[kictanet] E-Government is it a myth or a reality?

Wed Mar 31 20:21:15 EAT 2010

Thanks Harry Harre for the great post,

Walu mentioned "People ware", this is the greatest impediment to
e-government, unless we handle this issue properly we might keep going in
circles, we need a radical paradigm shift otherwise "the spirit of Africa
will prevail" Lethargy the many databases and silos are basically "Projects"
funded by donors, may i propose that all donors financing ICT projects go
through a single governmnet agency instead of dealing with Ministries
directly?

Regards

On Mon, Mar 29, 2010 at 5:23 PM, Harry Delano <harry at comtelsys.co.ke> wrote:

>  Hey Wals,
>
> Now, I gain some understanding. In that case, then what do we need
> changed....? Harry  Hare, mentioned legislation/law...
>
> Is that where we need to begin? If so, I suppose let's pick up all the
> relevant areas that need improvement, and lobby for
> the right piece of legislation to be put in place, and overhaul the way we
> do things..
>
> Change, must be initiated. The agenda that is important to move things
> forward cannot be held hostage by a handful of
> turf wars and other self seeking interests. Nation first, self second..
>
> Harry
>
>  ------------------------------
> *From:* kictanet-bounces+harry=comtelsys.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke[mailto:
> kictanet-bounces+harry <kictanet-bounces%2Bharry>=comtelsys.co.ke@
> lists.kictanet.or.ke] *On Behalf Of *Walubengo J
> *Sent:* Monday, March 29, 2010 3:51 PM
>
> *To:* harry at comtelsys.co.ke
> *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] E-Government is it a myth or a reality?
>
>    right on the spot Harry (the Hare ;-)),
>
> infrastructure(cables, comps, networks, s/ware, bandwidth etc) is often the
> easy part. There's a complex bit we sometimes call Layer8 or Peopleware. You
> cant change the way people think overnite - even if you provided them the
> pre-requisite policy, legal and other frameworks, one must still fight that
> inertia (comfort zone) you and i have that makes it difficult to adopt new
> ways of thinking, working.
>
> for .KE government, the biggest hurdle towards egovernment is really the
> turf wars I alluded to (Harry Delano, now am interprating),  You will find
> resistance to building single databases/shared services fought tooth and
> nail because that means one dept/ministry or agency has to ceed power and
> assosciated privileges(rent?) to another...
>
> walu.
>
>
> --- On *Mon, 3/29/10, Harry Hare <harry at africanedevelopment.org>* wrote:
>
>
> From: Harry Hare <harry at africanedevelopment.org>
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] E-Government is it a myth or a reality?
> To: jwalu at yahoo.com
> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Date: Monday, March 29, 2010, 11:26 AM
>
> Hello Barrack,
>
> I see and hear your concerns, however, this animal called e-Government can
> be very complex and allow me to share some little knowledge I have after
> more than 10 years of e-Gov consulting. Warning: This will be a bit long.
>
> First and fore most we have to understand that e-Gov is delivery of public
> services through the use of ICT infrastructure. This means e-Gov is *not*
> ICT infrastructure but part of the delivery and facilitation mechanism. If
> we agree on this, then the networks that you refer to (I think this is the
> Government Core Network (GCN)) has set the stage for e-Gov service delivery
> but it is not a service as-is.
>
> This means there is a another level that needs to be worked on, and that is
> the services portfolio. This has already started albeit in a very
> uncoordinated manner. KRA seems to be leading the fray - PIN, VAT
> application, Online tax returns etc. Due to poor or lack of coordination,
> each Ministry seems to be working on their own programmes and projects (I
> have talked about this before) and I can tell you this does not bring the
> benefits of e-Gov - efficiency, accuracy and cost savings.
>
> A case in point is the myriad of databases across government agencies.
> Almost each ministry *owns* its own database with a lot of redundant
> information that each ministry keeps on collecting from you. Under the
> shared services model, application and data re-use can be made possible.
> Where Govt can shared core applications and databases. You will be
> surprised
> the amount of errors that are introduced to records every time an new form
> is filled. So just reducing the number of times you fill a form at each
> ministry greatly improves the accuracy of Govt records. So, shared services
> model is best practice in e-Gov.
>
> Now, about strategies and strategy meetings. E-Gov is a change process. Its
> about change, changing the way people work, changing the processes and
> re-engineering these process to be supported by an ICT infrastructure.
> Change at any level is not easy and at government level is unthinkable!
>
> Let me illustrate. All e-Gov services have to be backed by law and there
> are
> legal requirements for every government service you receive. Some laws have
> come into effect that support the roll out of e-Gov services but many are
> yet to be enacted. Consider the issue of contracts. When is a contract
> valid? In most cases there are specific requirements of form designed to
> protect interests or persons. So you see that contracts may in some cases
> be
> considered valid only when executed in their physical form. That's why you
> have to make a physical application and sign it when applying for your
> passport. So, for you to apply for the same passport online, some laws have
> to be amended to allow for such provisions.
>
>
> The UN or InfoDev, not sure which one, identified 5 e-Gov maturity levels
> from basic online presence to what they refer to a Connected Government.
> All
> these stages are incremental and have increased benefits to the citizens as
> you move up the ladder. Connected Government is ideal level and very few
> countries globally are there yet. One of them is Canada. We are possibly at
> the second level where we have basic transactional capabilities - can
> download a form, can file tax returns online, can query a database to check
> the status of your passport application etc.
>
> Now, to move to the next level, we need to plan and put strategies in
> place.
> Evaluate what we have done, where we are at, revisit our priorities and set
> new goals. This is a that you will see over and over again. So e-Gov is not
> something you switch on, its a process that builds on existing blocks
> incrementally.
>
> Whether we use these strategies we develop and review is a totally
> different
> thing. But its critical to plan and strategise. As they say, failure to
> plan
> is planning to fail.
>
> My apologies for such a long post, but I felt obliged because e-Gov is a
> subject that is very close to my heart and I hope this helps. Corrections
> and additions are all welcome
>
> I suspect this is worth a bob, ama walu?
>
> Kindest regards
> Harry
>
>
>
>
>
> On 3/27/10 7:43 PM, "Barrack Otieno" <otieno.barrack at gmail.com<http://us.mc578.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]>>
> wrote:
>
> > Listers,
> >
> > I have been following discussions on this list that seem to be
> > touching on the above mentioned subject. We seem to be spending large
> > sums on meetings  strategizing and restrategizing however are we
> > really making any headway?  at this point in time we are still
> > required to "fill in some forms" whenever we seek government services
> > is this e-government? we are now talking about shared services i
> > thought e-government implemented a project that networked most
> > government offices, however you have to travel physically to offices
> > to get services, at times we confuse the public with ICT jargon what
> > the public needs is efficiency and effectiveness in service provision.
> > ICT4D on the other hand has been infiltrated by commercial interests,
> > i wonder what should prevail when "commercial" and "public" interests
> > meet, probably we should spend more money on change management,
> > capacity building and awareness campaigns as opposed to this "strategy
> > meetings" which will only lead to analysis paralysis
> >
> > My thoughts
>
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