Lack of adequate leadership may result in disastrous failure of e-government initiatives, which the world of today cannot afford risking them. The world of today needs innovative and creative leadership that copes with current developments and challenges.
The question, we may ask is why do some countries even with fewer resources are more developed than others?
For instance, countries which had the same level of development with most African countries have made a great leap in development than their counterparts in Africa.
Certainly, the answer is innovative and creative leadership, which is capable of managing well available resources. So, e-government initiatives are meant to increase efficiency in managing public affairs, including having accessible public information, which was inaccessible before due to low level of technology.
Today, thanks to technological advancement, things have changed and can be done in a shorter time and using fewer resources than it used to be in the past. As governments continue to invest vast recourses in e-services, it is equally necessary that e-government leadership is created, nurtured and sustained.
Otherwise, such initiatives are prone to fail. Yet, e-government initiatives’ failure has far reaching consequences such as loss of taxpayers and donors’ money, time and loss of public trust. It is, therefore, important that government human capital is equipped with appropriate knowledge, skills, awareness and mindset that facilitate successful implementation of information communication technology (ICT) projects in the government.
Tanzania Global Learning Agency (TaGLA), in collaboration with Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), organised a course on strategic leadership for e-government initiatives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on June 22-26, this year. Malaysia is one of the countries, which has made considerable strides as a result of e-government and adequate investment in key development sectors.
So, having a course organised there has an added advantage to participants. All the same, participants, who prefer following the course in their own countries, can as well access it through a special online programme. In Tanzania, TaGLA can link interested participants to course lectures in Malaysia.
The course has the following objectives: to expose participants to processes of planning and development of e-government initiatives in developing countries, to train participants and encourage them to participate in strategic activities relevant for identifying, planning for developing and implementing e-government initiatives.
The course is relevant to managers, executives and senior officials in the public and private sectors. It is also ideal for consultants, ICT professionals, trainers and researchers. Contents include perceptions on e-government, trends and technologies, understanding the e-government context in developing countries, adoption and success of e-government initiatives, adoption and success of e-government initiatives.
Others are the role of leadership in e-government initiatives, creating and sustaining leadership for egovernment initiatives and case studies. According to TaGLA interim executive director Charles Senkondo, e-government relates to the utilisation of ICTs to transform and enhance the relationship between the public sector and its clients through improved service.
“It promises improved management of public finance and human resources, access to and quality of public services, particularly for poor people, improving investment climates, such as lowering regulatory burdens and transaction costs and transparency and accountability of governments,” he says.
“However, people are among the most critical agents that facilitate or retard the success of e-government initiatives. Hence, successful implementation and adoption of e-government initiatives and related services is dependent on the quality of involved human capital of the government and its partners.” He says many developing countries like Tanzania still lack appropriate human capacity to support egovernment.
“This situation may lead to poor designing and implementation of e-government initiatives. Consequently, initiatives may be costly and eventually fail,” he noted. As TaGLA has facilities for organising various elearning and e-government programmes, it is up the citizenry to use them so that they improve access to these services.
In a competent world as we have it today, we need to have in place workable egovernment services so that people access them, make proposals for what needs changes and give constructive feedback on what works well and what doesn’t with a view to improving e-government services.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Deogratias Mushi
Quelle/Source: Daily News, 04.07.2013
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