
Botswana
Stated
Stated
Stated
Clearly stated
Stated
Improved public
service delivery
 Customer focus
 Citizen-centered
 Efficient service
delivery
 Improved public
service delivery
 Improved public
service delivery
 Internal efficiencies
 Public reforms
 Internal efficiency
 Citizen participation
 Transparency &
Accountability
 Uptake and usage
of e-government
Awareness &
Communication
Citizen engagement
Informal via websites
& chat rooms
Marketing to
public
e-Government
Communication
Strategy
Best communication
practices
Increase egovernment
awareness
e-Government
Communication
Strategy
4.
Legal framework
In place
Weak
Develop legal
infrastructure
Develop legislative
framework
Develop standards and
legislative framework
Develop institutional
and legal framework
Develop legislative
framework
5.
Work Plan
Detailed
implementation
framework
Detailed plan of
projects
Implementation
plan for projects
Implementation plan
with strategic
outcomes
Implementation
framework
Implementation
framework
Implementation
framework
Monitoring and
Evaluation
M&E framework
Impact
assessment
Established
institutions to monitor
progress
M&E framework
 M&E framework
M&E framework
to be developed
Private Sector
Participation
Incorporated
Incorporated
Incorporated
Public-private
partnerships
Infrastructural
Development
Already developed
ICT infrastructure
development
ICT infrastructure
development
ICT infrastructure
development
Cultural issues
Culture and government
developed
Long history of
Feudal government
Caste system and
language barrier
Long history of
apartheid and
segregation
6.
7.
8.
9.
-
11
 Critical Success
Factors (CSF)
-
Public-private
partnerships
Public-private
partnerships
ICT infrastructure
development
ICT infrastructure
development
ICT infrastructure
development
High levels of
corruption
Attitude and cultural
challenges in use of
ICT
-
9. Conclusion and Recommendations
It is observed from the literature review and our analysis above that ICT infrastructure is
one of the key challenges facing e-government implementation in developing countries.
Governments in developing countries must therefore develop their infrastructure in partnership
with the private sector through Public-Private-Partnerships (Otieno & Omwenga, 2015) to
enhance e-government progress. It is also important for the focus of e-government to shift
from internal government efficiency to a citizen-centered approach and the impact of egovernment on citizens. Creating citizen awareness (Njuru, 2011) through aggressive
marketing, encouraging citizen participation and fostering partnerships with the private sector
(Nkwe, 2012; Monga, 2008) are also very important for the success of e-government. Apart
from the infrastructure development, governments in developing countries must also promote
the acquisition of relevant ICT skills by its citizens for foster uptake and utilization of services.
E-government implementation and progress in developed countries is more advanced than
that of developing countries as a result of the creation of a conducive legislative environment.
The leading e-government implementers including the U.S.A., Australia and Canada have
highly developed infrastructure systems and policy framework that supports e-government.
Most of the developing countries are not able to achieve high levels of growth in the egovernment because of weak policy and legislation that support privacy, data security,
protection and support of electronic transactions and signatures. The differences in adoption
rate of e-government in developed and developing countries has been brought about by a
variety of factors including differences in pricing and government preferences – such as
privatization, lowering of trade barriers, de-regulation that has led to greater investment in the
communication sector and improved access to ICT (Basant et al., 2006). Governments in
developing countries must therefore formulate and enforce appropriate policy and legislation
to support electronic transactions, coordinate government processes at different levels,
encourage public-private partnerships and create a common infrastructure and uniform
operating environment that breaks silos and creates a sound architecture for e-government.
Developing countries must enhance their operating cultural, governance, historical,
political, social and economic environment and develop appropriate e-government strategy and
policy that would address their unique peculiarities. One of the reasons why e-government is
not successful in the developing countries is resistance to change, lack of a government-wide
approach and institutionalization of e-government in the public service. However, in order for
governments to realize the full benefit of e-government, it is imperative to re-engineer
business processes and manage the change process effectively. This requires development of a
comprehensive policy and legislative framework for adoption and institutionalization of the
change process and enforcement of the same. The government should also address cultural and
language barrier issues that impede the progress of e-government. Moreover, the focus on
implementation of e-government strategy should be on key e-government priority areas with
immediate and great impact. Creating a work plan indicating the key priority projects and an
appropriate monitoring and evaluation framework is essential for the success of e-government.
In conclusion, it is also observed that countries such as South Africa, Botswana,
Mozambique, Mauritius and Namibia have started putting in place institutional and policy
frameworks to integrate e-government at the regional level (Nkwe, 2012). This is similar to
what Europe is doing at the European Union (EU) level as guided by the European
Commission. The European Commission developed e-Europe 2003, e-Europe 2005 and i2010
action plans for funding and guidance of ICT projects in member countries. It is therefore
imperative that Africa should start championing for e-government initiatives, action plans and
policy framework at the regional levels and ultimately the African Union (AU) level to
compete favourably with the rest of the world.
12
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