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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=031274408-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>Hey Rad,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=031274408-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=031274408-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>Understood. </FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=031274408-29032010><FONT
color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>Perhaps E-Govt, might just be the wrong horse,
to tie this cart called "Broadband" onto, inasmuch</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=031274408-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>as they may </FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=031274408-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>cross paths along
the way nonetheless..</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=031274408-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=031274408-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>Broadband, has alot much more to ride on, and uplift the
living standards of much of the populace within this</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=031274408-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>country, - whether policy makers will tie it to what they
would like to achieve in E-Govt service dissemination </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=031274408-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>is a</FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=031274408-29032010><FONT
color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>different matter altogether.. But apparently the
same policy making process has alot of say on the direction</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=031274408-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>of Broadband. As matters stand right now, we need to see more
impact on this.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=031274408-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=031274408-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>Infact, we can delink the two, and pursue each on it's own
aggressively - the better..</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=031274408-29032010></SPAN><FONT
face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT size=2></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT size=2>H<SPAN
class=031274408-29032010>arry</SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr lang=en-us class=OutlookMessageHeader align=left>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
<FONT size=2 face=Tahoma><B>From:</B> Rad! [mailto:conradakunga@gmail.com]
<BR><B>Sent:</B> Monday, March 29, 2010 11:33 AM<BR><B>To:</B>
harry@comtelsys.co.ke<BR><B>Cc:</B> KICTAnet ICT Policy
Discussions<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [kictanet] E-Government is it a myth or a
reality?<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>You misunderstand me. I am not saying we don't need broadband. Far
from it. What I am saying is that broadband in itself is not a panacea. There
need to be systems and appropriate processes in addition to broadband for
service delivery to work.
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>My concern is that there is too much emphasis is on broadband, less on
systems and even less on procedures and processes. This to me is putting the
cart before the horse.<BR><BR>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>On Mon, Mar 29, 2010 at 11:23 AM, Harry Delano <SPAN
dir=ltr><<A
href="mailto:harry@comtelsys.co.ke">harry@comtelsys.co.ke</A>></SPAN>
wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; PADDING-LEFT: 1ex"
class=gmail_quote>
<DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial>Rad,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>Agreed,
broadband on it's own will never be an answer - But you see, the " 6
lane highway" is the one that leads to the "Big City",
</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>already
being built </FONT></SPAN><SPAN><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>block by
block, as Harry correctly put's it.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>Lest we
wait until we have built a big city - such as Nrb right now, and
then realize quite late the roads leading to it
are logjammed/</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>congested
and it's also very expensive to access services, and have to start building
by-passes to decongest, etc etc, when this</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>could have
been done much earlier on.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>What we
are looking it, is ways and means of delivery of the E-Govt. services, to the
real customers - with ease of convenience</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>and
through affordable mediums. There is no gainsaying, that this has to be
addressed, urgently. The customers, of these services</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>- such as
Returns filing, do not sit at the Gov't Headquarters. They are far and wide,
we need to ensure that as we work on platforms,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>these
services should reach customers where they are.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial>Therefore we like it or not, broadband becomes of absolute
essence.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial>Harry</FONT></SPAN>
<HR>
<FONT size=2 face=Tahoma><B>From:</B> kictanet-bounces+harry=<A
href="http://comtelsys.co.ke" target=_blank>comtelsys.co.ke</A>@<A
href="http://lists.kictanet.or.ke" target=_blank>lists.kictanet.or.ke</A>
[mailto:<A href="mailto:kictanet-bounces%2Bharry"
target=_blank>kictanet-bounces+harry</A>=<A href="http://comtelsys.co.ke"
target=_blank>comtelsys.co.ke</A>@<A href="http://lists.kictanet.or.ke"
target=_blank>lists.kictanet.or.ke</A>] <B>On Behalf Of
</B>Rad!<BR><B>Sent:</B> Monday, March 29, 2010 10:37 AM
<DIV class=im><BR><B>To:</B> <A href="mailto:harry@comtelsys.co.ke"
target=_blank>harry@comtelsys.co.ke</A><BR></DIV><B>Cc:</B> KICTAnet ICT
Policy Discussions<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [kictanet] E-Government is it a myth
or a reality?<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=h5>
<DIV></DIV>Well said Harry.
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>I keep hearing the term 'broadband' bandied about in this context.
Broadband in itself is not the answer. There is no point of a 6 lane highway
if there is nowhere the road is going.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Just to add on what you said above an important consideration is to
review some of the current existing processes and see if they make sense, both
in themselves and in a connected context.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>For example if e-Government is implemented from a context of National and
International Immigration it would be useful to re-look at many of the
existing processes: for example the need of that exit/entry declaration form
that is filled at the airport. Is there a need to fill in your name, address,
occupation etc -- information that is already on your passport and is already
being scanned?</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Many such parallels exist. E-government should not purely be looked at
from the perspective of ICT</DIV>
<DIV><BR>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>On Mon, Mar 29, 2010 at 10:26 AM, Harry Hare <SPAN
dir=ltr><<A href="mailto:harry@africanedevelopment.org"
target=_blank>harry@africanedevelopment.org</A>></SPAN> wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; PADDING-LEFT: 1ex"
class=gmail_quote>Hello Barrack,<BR><BR>I see and hear your concerns,
however, this animal called e-Government can<BR>be very complex and allow me
to share some little knowledge I have after<BR>more than 10 years of e-Gov
consulting. Warning: This will be a bit long.<BR><BR>First and fore most we
have to understand that e-Gov is delivery of public<BR>services through the
use of ICT infrastructure. This means e-Gov is *not*<BR>ICT infrastructure
but part of the delivery and facilitation mechanism. If<BR>we agree on this,
then the networks that you refer to (I think this is the<BR>Government Core
Network (GCN)) has set the stage for e-Gov service delivery<BR>but it is not
a service as-is.<BR><BR>This means there is a another level that needs to be
worked on, and that is<BR>the services portfolio. This has already started
albeit in a very<BR>uncoordinated manner. KRA seems to be leading the fray -
PIN, VAT<BR>application, Online tax returns etc. Due to poor or lack of
coordination,<BR>each Ministry seems to be working on their own programmes
and projects (I<BR>have talked about this before) and I can tell you this
does not bring the<BR>benefits of e-Gov - efficiency, accuracy and cost
savings.<BR><BR>A case in point is the myriad of databases across government
agencies.<BR>Almost each ministry *owns* its own database with a lot of
redundant<BR>information that each ministry keeps on collecting from you.
Under the<BR>shared services model, application and data re-use can be made
possible.<BR>Where Govt can shared core applications and databases. You will
be surprised<BR>the amount of errors that are introduced to records every
time an new form<BR>is filled. So just reducing the number of times you fill
a form at each<BR>ministry greatly improves the accuracy of Govt records.
So, shared services<BR>model is best practice in e-Gov.<BR><BR>Now, about
strategies and strategy meetings. E-Gov is a change process. Its<BR>about
change, changing the way people work, changing the processes
and<BR>re-engineering these process to be supported by an ICT
infrastructure.<BR>Change at any level is not easy and at government level
is unthinkable!<BR><BR>Let me illustrate. All e-Gov services have to be
backed by law and there are<BR>legal requirements for every government
service you receive. Some laws have<BR>come into effect that support the
roll out of e-Gov services but many are<BR>yet to be enacted. Consider the
issue of contracts. When is a contract<BR>valid? In most cases there are
specific requirements of form designed to<BR>protect interests or persons.
So you see that contracts may in some cases be<BR>considered valid only when
executed in their physical form. That's why you<BR>have to make a physical
application and sign it when applying for your<BR>passport. So, for you to
apply for the same passport online, some laws have<BR>to be amended to allow
for such provisions.<BR><BR><BR>The UN or InfoDev, not sure which one,
identified 5 e-Gov maturity levels<BR>from basic online presence to what
they refer to a Connected Government. All<BR>these stages are incremental
and have increased benefits to the citizens as<BR>you move up the ladder.
Connected Government is ideal level and very few<BR>countries globally are
there yet. One of them is Canada. We are possibly at<BR>the second level
where we have basic transactional capabilities - can<BR>download a form, can
file tax returns online, can query a database to check<BR>the status of your
passport application etc.<BR><BR>Now, to move to the next level, we need to
plan and put strategies in place.<BR>Evaluate what we have done, where we
are at, revisit our priorities and set<BR>new goals. This is a that you will
see over and over again. So e-Gov is not<BR>something you switch on, its a
process that builds on existing blocks<BR>incrementally.<BR><BR>Whether we
use these strategies we develop and review is a totally different<BR>thing.
But its critical to plan and strategise. As they say, failure to plan<BR>is
planning to fail.<BR><BR>My apologies for such a long post, but I felt
obliged because e-Gov is a<BR>subject that is very close to my heart and I
hope this helps. Corrections<BR>and additions are all welcome<BR><BR>I
suspect this is worth a bob, ama walu?<BR><BR>Kindest regards<BR>Harry<BR>
<DIV><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>On 3/27/10 7:43 PM, "Barrack Otieno" <<A
href="mailto:otieno.barrack@gmail.com"
target=_blank>otieno.barrack@gmail.com</A>> wrote:<BR><BR>>
Listers,<BR>><BR>> I have been following discussions on this list that
seem to be<BR>> touching on the above mentioned subject. We seem to be
spending large<BR>> sums on meetings strategizing and
restrategizing however are we<BR>> really making any headway? at
this point in time we are still<BR>> required to "fill in some forms"
whenever we seek government services<BR>> is this e-government? we are
now talking about shared services i<BR>> thought e-government implemented
a project that networked most<BR>> government offices, however you have
to travel physically to offices<BR>> to get services, at times we confuse
the public with ICT jargon what<BR>> the public needs is efficiency and
effectiveness in service provision.<BR>> ICT4D on the other hand has been
infiltrated by commercial interests,<BR>> i wonder what should prevail
when "commercial" and "public" interests<BR>> meet, probably we should
spend more money on change management,<BR>> capacity building and
awareness campaigns as opposed to this "strategy<BR>> meetings" which
will only lead to analysis paralysis<BR>><BR>> My
thoughts<BR><BR></DIV>African eDevelopment Resource Centre<BR>eDevelopment
House : : 604 Limuru Road<BR>Old Muthaiga : : P O Box
49475 00100<BR>Nairobi : : Kenya<BR>T +254 20 3741646/7 : : C +254 725
650044<BR><BR>Training : : Research: :Consultancy: :
Publishing<BR>
<DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
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