E-government is an application supported by good governance, and implemented through ICT to reach urban- and rural-based citizens, businesses and governments alike. This technology is no longer new and governments of all shapes and colors are trying to find innovative means and methods of applying ICT to service delivery, reduce internal costs and boost national economies, while at the same time utilizing public money for public programs.
However, difficulties abound and challenges exist, particularly in the face of limited financial and technical resources. This is not a unique problem that only applies to Indonesia, but what is unique and surprising is the fact that there are no realistic public-private partnership (PPP) resources currently being used for e-government projects in Indonesia.
E-government and ICT projects are natural candidates for PPPs because of the compelling need of all governments to modernize themselves by employing new technologies, improving internal efficiency, reducing government costs and focusing on improving services for its citizens and customers.
The value of the PPP model is not just for the financial part of development. It is also required for e-government and ICT programs, and can provide a complex series of skills, like management know-how, and the implementation methods needed to start and manage large and complex projects.
Given that technical skills are usually outside of the scope of most government agencies, and the fact that financing national e-government projects is expensive, it makes good sense to allow the private sector to perform the e-government service, thereby creating a potential “win-win” solution. The private sector finances and operates a system, and the government ensures effective delivery of the service.
PPPs are contracts between private-sector entities and a government body that call for the private partner to deliver a desired service and assume the associated risks. The government is relieved of the financial and administrative burden of providing the service, but retains an important role in regulating and monitoring the performance of the private partner.
PPPs ensure an effective way to provide technological and financial input to national e-government initiatives. Given that PPPs enable a fast and efficient approach to rolling out e-government services, they ought to be recognized as a key element of a government’s e-government strategy.
However, a government must also be cautious when opting for a PPP. One area of caution is the type of partner, as well as whether the partner is a foreign company or a national company.
The type of contract between the government agency and a private company must also be considered. One arrangement allows the private company to build the product/service, operate it and finally transfer the ownership to the government.
Another type of contract allows the private-sector firm to build the product/service, own it for a fixed number of years, operate it during its ownership and then transfer ownership to the government.
Financial obligations and the type of revenue sharing is also a key part of the contract and needs to be thoroughly understood by both parties. Variants of the PPP arrangements exist that need to be studied carefully in negotiations with the private sector.
Some governments, like India, South Africa and Mexico, have been quick to encourage PPPs as a way to share or transfer the start-up costs for e-government projects.
While this may be cost-effective in the short term, it is worth noting that government agencies could find themselves locked in to agreements that offer exclusive rights to companies in terms of product use and purchase of equipment. That is why extreme caution is needed when entering into a PPP.
There are many examples where e-government development has been carried out on a PPP model. A few examples serve to illustrate how countries have managed to serve their national interests while reducing the financial, administrative and technological baggage.
Online tax filing in Chile was built on a partnership of that country’s IRS and a private firm that developed a public Internet access network consisting of more than 800 centers and up to 3,000 connectivity points. That allowed taxpayers to complete their online tax filings from these centers either free of charge or for a nominal fee, with the help of trained staff.
Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor is a success story of the government’s plan to transform itself from a basic manufacturing economy to one that is knowledge-based.
The government’s Multimedia Super Corridor — combining policy objectives and PPPs — covers an area that stretches from Petronas Tower in the north to the Kuala Lumpur airport in the south. It includes the city of Putrajaya as the government’s administrative capital, and Cyberjaya as the new city created to attract private international ICT and knowledge-based firms. This was done because Malaysia’s electronic-governance policy sought to transform the relationship between itself, its citizens and its businesses.
SmartGov in Andhra Pradesh, India, also offers an excellent example of where the government hired an Indian consultancy company to build and run the e-government application with an equity ratio of 20:80. The private firm was reimbursed with a fixed fee per transaction. SmartGov is essentially an electronic workplace that integrates workflow and knowledge management in a secure and collaborative environment.
The government has benefitted with the implementation of SmartGov to such an extent that it has now taken big steps toward administrative reforms. An increase in internal efficiency and file-handling has created the concept of a paper-less office.
On the other hand, a government’s lack of experience, failure to know and understand the contractual obligations, and lack of due diligence can lead to difficulties. In Vietnam, a joint initiative by Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to launch Web-development projects for business services agencies had trouble when reliance on external consultants resulted in reduced ownership of the project by the government.
The lack of ownership and buy-in details created concern about the feasibility and sustainability of the project. The government did not have the constant help and assistance that is usually provided by private companies.
Indonesian aspirations to roll out many of its national e-government programs such as the National Single Window, e-Education, Single Identity Number, e-Procurement, e-budgeting, e-Health and e-Cultural Heritage can only be met on time and under budget if some type of PPP is included in its e-government strategy.
The development of an e-government plan comes with challenges like legislative and regulatory reforms, funding, ownership, stakeholders and coordination between and across ministries.
These will need to be addressed before a reputable private firm will entertain serious e-government PPP participation. Private companies will only take on the business risks if they feel confident that they will be able to recoup their investment and make a profit.
This is the time for Indonesia to embark upon a program of connectivity and economic development by taking advantage of various PPP schemes, particularly since the government has committed itself to an accelerated economic development through MP3EI.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Nirmal Nikhar
Quelle/Source: The Jakarta Globe, 28.03.2012
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