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22 centers, mobile devices, it becomes very convenient for people in urban as well as rural parts of the country to avail themselves to these services. Application of ICT for delivery of services also facilitates the government becoming more responsive towards citizens 24 . Empowerment of citizens through greater access to government information and ability to interact and participate Effective use of technology in government, and sharing of information with stakeholders, results in the empowerment of citizens through easy and enhanced access to government information and the ability to easily interact and participate in the process of governance. Enhanced interaction among citizens and government as well as increased participation of the citizens in government functioning, decision making, policy making etc. promotes civic engagement and strengthens democracy24 . Enhanced Transparency & Increased Accountability of the Government Application of ICT in the processes of government also helps in enhancing transparency in government functioning, interaction with the citizens and businesses. Sharing information such as government processes, procedures, regulations as well as provision for tracking the status of application/request, introduces a lot of transparency in government functioning. This in turn helps in raising the trust level of citizens towards government and leads to better relationship between the government and citizen as well as government and businesses24 . Increasing the internal effi ciency and revenue generation by the government Application of ICT to the internal functioning of the government has been in place for quite some time. And it has been established at many occasions that an effective use of ICT can minimize transaction costs and streamline government operations, thus making government processes more effi cient and effective. Judicious deployment of technology can lead to more productivity and a possible reduction and redeployment of the workforce. Further, streamlined operations, timely reports on various aspects of the service can help in initiating timely action that results into much higher revenue collection by the government such as collection of taxes, duties etc24 . Improving the relationship between the government and the citizens Finally, the adoption of E-government and its benefi ts including higher productivity, effi ciency, enhanced transparency, accountability, responsiveness lead to an overall improvement in the image of the government in the minds of the citizens. The trust level imposed by citizens and businesses in the government can signifi cantly go up due to the increased ease and effi ciency of interaction while dealing with the government. Raised trust levels lead to improved relationship between government and citizen as well as between government and businesses, fulfi lling one of the major objectives of good governance24 . Thus, it makes tremendous sense for the government sector all over the world to adopt E-government and embrace ICT advancements for streamlining their processes, connecting all the stakeholders, cutting costs, improving the delivery of services, and most importantly, realizing the vision of ‘good governance’. Further, with the success stories of E-government in different parts of the world, the international call for governments to respond to standards of accountability, transparency and participatory governance as critical elements for democracy and state legitimacy, have all contributed to the growing popularity of E-government24 .
2.9 E-Government Development Phases E-Government applications and projects generally pass through various stages in their process of maturity. A Gartner Group Report from 2000 identifi ed four phases of Egovernment development that considered the level of information technology used by the government to relay information online (see Table 1 below). The Gartner Group report identifi ed key development stages for E-government programs describing the level of technological advancement, information and communication abilities, and the kinds of services offered in each phase 24 . Figure 3: E-Government maturity model Source: E-Government Toolkit for Developing Countries, UNESCO, 2005. Phase I: Information This phase entails usage of ICT to expand access to government information which is of importance to individuals and businesses. An effi cient utilization of Inter<strong>net</strong> and communication technologies can make it possible to disseminate government information to global audience in a fast and convenient manner24 . Although, the ways and means of disseminating this information keep on evolving further with the advancements in technology, an ideal way for a developing country municipality to enter this phase would be the setting up of a municipal portal providing a ready and comprehensive access to information online, ranging from profi le of the municipality, demographic information, tourist information, policies, the executive council, publications by the local government authority, local services and local government schemes for the citizens/businesses. Setting up of this portal shall enable citizens and businesses to readily access local government information without having to travel to government offi ces, stand in long queues or resort to malpractices to get the task done. This simple initiative can prove to be a revolutionary advancement for local governments wrecked by complex bureaucracy and corruption24 . Phase II: Interaction The second phase pertains to enhancing the public involvement in the process of government functioning. Through use of technology, the interaction between the governments and citizens/businesses can be stimulated and made more effective. People can submit their queries and grievances through email or specially designed forms, check the status of their grievance, voice their opinions and help in policy formulation on important issues through online opinion polls and discussion forums and avail a whole Strenghtening e-Governance in the North-South Local Government Co-operation Programme 23
Page 1 and 2: North-South Local Government Co-ope
Page 3: North-South Local Government Co-ope
Page 6 and 7: 6 4.6 Other ICT Statistics ________
Page 8 and 9: 8 knowledge is utilised, policy is
Page 10 and 11: 10 ICT4AD Information and Communica
Page 12 and 13: 1.1 Motivation for the Study 12 Mun
Page 14 and 15: 1.4 Limitations 14 community’s ma
Page 16 and 17: 16 public administration and govern
Page 18 and 19: 18 Figure 1: The Big Picture of e-G
Page 20 and 21: 20 G2G: Government to Government in
Page 24 and 25: 2.10 E-Inclusion 24 range of online
Page 26 and 27: 26 It is important to note, however
Page 28 and 29: 28 The next chapter provides an env
Page 30 and 31: 30 Government Act of 1993 further e
Page 32 and 33: 32 in education. The syllabus from
Page 34 and 35: 34 Table 7: Personal computers per
Page 36 and 37: 4 Tanzania 4.1 Background and Gover
Page 38 and 39: 38 Even so, there was no single age
Page 40 and 41: 40 Table 11: Cellular subscribers f
Page 42 and 43: 42 local government structure estab
Page 44 and 45: 5 Kenya 5.1 Background and Governme
Page 46 and 47: 46 Act, which set up the Communicat
Page 48 and 49: 48 Table 19: Number of Internet Hos
Page 50 and 51: 50 Table 25: Number of Personal com
Page 52 and 53: 52 is very high. The availability o
Page 54 and 55: 54 � � � 6.3 Economy 0-14 yea
Page 56 and 57: 56 up as a strategic government ini
Page 58 and 59: 58 Table 33: Cellular subscribers p
Page 60 and 61: 6.6 The Local Government of Tshwane
Page 62 and 63: 7 Namibia 7.1 Background and Govern
Page 64 and 65: 7.5 Namibia Telecommunications Prof
Page 66 and 67: 66 Table 43: Number of Internet use
Page 68 and 69: 68 More than 75% of the local gover
Page 70 and 71: 70 � � � 8.3 Economy 8.4 ICT
Page 72 and 73:
8.5 Other ICT Statistics 72 Table 4
Page 74 and 75:
74 Table 53: Number of Personal Com
Page 76 and 77:
9 Summary Conclusions and Recommend
Page 78 and 79:
References 78 Belize National ICT P
Page 80 and 81:
80 http://www.iclei.org/index.php?i
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82 Please�indicate�how�much
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� � � � 84 15. What�e�G
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