Are we moving towards a managerial model of e-governance? building a case for citizen centric e-participation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

Exploring the various information and communication technology measures adopted by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to ensure ‘good and effective governance’ of the province, this paper aims to understand how far such e-governance initiatives endorse citizen’s participation in governance and what limitations are problematizing the quest for citizen engagement through such measures. The paper primarily explores and examines the service provider’s perspective through in-depth interviews with officials from KP Government’s IT focused departments. Applying the theoretical framework developed by Chadwick and May (2003), the paper argues that the KP government’s more than 140 plus IT based applications are mostly electronic versions of paper-based information posted on the websites, which makes it an information dissemination system rather than a fully interactive technology. There is little comprehension about ‘citizen engagement’ through e-government initiatives among bureaucrats and e-governance is largely seen as a one-sided provision of official information; citizen access to government services; or their access to the online complaint mechanisms. Officials also recognize that shortfall of essential infrastructure; public awareness deficits; accessibility issues; a lack of public trust in online service delivery mechanisms, and doubts over timely official response; all confound meaningful citizen participation in governance through the ICTs.