icegov2012 proceedings

abysmally low (2.25). In addition to those presented in table 3
other evidence indicates a poor state of affairs. Internet penetration
rate has been very low: there are only 204 internet service
providers (IPS) 80% based in Dhaka, and the number of regular
internet users is 3 million. Tele-density per 100 people is 32.04;
number of fixed phone lines in 2007 of 1.12 mil and mobile phone
users of 76.43 million (2011). In fact, inadequate infrastructure is
a huge challenge for the government as well as the citizens.
Despite very many efforts made to build strong ICT infrastructure
still most government agencies operate with manual systems and
procedures making digitisation of data an enormous task. The ratio
of personal computers to staff of government offices has improved
–but still low. This means that many of those junior officers and
those working at the field levels are without much needed
computers which hamper the delivery of services online. Also,
government departments and agencies are not interconnected
between themselves and with their field offices; the networking
infrastructure is weak outside capital and major cities [12].
Given the fact that ICT penetration in Bangladesh is still low,
people having no or limited access to Internet are unable to enjoy
the benefits of e-government, even if services are available
electronically. Evidence shows that despite recent improvements
in ICT infrastructure, Bangladesh is still at the bottom of network
readiness index and ranked 118 among 133 countries [8]. The
proportion of households with computers increased from 0.8 in
2002 to 1.9 in 2007 and the proportion of households with internet
has increased from 0.1 in 2002 to 1.3 in 2007. The problem is
exacerbated by inadequate supply of electricity and the
concentration of PC and Internet users in major cities and towns.
Majority of the population in Bangladesh are without electricity
and those having access to it also experience regular blackout and
disruptions without notice. Likewise, computers are still too
expensive for most Bangladeshi households and the Internet
remains costly on the one hand and unreliable in most parts on the
other. Even the introduction of mobile Internet and WiMax
technology that promises to break the barrier of reaching the
unreachable has recorded limited success given that very few
users are currently prepared or trained to use such devices to
access government information and services.
6.2 Digital Divide
Bangladesh is a country of extreme disparities. Such disparities
seem to be widening in recent times as the vast majority of the
population remain unaffected by the ICT revolution,
notwithstanding the governmental drives to bridge the divide by
making the ICT services to those who cannot afford them.
Without doubt, the existing programs are steps in the right
direction- but they are grossly inadequate to tackle the massive
gaps created by the ICT revolution. The government is faced with
an enormous challenge to ensuring that people of various socioeconomic
strata have equitable access to services and benefits. As
noted, access to Internet and ownership of PCs are
disproportionately concentrated in Dhaka and major cities. It is
true that the internet users and broadband networks are growing,
however this appears to create further divide between the cities
and rural areas, between the educated and affluent segments of the
population and the poor and ordinary masses. Although data on
gender, age of ICT users are unavailable, it is conceivable that the
vast majority of those using ICT in Bangladesh are male and
young – not female and elderly. Prevailing problems like massive
277
poverty and inequality, illiteracy and widespread corruption
contribute to widen the gaps further under of e-government.
6.3 Inadequate Human Capital
Low levels of literacy among the general masses and lack of
efficiency among the government servants responsible for
implementing e-government initiatives frustrate governmental
drives. It is ironical that despite being one of the most populous
countries in the world, inadequate human capital continues to be a
major barrier to e-government in Bangladesh. First, lack of literacy
poses a formidable challenge to the development of a competent
user group in the country. Currently Bangladesh’s Human Capital
Index is only 0.5182 with adult literacy rate of 53.5% and the
combined gross enrolment of primary, secondary and tertiary
schools being 48.46% [19]. This low level of literacy makes it
difficult for nearly half of the population fails to understand any
meaning of e-government. Second, though projects are underway to
promote IT literacy among the students the use of those equipment,
especially in rural areas, is far from optimal because of such
setbacks as interrupted power supply, poor location, unavailability
of trained personnel, low motivation and awareness among those
involved.
Third, the current level of skills and expertise available in the public
sector is inadequate. A recent study shows that 52% of the officers
of the Bangladesh who are IT literate do not find their skills
sufficient to perform daily work and only 38.7% use ICT in official
activities. A vast majority of the officers (82%) felt that they needed
training to be able to discharge their duties [13]. Training programs
run by government and private institutions have generally failed to
keep pace with the developments and growing demands; whatever
training is available rarely need-based and carefully planned to
allow application in the workplace. The Bangladesh experience also
shows disconnects between high level policy development and lower
level engagement and commitment, between infrastructure capacity
and field level operations. Many public officials have access to
computers and internet but they rarely make appropriate use of such
facilities. It merely suggests that the potential of such tools remains
mostly underutilised; they are used primarily for purposes other than
service delivery for example word-processing, browsing the internet
and for preparing presentational materials.
6.4 Financial, Legislative and Regulatory Constraints
E-Government in Bangladesh is still in its infancy. Despite the
recent drives and programs, the vision of using ICT to improve
governance and quality of life of citizens has not been fully
embedded in the legal and regulatory framework [14] As
indicated, the current legislative and regulatory framework of egovernment
driven mainly by two important documents - the ICT
Policy 2009 and the ICT Act 2009 has addressed many of the
inadequacies and concerns, yet it fails to provide a comprehensive
and robust basis for e-government. While the government aims to
provide greater public access to ICT and facilitate transactions and
services, the existing laws are insufficient in terms of privacy,
security and intellectual property rights [14]. In the current
context there is a feeling that a far more comprehensive legislative
framework is required than at present, not just for tackling
cybercrimes and for electronic certification and authentication
purposes but also for standardisation of government data and
information, security of shared services platforms and the like [2].
Needless to add that poor legal and regulatory framework along
with insufficient ICT infrastructure serves as a fundamental