Hello Barrack,
I see and hear your concerns, however, this animal called e-Government can
be very complex and allow me to share some little knowledge I have after
more than 10 years of e-Gov consulting. Warning: This will be a bit long.
First and fore most we have to understand that e-Gov is delivery of public
services through the use of ICT infrastructure. This means e-Gov is *not*
ICT infrastructure but part of the delivery and facilitation mechanism. If
we agree on this, then the networks that you refer to (I think this is the
Government Core Network (GCN)) has set the stage for e-Gov service delivery
but it is not a service as-is.
This means there is a another level that needs to be worked on, and that is
the services portfolio. This has already started albeit in a very
uncoordinated manner. KRA seems to be leading the fray - PIN, VAT
application, Online tax returns etc. Due to poor or lack of coordination,
each Ministry seems to be working on their own programmes and projects (I
have talked about this before) and I can tell you this does not bring the
benefits of e-Gov - efficiency, accuracy and cost savings.
A case in point is the myriad of databases across government agencies.
Almost each ministry *owns* its own database with a lot of redundant
information that each ministry keeps on collecting from you. Under the
shared services model, application and data re-use can be made possible.
Where Govt can shared core applications and databases. You will be surprised
the amount of errors that are introduced to records every time an new form
is filled. So just reducing the number of times you fill a form at each
ministry greatly improves the accuracy of Govt records. So, shared services
model is best practice in e-Gov.
Now, about strategies and strategy meetings. E-Gov is a change process. Its
about change, changing the way people work, changing the processes and
re-engineering these process to be supported by an ICT infrastructure.
Change at any level is not easy and at government level is unthinkable!
Let me illustrate. All e-Gov services have to be backed by law and there are
legal requirements for every government service you receive. Some laws have
come into effect that support the roll out of e-Gov services but many are
yet to be enacted. Consider the issue of contracts. When is a contract
valid? In most cases there are specific requirements of form designed to
protect interests or persons. So you see that contracts may in some cases be
considered valid only when executed in their physical form. That's why you
have to make a physical application and sign it when applying for your
passport. So, for you to apply for the same passport online, some laws have
to be amended to allow for such provisions.
The UN or InfoDev, not sure which one, identified 5 e-Gov maturity levels
from basic online presence to what they refer to a Connected Government. All
these stages are incremental and have increased benefits to the citizens as
you move up the ladder. Connected Government is ideal level and very few
countries globally are there yet. One of them is Canada. We are possibly at
the second level where we have basic transactional capabilities - can
download a form, can file tax returns online, can query a database to check
the status of your passport application etc.
Now, to move to the next level, we need to plan and put strategies in place.
Evaluate what we have done, where we are at, revisit our priorities and set
new goals. This is a that you will see over and over again. So e-Gov is not
something you switch on, its a process that builds on existing blocks
incrementally.
Whether we use these strategies we develop and review is a totally different
thing. But its critical to plan and strategise. As they say, failure to plan
is planning to fail.
My apologies for such a long post, but I felt obliged because e-Gov is a
subject that is very close to my heart and I hope this helps. Corrections
and additions are all welcome
I suspect this is worth a bob, ama walu?
Kindest regards
Harry
African eDevelopment Resource Centre
On 3/27/10 7:43 PM, "Barrack Otieno" <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
> Listers,
>
> I have been following discussions on this list that seem to be
> touching on the above mentioned subject. We seem to be spending large
> sums on meetings strategizing and restrategizing however are we
> really making any headway? at this point in time we are still
> required to "fill in some forms" whenever we seek government services
> is this e-government? we are now talking about shared services i
> thought e-government implemented a project that networked most
> government offices, however you have to travel physically to offices
> to get services, at times we confuse the public with ICT jargon what
> the public needs is efficiency and effectiveness in service provision.
> ICT4D on the other hand has been infiltrated by commercial interests,
> i wonder what should prevail when "commercial" and "public" interests
> meet, probably we should spend more money on change management,
> capacity building and awareness campaigns as opposed to this "strategy
> meetings" which will only lead to analysis paralysis
>
> My thoughts
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