Designing e-Government for the Poor - Tanzania Development ...

The challenge of implementing e-government in Yokosuka, Japan
(OECD) guidelines, and the APEC framework. Furthermore, patent and
intellectual property legislation can secure contents of the Internet, and
protect the consumer from counterfeiting and illegal goods. Mr. Chong
concluded by emphasizing the significance of the Brunei goals for the
vision and future of e-government.
In the plenary session that followed, Mr. Chong was asked to
provide suggestions on how to develop a competitive regulatory environment
in small countries of the Asian and Pacific region. Mr. Chong replied
that the same principles of regulation apply to large or small countries.
Companies must be motivated by economic incentives to enter the market,
provide a level playing field, and make a massive investment. A participant
from Sri Lanka mentioned that certain policies critical to ICT development
among the poor were not mentioned in the presentation. The participant
said that ICT literacy in the government, and affordability of computers are
challenging policy issues. Mr. Chong replied that these were indeed important
challenges, and that the industry has the responsibility to provide
hardware and software at reasonable prices. Microsoft has a programme to
provide software for first time users at a low cost, as well as a local
language programme which helps to bridge the digital divide. He added
that educating governments on the economic benefits of information technology
is a demanding task and challenge.
L. The challenge of implementing e-government
in Yokosuka, Japan
Mr. Satomi Hirokawa, Chief, Information Policy Division,
Planning and Coordination Department, Yokosuka City Office
Mr. Hirokawa provided a brief introduction to the city of Yokosuka.
The city of Yokosuka is located approximately 50 kilometers south of
Tokyo, and is home to the Yokosuka Research Park, a centre of international
research and development on information and telecommunications
technology. Mr. Hirokawa said the purpose of the Yokosuka city egovernment
programme is to enhance the quality of city services to attract
additional residents, and compete with other cities. The city of Yokosuka
has achieved this purpose by instituting the following measures:
• Promotion of citizen cooperation
• Advancement of information transmission capacity
• Reformation of city administration
• Advancement of administration services
The strategy employed by the city of Yokosuka for developing egovernment
is based on the balanced scorecard method. The stakeholders of
the e-government include taxpayers or members of society, citizens; compa-
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