E-government Challenges Faced by Selected District Municipalities in South Africa and Rwanda

Abstract

The use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the different spheres of government is being seen as a way of widening access to government information and services in developed countries. However, e-government development remains at a very low level in the local sphere of government in both South Africa and in Rwanda. This article addresses the issues of ICT use in the local sphere of government and focuses specifically on the constraints in the successful use of ICT for delivering and utilising online government information and services. This article reflects upon the lessons learned from a comparative case study undertaken in the two district municipalities of Lejweleputswa and Fezile Dabi in South Africa and the two district municipalities of Kicukiro and Kamonyi in Rwanda. To determine and compare the challenges faced in the utilisation of e-government by the four selected district municipalities both in South Africa and Rwanda, two types of respondents have been targeted. The simple random sampling method was used to select 400 respondents who were ordinary citizens living in the townships, while the judgemental sampling method was used to select 40 interviewees who are officials in district municipalities. This article identifies a number of constraining factors surrounding practical use of online government information and services, namely ICT illiteracy; lack or limited access to modern ICT devices due to low income, lack or limited access to ICT infrastructures; low level of general literacy among citizens, English illiteracy and lack of awareness of available e-government services. To address the identified constraining factors, policies aimed at enhancing access for all to quality education (primary, secondary and tertiary); policies aimed at improving access for all to ICT infrastructure and electricity; policies aimed at enhancing ICT literacy among citizens as well as local government officials, policies aimed at producing low-cost modern ICT devices to enable the vast majority of citizens to have access; and policies aimed at improving GDP per capita; are crucial.