This, the UN says, will help spur socio-economic growth and development in sub-Sahara Africa. E-governmence calls for use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) geared at improving activities of public sector organisations.
Application of e-governance helps to reduce cost,inefficiency, inconvenience and ineffectiveness in service delivery.
Conceptualization of e-governance, analysts say is more than just a Government web site on the Internet.
It encompasses e-business and e-democracy, a top Kenyan researcher, Mr Luke Wasonga said yesterday.
Wasonga told the Third meeting of the Committee on Development Information (CODI) key domains of
e-government include enhancement of external interactions, connecting citizens and improving Government processes.
The CODI forum is being attended by 53 Africanc ountries including Kenya.
It is sponsored by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) with a host of partner organisations.
Wasonga, who heads the United Nations Development Programme, Central and Eastern Africa sub-regional resource facility, was presenting an overview on e-governance and its goals.
He said sub-Sahara economies were likely to take-off through adoption of concepts of online governance initiatives.
The UNDP expressed disappointment that e-governance in Africa had taken too long to take root.
Research shows without embracing e-governance concepts, a significant portion of the world's states was unlikely to achieve the set Millennium Development Goals (MDG) which target halving of extreme poverty by 2015.
Wasonga said majority of countries in sub-Sahara Africa have failed to capitalize on IT opportunities for better governance.
He said governments could effectively use IT to achieve improved goals.
On why e-governance was crucial for African governments, Wasonga said UNDP adheres to the theme that democratic participation of a people was critical in human development.
People everywhere want to be free to determine their destinies, express their views and participate in decisions that shape their lives, he said.
Quelle: East African Standard
