[kictanet] [Skunkworks] Kenya IGF Online discussions Day 4: Open Data and e-government

[Kivuva]

> On the other hand ,  according to Wikipedia, e-government refers to
> digital interactions between a government and its Citizens
>
> *Questions*



> 5. The government has embarked on a number of e-government initiatives, to
> what extent has the Citizenry embraced e-government? What steps should the
> country take to ensure the citizens fully embrace e - government?*
> *The floor is open
>
>
Thanks Barrack, let me take the open floor. :)
I Like the UK's e-governmnet motto "Digital by default".
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm. It shows real commitment to take
government services to the people, not the other way round.

We have an e-Governance Secretariat established by the government of Kenya (
http://www.e-government.go.ke/). The main objective in the website was to

"oversee conceptualization, design and coordination of implementation of
information technology activities in the civil service that are geared
towards realization of full e-Government in public service delivery."

Essentially, the term e-Government also known as Digital Government, refers
to 'How government utilizes IT, ICT and other telecommunication
technologies, to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness in the public
sector' (Jeong, 2007)

The government of Kenya approved a national ICT policy in consultation with
relevant agencies which recognized the problems of the different disjoint
government systems, duplication and lack of enabling infrastructure. Since
then the government has created systems for applying for public service
jobs (is it working?),  tracking status of passports (dead),  exam results
notifications (working), a government procurement portal, and submitting
tax returns and declaring customs online (perfect).  Many other services
are still at infant stage but it is still a step in the right direction.

Other successful e-government strategies  by the government are:

   1. Establishing a data center and implementation of a shared services
   platform where common services are integrated and managed centrally to
   improve services, reduce overhead costs and duplications as well as for
   optimal utilization of the ICT human capital.
   2. Laid fiber optic cable through the nation but they have not yet
   provided last mile connectivity to government offices or other users.
   3. Released Open Government Data through opendata datasets concept. The
   data includes: various dimensions of population data; local and national
   government authority expenditure; public health indicator data and
   statistics including hospital locations; education data such as enrollment
   rates and school locations; parliamentary proceedings (digital Hansard);
   weather information and detailed census statistics on topics such as access
   to electricity, water and sanitation. https://www.opendata.go.ke/
   4. The government each years offers Local content grants to about 20
   developers and artists of up-to $50,000 per project through a competitive
   process.
   http://www.ict.go.ke/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=356&Itemid=301
   5. Promoting BPO/ITES activities in the country. The Hallmark is the
   establishment of the grand Konza Technology Park which is billed as the
   next African Silicon Savannah. http://www.konzacity.co.ke/
   6. And finally, entrepreneurs are given loans to start Digital villages
   code named Pasha (meaning disseminate). This initiative aims at
   establishing Cyber Cafes that providing internet access and various online
   services at the grassroots. http://pasha.co.ke/

The initiatives are more that what I've outlines, and can be a good basis
for a Masters or PhD dissertation. I did a slideshare presentation a years
back with the same theme, but different components. You can access the link
herehttp://www.slideshare.net/lordmwesh/e-government-7203413

Is our e-government strategy working? Are we "more talk and no walk"? What
can be done to push the stalled projects forward?

Regards
10rdmwesh

-- 
______________________
Mwendwa Kivuva
For
Business Development
Transworld Computer Channels
Cel: 0722402248
twitter.com/lordmwesh
www.transworldAfrica.com  | Fluent in computing
kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20120619/9204883d/attachment.htm>