eGovernment in Eastern Africa

Globally, few governments have fully embraced the opportunities offered by recent huge developments in Information Communications Technology (ICT). The rapid pace of change in recent times has meant it is difficult to know where we are heading, and for our governments to make informed decisions on “e”. On the heels of other articles written by consultants in KPMG East Africa this article will demystify “e” further. Simbo Ntiro explores the relevance of eGovernment to governments in Eastern Africa…

eGovernment – is it viable in Eastern Africa?

Governments across the world have taken far longer to fully embrace the Internet than have commercial enterprises.  This situation can perhaps be attributed to a general absence of competitive pressures resulting in less need to continuously generate efficiencies. However, increasing pressures on government to optimise the use of tax revenue, improve procurement, enhance quality and efficiency in delivering existing and new services and provide more information to the public has forced many governments to explore the opportunities presented by the advent of the internet.  Indeed many pundits believe the next Internet revolution will be eGovernment.

eGovernment – What is it?

Simply put, eGovernment is about a government using computer technology, software and the Internet to manage and deliver services. There are three overlapping focal points of eGovernment: a) External interaction; b) Connecting citizens; and c) Process improvement. eGovernment strategies typically aim to generate improvements in one or a combination of these focal points.  Electronic voting through a website in a general election, for example, would aim to connect citizens as well as generate process efficiencies. Any eGovernment implementation will involve a mix of these overlapping focal points as illustrated in the following diagram.

eGovernment worldwide

Several governments are currently investing in eGovernment but in very different ways. In the USA for example, President Clinton is supporting a new website that will provide free and rapid access to government information and services to the public. Initial information can be found at (http://www.firstgov.gov/).

By the end of this year Singapore’s GeBIZ (found at http://www.gebiz.gov.sg/) will be a 24X7 one-stop centre for government’s business dealings. Currently it allows the financial systems of ministries and agencies and procurement applications to work together on procurements capped at US$ 30,000. Once new payment and security systems are introduced, Singapore intends to transfer 80% of all government procurement to GeBIZ. Imagine the cost savings that this investment will deliver.

Other governments are simply automating their current processes. But why does the focus of eGovernment differ so markedly around the world? Some of the answers lie in eReadiness.

National eReadiness and eGovernment

eReadiness is a measure of a country’s capacity to participate in the global digital economy. Broadly, the greater the eReadiness of a country, the greater the potential benefits from it participating in eGovernment.

In August 2000 McConnell International – in conjunction with the World IT and Services Alliance (http://www.witsa.org) completed a global eReadiness summary in which 42 countries were surveyed. The African countries Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania were part of this survey (http://www.mcconnellinternational.com). The survey ranked countries using the following criteria:

q       Connectivity: Are networks easy and affordable to access and to use?

q       eLeadership: Is eReadiness a national priority?

q       Information Security: Can the processing and storage of networked information be trusted?

q       Human Capital: Are the right people available to support eBusiness and build a knowledge-based society?

q       eBusiness Climate: How easy is it to do eBusiness today?

Both Kenya and Tanzania were ranked low demonstrating obstacles in the development of eBusiness and eGovernment. Clearly, improving our eReadiness capacity is imperative if we are not to lag further behind other countries. However the opportunities available because of our  special circumstances will allow us to make radical improvements, should we ever implement eGovernment as appropriate for us uniquely.

The figure below (http://www.readinessguide.org) summarises general benefits of participating in the networked world.

Leaders or latecomers?

KPMG Consulting used a different methodology to that used by McConnell International to illustrate African countries’ eReadiness. This is shown as the level of Internet penetration against quality of infrastructure provision as shown below.

Setting aside South Africa, the relative leaders in sub-Saharan Africa are Mauritius, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana, while relative latecomers are Chad, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Nigeria. (This no doubt reflects, at least in part, the impact of civil conflict.) The relationship with income is strong, but not absolute if the rankings were adjusted to take GNP per capita into account. For example Senegal and Tanzania (US$ 530 and 210 GNP per capita respectively) are relatively advanced in eReadiness when compared to their GNP per capita (see table below) while Cameroon and Algeria (US$ 610 and 1,500 GNP per capita respectively) lag in relative terms. All Eastern African countries are seen to be Average or Latecomers in this survey and none are seen as leaders. However all are breaking new ground.

Potential benefits for Eastern Africa

Because few of Eastern Africa’s citizens are connected to the Internet, the focus of eGovernment in East Africa is unlikely to be the same as in parts of the developed world, where over 50% of the population is connected.  Given this fundamental constraint, the Connected Citizens focal point, comprising initiatives such as online voting, online tax remittance, electronic payment of fees and fines and online application for documents and licences are likely to be untenable.

The Process Improvement and External Interaction focal points, on the other hand, would appear to be far more promising for governments in Eastern Africa. Given the large amounts that Eastern African governments spend on international procurement and the high levels of corruption that pervade public institutions, the potential to lower transaction costs whilst increasing transparency is undoubtedly high and desirable.

Further, given the fact that Eastern African governments face considerable difficulties in delivering quality services internally (financial management and control, human resources and payroll management, providing policy information, standardising procedures, and so forth), opportunities exist in initiatives to enhance process efficiencies.

This means that improvements towards more efficient, effective, reliable, and transparent procurement (over the Internet) will have a very significant impact. The best way that this can be done in many countries in Eastern Africa in the near future, is to deploy state of the art systems over the Internet.

As a specific example, the Government of Tanzania has recently launched its’ integrated HR and Payroll systems covering about 280,000 public servants. While the capital invested was significant at around US$ 6.5 million, the savings already accrued in improved management – reduced ghost workers, improved control, and accuracy – mean that the project has already paid for itself.

Governments in East Africa are already looking to better utilise technology to generate Process Improvement. For example the Government of Tanzania recently launched integrated HR and Payroll systems covering about 280,000 public servants. While the project costs an estimated US$ 6.5 million, savings accruing from the investment in terms of improved management have meant that the project has already paid for itself. Specifically, benefits have included a reduction in the number of ghost workers, improved control, greater productivity and more accurate reporting. Additionally government has implemented an Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) at all ministries in Dar es Salaam and Dodoma via a wide area network. IFMS has improved control over expenditure management, resulting in more timely and detailed reporting. Internet-enabled versions of both systems will soon be rolled out countrywide.

Therefore the potential benefits of eGovernment, the obstacles to implementation, and indeed the focus that eGovernment takes, differ significantly from country to country.

Particular challenges in Eastern Africa

As noted before there are many opportunities for Connected Citizen – focused initiatives. But this depends on an empowered population. Additionally there are other limitations including unreliable power supplies – worse in some countries than others – and poor telecommunications in rural areas, low literacy rates, and variable literacy in English, and a general distrust of governments and its’ officials resulting in reluctance in engaging with government.

Below are Global Reach’s June 2000 estimates of the number of people online in each language zone (native speakers).

The “language of Internet content” challenge is a significant one, underscoring the importance of having Internet content in languages that one’s citizens can read. There is little use of having an eGovernment portal in Kenya or Tanzania that does not have the option of at least Kiswahili to supplement English.

eGovernment – is it viable in Eastern Africa?

The figure below shows the eGovernment opportunities that are most likely to succeed, be sustainable, can be secure, and can be maintained in Eastern Africa. Opportunities that are more geared towards process improvement, and than on interacting with external parties or with citizens over the Internet, may perhaps be more appropriate to our own circumstances than the developed-country model for eGovermnent.

Given our scarce resources, technologies that have the potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Government are extremely promising. Political resistance aside, such initiatives are not only viable, but are necessary. After all, the Governments have expressed their commitment to poverty reduction through specially targeted service delivery initiatives.  Improvements in the quality of life for the people in the region can only be realised through increased efficiency and effectiveness.  eGovernment provides one of the pathways to achieve this.

What can KPMG do?

KPMG facilitates an an eThink Tank tasked with increasing the importance of “e” in Tanzania’s development agenda including in Government.

Additionally KPMG Africa’s Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Consulting in Kenya is mandated with introducing strategic consulting services to assist governments to use eGovernment as the most powerful tool to leapfrog and become a Government-of-the-Future in order to:

q       Improve satisfaction of citizens, businesses, partners, vendors and workforce;

q       Improve the Quality of Life;

q       Stimulate the economy;

q       Become much more efficient;

q       Connect better to the world of Government, information and services; and

q       Be transparent, both internally and externally.

Simbo Ntiro is the IT Director for KPMG East Africa based in Tanzania.

For more information on “e” in Eastern Africa, contact:

Simbo Ntiro      E-mail: sntiro@kpmg.co.tz

Rohan Patel     E-mail: rpatel@kpmg.co.ke

Ameenesh Shah            E-mail: ashah@kpmg.co.ke

Hilda Kinyunyu           E-mail: hkinyunyu@kpmg.co.tz