The Prospects for eGovernment and eGovernance in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

EGovernance and eGovernment are critical tools for Good governance and economic development, and are therefore critical for Highly Indebted Poor Countries, a majority of which are in Sub-Saharan Africa. This article reviews literature in order to discuss the prospects of eGovernance and eGovernment in Sub Saharan Countries, and chooses the nation of Zambia as an in-depth case study. Issues of investment climate, market structure, infrastructural capacity, social contexts and political and cultural resistance factors are identified as impediments but also key components (if well understood and tackled) for effective initiation and implementation of eGovernance and eGovernment projects.

Determinants and barriers of e-procurement: A European comparison of public sector experiences

“…However, unsuitable market structures and structural economic barriers (e.g. economies of scale, sunk costs) may impede the implementation of ICT-driven social innovations, especially in developing countries [48]. In this case, sustainable economic growth is critical for late adopters to keep sufficient fiscal resources [37].…”

“…Strong political commitment and leadership styles play an important role to push late adopters [29]. However, conflicts in political priorities may act as barriers, deviating attention from e-procurement adoption [14,48]. Rigid regulations could also reduce the flexibility and suffocate e-procurement innovations [30,49].…”

“…Technological factors. Technological factors refer to the contextual infrastructural capacity and level of general ICT readiness [22,48]. A strong ICT infrastructural capacity enables adoption of ICT-driven innovation by government agencies [33].…”

Consumers' Awareness of the Value of e-Government in Zambia

“…On the supply side (government) there are other disadvantages of e-Government noted. For example setting up the e-Government ICT infrastructure, institutional and regulatory frameworks may be very costly and diverging the merger resources that could be used for alternative developmental programmes (Ndou, 2004;Nyirenda & Cropf, 2010). Further, instead of promoting more citizens regardless of their status to participate in governance value chains, e-Government may further translate into e-Exclusion especially in places with higher intermittent levels of the digital divide.…”

“…Not long ago e-Government and e-Governance were conceived as impractical and a waste of time in developing countries in Africa and India. Research findings show that this was the case because the benefits of e-Government could not easily be realized owing to the many deficiencies of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure, inexistence of relevant policies, and lack of recognition of the benefits of e-Government Nyirenda & Cropf, 2010;Subhajyoti, 2011). On the e-Government demand-side (viz consumers) the lack of understanding amongst the general citizenry in Africa of what e-Government is, is well documented (Ngulube, 2007;Asogwa, 2011).…”