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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=140531715-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>Hey Wals,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=140531715-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=140531715-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>Now, I gain some understanding. In that case, then what do we
need changed....? Harry Hare, mentioned
legislation/law...</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=140531715-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=140531715-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>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
</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=140531715-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>the right </FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=140531715-29032010><FONT
color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>piece of legislation to be put in place, and
overhaul the way we do things..</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=140531715-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=140531715-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>Change, must be initiated. The agenda that is important to
move things forward cannot be held hostage by a handful of</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=140531715-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>turf wars and other self seeking interests. Nation first, self
second..</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=140531715-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=140531715-29032010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>Harry</FONT></SPAN></DIV><BR>
<DIV dir=ltr lang=en-us class=OutlookMessageHeader align=left>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
<FONT size=2 face=Tahoma><B>From:</B>
kictanet-bounces+harry=comtelsys.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke
[mailto:kictanet-bounces+harry=comtelsys.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] <B>On
Behalf Of </B>Walubengo J<BR><B>Sent:</B> Monday, March 29, 2010 3:51
PM<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>
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<DIV>right on the spot Harry (the Hare ;-)),</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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...</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>walu.</DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR>--- On <B>Mon, 3/29/10, Harry Hare
<I><harry@africanedevelopment.org></I></B> wrote:<BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><BR>From:
Harry Hare <harry@africanedevelopment.org><BR>Subject: Re:
[kictanet] E-Government is it a myth or a reality?<BR>To:
jwalu@yahoo.com<BR>Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions"
<kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke><BR>Date: Monday, March 29, 2010,
11:26 AM<BR><BR>
<DIV class=plainMail>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><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>On 3/27/10 7:43 PM, "Barrack
Otieno" <<A
href="http://us.mc578.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=otieno.barrack@gmail.com"
ymailto="mailto:otieno.barrack@gmail.com">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>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><BR><BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>kictanet
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