A South Korean ICT
Expert, Mr Kuk Jeong, has said “Africa needs adequate and stable electricity supply to successfully develop and implement e-Government and to fight corruption.”
Jeong, a Senior Research Fellow with the Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI), stated this at a Stakeholders’ Workshop and Instructors Training on capacity development of e-government for Nigerian civil servants, in South Korea, recently.
A total of 30 Nigerian civil servants are currently undergoing a three-week capacity training in e-government in South Korea.
He said Africa needed to have ‘electric government’ before it could truly build electronic government, adding that the major challenge facing developing countries was inadequate supply of electricity.
“Internet technology to be preceded by electricity. Economic growth depends on continued reform in developing countries. Corruption has cost developing countries’ to loss tens of billion dollars annually.
“It is now acknowledged that e-government has great potential for government reforms in Africa. It needs this because it alleviates an administrative burden and helps to deal with fraud and corruption.
“It is a quick way for governments with limited infrastructure to catch up with the rest of the world in deployment of services.’’
Jeong said with e-government, there would be efficiency, transparency and the potential for easier interaction between governments and citizens, as well as essential for economic growth.
He said “once African countries have constant power supply like the developed nations, it will bring about good governance, boost economy and free societies on the continent.
“People focus on doing business the way they know, with lots of requirements and paperwork, but e-government is about convenience and doing business as fast as possible.’’
The expert said African governments required to push e-government and to streamline processes for its development and implementation in their various countries.
“The use of ICT and the support of new ways of thinking and working in public administration with the enhanced provision of information and interactive services accessible over different channels is the foundation of e-government.’’
He said “e-government brings about greater government accountability, easy to access information, convenient services, quick response to requests, fast delivery of services, as well as data security and confidentiality.’’
Jeong also urged African leaders to prioritise capacity building programme for ICT to bring about information revolution in Africa.