Good governance that is generally characterized by participation, transparency and accountability in the citizen's exercise of their political, economic and administrative authority in the management of a country's affairs calls for E-governance underpinning. This is particularly important with the increasing awareness among citizens about their rights and as a result of increased expectations from Governments to perform and deliver effective services.
These new and complex demands have made the use of ICT initiatives imperative in any agenda drawn towards achieving good governance. With e-governance or electronic governance that is basically harnessing the application of information technologies to the processes of Government functioning in order to address citizen's needs and expectations, service delivery is expected to improve.
Ultimately this will make Government administration more responsive and could lead to any of the following benefits according to a recent study by UNESCO:
- Exchange of information with citizens, businesses or other Government Departments
- Faster and more efficient delivery of public services
- Improving internal efficiency
- Reducing costs/increasing revenue
- Re-structuring of administrative processes and improving quality of service.
It is against this background, that the forthcoming International Conference on Good Governance and Service Delivery to be hosted by Uganda Management Institute has considered the inclusion of a complete sub-theme on e-governance. The e-governance presentations will draw from the three main domains of e-government for which research papers, panel discussants and exhibitors have been invited.
The three domains covering areas on improving Government processes (aimed at improving internal workings of the public sector); connecting citizens (dealing with the relationship between government and citizens as consumers of public services) and building external interactions (dealing with the private, non-profit and civil organizations) will be addressed. Panel sessions involving at least two panelists commenting on any of the areas mentioned below in a discussion will be moderated by a session chair.
Panelists with a range of practical and hands on experience in areas of academia, private sector, policy, practice and end users will provide a strong starting platform to trigger an exchange of different viewpoints. Specifically presentations in this sub-theme will cover but not be limited to the following interesting discussions:
1. E- Government mini - track
The realisation that e-government is a powerful tool for reducing cost, enhancing revenues and improving delivery of public services with huge opportunities to improve public sector efficiency, has lured many Governments to embrace it in their agendas for policy and decision making.
And since e-government is perceived as a good intervention that is rapidly developing and spreading across all levels of Governments, many Public Agency's are also making massive financial and political commitments in order to improve their internal working processes.
This is on the supposition that e- government is likely to improve the quality of Government business by making it easier for people to; have their say in government; receive more integrated services because different Government organizations will be able to communicate more effectively with each other; get better services from Government organizations since online services are perceived to be cheaper, easy to access especially in remote areas and citizens are likely to access up to date and comprehensive information about Government policies. It is also believed that automating some key processes will make it possible to reduce opportunities for corruption by removing human agents at data collection, storage management and maintenance of data and information and at service delivery points.
The panelists on this mini-track will give highlights that will generate debate on best practices, challenges and important lessons and cases from practice. Strategies to enhance e-government in order to improve internal processes, fight corruption and remain competitive (among other benefits) in the global village will form key highlights.
2. ICT Security Concerns
The mini track on ICT security concerns stem from the increased attention on investigations of the technical and operational counter measures to cyber-crime. Developing countries are lagging behind in meeting serious ICT security challenges while others have been reported at the forefront in perpetuating this vice.
And yet the old adage of "know where your data is, who has access to what, read your logs, guard your perimeter, manage complexity, reduce access to need only and segment your networks" is as real as it was in the late 1970's when it was coined by Marcus Ranum.
It is imperative that this panel initiates serious discussion on IT security trends, technologies and solutions in cyber-security. The purpose of the panelists' presentations' will be to give highlights that will generate debate on global state of cybercrime experiences and best practices in managing security issues.
Important lessons and cases from practice and strategies to address ICT security challenges will generate a lot of debate from both technical experts and the general public.
3. Social Networks
The many relatively inexpensive and widely accessible electronic tools that enable people across the globe to form electronic communities that share information, ideas and events are the order of today's modern way of working. Whereas there are enormous advantages of utilising social media in widening business contacts, solving problems, coining business solutions and improving businesses reputations among other benefits, there are not without challenges.
Ranging from committing fraud, exposing unsuspecting clients' to big risks of falling prey to online scams and facilitating crime such as pornography and hacking are some of the potential disadvantages that come with such innovations. There is dire research in this area especially in the developing countries and such a fora could be a platform for generating new research interests'.
The panelists on this mini-track will give highlights that will generate debate on how social networks can be used responsibly as a way of improving productivity or be misused to perpetuate crime. Highlights and lessons on areas covering but not limited to cost effective strategies, use of social media to enhance business synergies', use of social networks to fight corruption, improving service delivery via social networks will form key highlights to generate serious debate.
4. Mobile Money and Mobile Banking Experiences
The smart phone and increasing mobility of clients are forcing service providers to look beyond their traditionally owned small business space. Mobile banking that allows clients' to review transactions, transfer funds, pay bills and check account balances via a mobile device are among the latest technology banking operations. With such innovations, the question every prospective client would like to ask is whether mobile banking is safe despite its convenience?.
Recent studies that report security concerns such as online security compromises, infiltrating private financial accounts and cyber criminal attacks have become an issue to contend with. These concerns compounded with the popularity of the mobile applications have given criminals a free day and unless the clients' fears are addressed, such an innovative business operation is likely to hit a snag at least in the developing economies.
The panelists on this mini-track will give highlights that will generate debate on best practices, challenges and important lessons and cases from practice. Highlights on latest trends, comparisons with the developed world, and way forward would generate new thoughts into researchable areas that could inform policy and improve practice.
The international Conference on Governance and Service Delivery in Developing Economies, 24th to 28th August 2015
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Dr. Mary B. Muhenda
Quelle/Source: AllAfrica, 06.07.2015
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