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Africa: Making Communication Cheaper, Faster And More Transparent
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Commonwealth News and Information Service (London)
25 March 2008
Posted to the web 26 March 2008
One of the key indicators of good governance is the extent to which citizens are able to participate in decision-making in a country.
In the past, citizens in many countries have only had access to information through their elected representatives. But with the growth of the internet and other informational tools, this is rapidly changing.
Today, the internet is not only making businesses more efficient through e-commerce, but also enabling more citizens to participate in governance by giving them direct access to information.
Like e-commerce, e-governance - also known as electronic governance - aims to improve efficiency of the delivery of services by making communication cheaper, faster and more transparent, according to 'Growth and Success through e-governance', a new book published by the Commonwealth Secretariat.
The book, edited by Devindra Ramnarine and RoseMarie-Rita Endeley, highlights the experiences of Malta and Cyprus in implementing e-governance initiatives and the lessons that can be learned.
The publication explains major concerns associated with e-governance and gives recommendations on ways to improve e-governance.
Malta and Cyprus's experiences are particularly important as they provide important lessons to other Commonwealth member countries wishing to implement similar initiatives. The Government of Mauritius, for instance, is in the process of establishing an e-governance programme with technical assistance from the Secretariat.
Like Malta and Cyprus, Mauritius is seeking to improve transparency in government and position itself as an outsourcing supplier of governmental information-processing services via telecommunications links for other African nations.
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But despite the immense benefits of e-governance, challenges still remain. Many developing countries are disadvantaged as they lack capital and technical knowledge and skills to establish such initiatives. Some governments encounter difficulty in striking a balance between national security needs and public expectations of transparency.
Jacqueline Wilson, Director of the Secretariat's Governance and Institutional Development Division, warned that e-governance should not be seen as a one-size-fits-all approach but one that may be modified to suit different situations.
"Because e-government and e-governance are developing fields, rather than co-modified products, there is no one right way to do things, and there is no single goal towards which to strive," she observed.
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