Electronic governance is the future of public governance globally. Governments that do not make the transition from paper-based systems of public administration to electronic platforms of public governance may swiftly undermine their chances of developing their societies as 21st century information societies. At the turn of the century, South Africa started out as a leader in e-government among developing countries. A decade later, it has been surpassed by states that were much less developed. Why did this happen? Can the competitive edge that South Africa had 10 years ago be regained, and if so, how? This article summarises the strategic importance of the shift from paper-based public administration to electronic governance. It uses the Rorissa, Demissie and Pardo (2011) model of e-government assessment to analyse progress in South Africa's migration to a digital state. It presents a perspective on institutional arrangements, the state of e-government and the e-barometer measurement approach. It discusses the reasons behind the decade-long stagnation in the South African migration to electronic platforms of governance and concludes by identifying the main policy and implementation lessons that can be learned. These lessons may have relevance to many developing countries, including those on the African continent.
KEYWORDS:electronic governance, South Africa, stagnation, migration
THE INTERNATIONAL E-GOVERNANCE PARADIGM SHIFTThe 21st century has witnessed a noticeable shift away from the public administration paradigm that developed in the 19th and 20th centuries as a demand-side paper-based system of governmental recordkeeping and request-driven services to the public. The shift to an experimental supply-side system of digital or electronic government encompasses an increasing number of functions and services made available online via fixed or mobile electronic networks and devices. This shift is a direct consequence of the information revolution. In theory, electronic government has the potential to increase the effectiveness of government, as well as to transform the nature of public management and governance through electronic governance. In practice, though, this potential for better government and governance has not materialised to the extent that advocates of the new paradigm predicted, particularly in respect of developing countries.In order to put the elements of e-governance in perspective, the following conceptual clarifications are made. Government is referred to here as the organs of state, as well as the governing functions, activities and operations. e-Government comprises the operations of government through the use of electronic technologies including computers, the Internet and mobile