AJIC Issue 12, 2012

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/19263

This issue of the African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC) raises, in interesting ways, a number of issues that have become core to the debate about the role of new ICTs in the African context. The critical issue in relation to ICT is the potential of these technologies to advance democratic practices that enable wider participation in decision making, through interactive channels. As highlighted by the case studies from Zambia, South Africa and Egypt, e-government is not only about infrastructure, legal/institutional environments, and computerising government administration, but also very much about citizen engagement.

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Author: search.filters.author.Cloete, Fanie

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    e-Government Lessons from South Africa 2001-2011: Institutions, State of Progress and Measurement
    (LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2012-12-15) Cloete, Fanie
    Electronic governance is the future of public governance globally. Governments that do not make the transition from paper-based systems of public administration to electronic platforms of public governance may swiftly undermine their chances of developing their societies as 21st century information societies. At the turn of the century, South Africa started out as a leader in e-government among developing countries. A decade later, it has been surpassed by states that were much less developed. Why did this happen? Can the competitive edge that South Africa had 10 years ago be regained, and if so, how? This article summarises the strategic importance of the shift from paper-based public administration to electronic governance. It uses the Rorissa, Demissie and Pardo (2011) model of e-government assessment to analyse progress in South Africa’s migration to a digital state. It presents a perspective on institutional arrangements, the state of e-government and the e-barometer measurement approach. It discusses the reasons behind the decade-long stagnation in the South African migration to electronic platforms of governance and concludes by identifying the main policy and implementation lessons that can be learned. These lessons may have relevance to many developing countries, including those on the African continent.