The influence of external actors in the formulation of national information and communications technology policies in developing countries: Case of Swaziland

Abstract

A growing number of countries in Africa are formulating national Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policies. It is government's responsibility to ensure that appropriate public policies are formulated on behalf of the citizens who aspire to a better future through improved standards of living, good education and health care including better governance. However, most of the national ICT policies are formulated following pressure from external actors and with little involvement of the local stakeholders. Using the case of the Swaziland National ICT policy, this paper situates the roles that external actors played during the policy making process and argues that some of the roles played by external actors may affect the likelihood of countries realizing policy outcomes. Policy Network Analysis was used as a theoretical lens to analyse the policy-making processes, structures, outcomes and relations between policy actors. Data for the study was gathered using semi-structured interviews with policy actors and document analysis. It was noted that external actors played different roles in the process of formulating its national ICT policy. These included financial support, technical support and later the approval of the policy itself. The authors argue that some of the roles during policy making should be the responsibility of the local actors.