Towards Good Governance: Developing an e-Government

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), today, are seen as the miracle medicines for curing a nation from the ails of corruption, mismanagement, poor governance, inflation, monopolies, business stagnation, illiteracy and so on. One important aspect concerns development and implementation of ICTs for the EGovernance. E-Governance holds enormous potential in terms of improving service delivery and efficiency, better response to business and citizen needs, and provision of affordable government services. Defined as “Government’s use of technology, particularly web-based Internet applications, to enhance the access to and delivery of government information and service to citizens, business partners, employees, other agencies, and government entities [McClure (2000)]” or “the continuous optimisation of service delivery, constituency participation, and governance by transforming internal and external relationships through technology, the Internet, and new media [Gartner Group (2000)]”. The e-government makes it possible for a government’s different departments and organisations to have direct access to grassroots and vice-versa. It cuts down the costs and delivery times for the government and simultaneously becomes a tool for check and balances against the government. The e-government in short is a tool for good governance—transparency, participation, regulations and accountability.