A lost opportunity to foster E-Democracy and service delivery: E-Government in Sub Saharan Africa

Abstract

Electronic government (e-government) is an innovative attempt to take advantage of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to facilitate the citizens’ access to government information and services in order to support social, economic and political development and provide an avenue for the public to interact with government institutions and processes in a democratic, transparent and equitable way. E-government has the possibility of improving service delivery and enhancing the relationship between the government and the public. It may also help to foster electronic democracy (e-democracy). However, Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) faces a lot of challenges when it comes to implementing e-government programmes. The ICT infrastructure is weak and is not widely available to rural populations. In most cases, both government officials and the people who may want to use government services online lack basic skills. Government information is not properly organized as records management systems in many countries are collapsing. E-government projects are deficient in many countries in SSA, and they are grossly under resourced. Consequently, SSA may lose the opportunities offered by ICTs to improve government service delivery and foster democracy and accountability.