E-governance for Bangladesh
Sunday, 13 July 2008
Taiabur Rahman and Niaz Ahmed Khan
THE recent years have seen an upsurge in e-governance and Information and Community Technology (ICT) application. It is often agued that the emergence of e-governance- both in practice and concept - has been a crucial development in public administration during the last decade.
In line with global interest, Bangladesh also witnessed, of late, some efforts to take to e-governance. The extent and pace of such the efforts have, however, been limited. Academic studies and research on the subject have correspondingly been strikingly scarce. Both as a concept and practice, e-governance is still in a nascent stage in Bangladesh. And our understanding of e-governance dimensions and issues is marginal.
E-governance with a wide ramification and interpretations defies a universal definition. Its definitions range from 'the use of information technology to free movement of information to overcome the physical bounds of traditional paper and physical-based systems' to 'the use of technology to enhance the access to, and delivery of, government services to benefit citizens, business partners and employees'.
The common theme behind these definitions is that e-governance involves automation or computerisation of existing paper-based procedures, which facilitate new styles of leadership, new ways of debating and deciding strategies, new ways of transacting business, new ways of listening to citizens and communities, and new ways of organising and delivering information.
On the utility and rationale of the concept, it is often argued that e-governance facilitates broader governance reform and economic development initiatives. It promotes transparency to reduce corruption, helps raise investor confidence, which, in turn, contributes to increased foreign direct and domestic investment and facilitates efficient governance simplifying government's procedures to save time, and resources, enables a government to respond to citizens' needs and demands faster and more efficiently, boosts private sector performance and efficiency by reducing the time and expenses for businesses to interact with the public and voluntary sectors, simplifies government processes and services, facilitating online procurement reducing barriers for new businesses, and increases competition.
In line with many other developing countries, Bangladesh is at the initial stage of e-governance, known as the 'automation' phase. It has been emphasising and promoting ICT since 1997. That year, the government appointed a task force, which submitted its report in the subsequent year with 45 recommendations of which a few were implemented, declaring ICT as a 'thrust sector' and customs duty and tax on ICT products were abolished. The stress was to promote the setting up of ICT-based industries, software and services, for economic growth, income generation, employment creation and to help the growth of software and IT services industry. Since then, the government of Bangladesh has been working closely with private sector to facilitate the growth of ICT. In 2002, the government set an outline to achieve a strong countrywide ICT base and announced future programmes about digital education and improvement of overall ICT infrastructure. The government also took pilot projects in its different areas through a programme to support the ICT Task Force (SICT). This sector has attracted considerable financial assistance and technical collaboration from donors and external partners for the realisation of e-governance at a national scale.
The 2002 National ICT Policy advocated a holistic approach to the development of the sector with the objective of building a strong ICT-oriented knowledge-based society. The Ministry of Science and Technology was renamed the Ministry of Science and ICT, with the responsibility to implement these policies.
There has been little progress in developing the required infrastructure for the sector. Bangladesh entered into fiber optic-based communication in 1989 through installation of fiber optic cables along railways. The ongoing infrastructural developments, known as the National Digital Data Network, are based on this railway cables. Bangladesh mostly relies on VSAT technology for Internet connection, which costs more, is persuasively slow compared to fiber optics connection, and makes it dependent on the source country. In 1992, the government refused to join in the worldwide information backbone - the fiber optic 'superhighway', on grounds of "security concerns". This move by the government came under severe criticism from various quarters, and was considered as an act of folly. Subsequently, a broad realisation emerged in the governmental quarters regarding the importance and potential benefits of joining this information highway.
In March, 2004 the government signed with SEA ME-WE 4 Consortium to get connected with this Global Information Superhighway. The connectivity of citizens with national data communication network will principally depend on telecommunication infrastructure. According to the statistics of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the tele-density of Bangladesh is the lowest in South Asia. Based on 2003, one study showed that only 1.56 among 100 people had access to telecom facilities.
After a period of reckless misuse and unregulated private sector profiteering, the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology has now been brought under legal and regulatory framework. This move is expected to reduce the cost of overseas call significantly, diverting most of the international calls through Internet.
In the backdrop of the above status-check, an examination of the key challenges facing the sector, is necessary to explore the possible ways of improving the sector's performance in the coming years.
Stocktaking of the current status and predicament facing the sector helps identify a number key constraints that pose a serious challenge to the consolidation and further growth of the sector. These include the following:
l The major national guiding framework for the e-governance and ICT sector concerns the National ICT Policy 2002 which broadly captures the aspirations of the sector. Although the objectives of the policy cut across important governance, economic and social sectors, some analysts argue that the objectives are too ambitious, they do not take into account the ground realities, and therefore, remain unlikely to be fully materialised.
l Bangladesh is deficient in the required infrastructural support i.e. electricity, telephone network, computer, high speed internet connectivity for maximisation of outreach etc. According to The Global Information Technology Report 2002-03 Bangladesh scored 2.53 and ranked as 77th among 84 countries. Bangladesh's deficiency was noticeable in three key segments: Number of ICT professionals, number of computers for per 1000 people and adult illiteracy. For example, according to this report, the number of computers for per 1000 people was 1.5 in Bangladesh. Adult Literacy is still low. Internet Access in Bangladesh is too expensive compared to other countries
l Inappropriate practices in ICT system planning, implementation and management lead to poor decisions and failed projects. For example, in Bangladesh, the lion's share of government expenditure for ICT projects -- often more than 90 per cent -- goes to hardware purchase, and only a little remains to cover software, training, and systems implementation services.
l A reluctant mindset is often noticeable especially amongst the public sector functionaries to change the present process of governance and services. Many of them apprehend that introduction of e-governance could lead to loss of jobs, power and authority. An unwillingness to receive ICT-related training has often been reported.
l Lack of digital literacy among an overwhelming majority of population. The disadvantaged sections of the society, especially, the poor, the aged and physically handicapped are not encouraged to learn and update their digital literacy.
l The pace of implementation of ICT-related commitments of the government has been generally slow. It may be attributable to the fact that many among the concerned political and bureaucratic leadership have a degree of distrust and fear towards ICT and e-governance as these practices may challenge the status quo and their supremacy.
l The nation still needs to strive to have an operational regulatory/legal framework including relevant Cyber Laws. While the ICT Act has been approved recently, the work of drafting the bylaws (19 of them) and rules might take still some time.
Based on the preceding discussions and analyses, a few broad concluding observations, envisioning the future of e-governance, may be made. First, Bangladesh, as a developing country, must endeavour for an inclusive e-governance that will emphasise on social development services like healthcare, distant education, agricultural information dissemination and government services to the poor with less cost for faster and efficient achievement of development goals. Secondly, the result will be improved human capital that will eventually ensure sustainable economic growth, income generation and employment creation. Thirdly, concerted efforts should be made to minimise the digital divide between urban and rural areas, between the rich and the poor. Through e-governance, people at the grassroots should have the opportunity and right to share their concerns with the local, national and international governmental agencies.
At a more specific level, the following measures may be considered for realizing the above board visions:
l Development and consolidation of a comprehensive regulatory framework for e-governance - addressing such issues as laws to protect intellectual property and acceptance of documents in electronic format, control of cyber-terrorism and hacking, and electronic certification -- are necessary.
l Broad based vocational and school-level ICT training and literacy programmes may be arranged for reducing the 'digital divide'. .
l Government support and facilitation of greater competition and growth of internet and telephone service providers are important for reaching out to common members of the public at a wider scale;
l There should be concerted efforts for systematic and long-term planning for building the required infrastructure across the country including expedition of international submarine cable and extension of connectivity outside the major urban locations;
l Along the same vein, strategic planning is also required for developing and retaining adequate number of relevant human resources by supporting the key training institutions, expanding the capacity of relevant departments in major universities, and providing appropriate incentive for retaining high quality professionals who currently tend to leave the country;
l Within the government, a number of measures are imperative such as maintaining open standard in building ICT systems throughout the government for better integration; systematic training of public staff; provision of maintenance and monitoring; updating governmental databases, and standardization in the use of Bangla in electronic formats
l Firm and sustained commitment and support are required from the top political leadership as regards promotion of e-governance and associated practices;
The above reckoning of the recent trends in the concept and practice of e-governance alludes to the fact that we still have, indeed, a very long way to go, and there is hardly any room for feeling complacent.
The importance and potential of e-governance is now well established, and the process for creating a supportive regulatory, policy and institutional environment for backstopping and nurturing people-centred e-governance practices must go on.
Dr. Taiabur Rahman is Associate Professor and Chairperson, Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Dr. Niaz Ahmed Khan is Professor of Development Studies at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh and Honorary Research Fellow, Centre for Development Studies, University of Wales, UK. Dr Khan can be contacted at: niaz.khan@yahoo.com
THE recent years have seen an upsurge in e-governance and Information and Community Technology (ICT) application. It is often agued that the emergence of e-governance- both in practice and concept - has been a crucial development in public administration during the last decade.
In line with global interest, Bangladesh also witnessed, of late, some efforts to take to e-governance. The extent and pace of such the efforts have, however, been limited. Academic studies and research on the subject have correspondingly been strikingly scarce. Both as a concept and practice, e-governance is still in a nascent stage in Bangladesh. And our understanding of e-governance dimensions and issues is marginal.
E-governance with a wide ramification and interpretations defies a universal definition. Its definitions range from 'the use of information technology to free movement of information to overcome the physical bounds of traditional paper and physical-based systems' to 'the use of technology to enhance the access to, and delivery of, government services to benefit citizens, business partners and employees'.
The common theme behind these definitions is that e-governance involves automation or computerisation of existing paper-based procedures, which facilitate new styles of leadership, new ways of debating and deciding strategies, new ways of transacting business, new ways of listening to citizens and communities, and new ways of organising and delivering information.
On the utility and rationale of the concept, it is often argued that e-governance facilitates broader governance reform and economic development initiatives. It promotes transparency to reduce corruption, helps raise investor confidence, which, in turn, contributes to increased foreign direct and domestic investment and facilitates efficient governance simplifying government's procedures to save time, and resources, enables a government to respond to citizens' needs and demands faster and more efficiently, boosts private sector performance and efficiency by reducing the time and expenses for businesses to interact with the public and voluntary sectors, simplifies government processes and services, facilitating online procurement reducing barriers for new businesses, and increases competition.
In line with many other developing countries, Bangladesh is at the initial stage of e-governance, known as the 'automation' phase. It has been emphasising and promoting ICT since 1997. That year, the government appointed a task force, which submitted its report in the subsequent year with 45 recommendations of which a few were implemented, declaring ICT as a 'thrust sector' and customs duty and tax on ICT products were abolished. The stress was to promote the setting up of ICT-based industries, software and services, for economic growth, income generation, employment creation and to help the growth of software and IT services industry. Since then, the government of Bangladesh has been working closely with private sector to facilitate the growth of ICT. In 2002, the government set an outline to achieve a strong countrywide ICT base and announced future programmes about digital education and improvement of overall ICT infrastructure. The government also took pilot projects in its different areas through a programme to support the ICT Task Force (SICT). This sector has attracted considerable financial assistance and technical collaboration from donors and external partners for the realisation of e-governance at a national scale.
The 2002 National ICT Policy advocated a holistic approach to the development of the sector with the objective of building a strong ICT-oriented knowledge-based society. The Ministry of Science and Technology was renamed the Ministry of Science and ICT, with the responsibility to implement these policies.
There has been little progress in developing the required infrastructure for the sector. Bangladesh entered into fiber optic-based communication in 1989 through installation of fiber optic cables along railways. The ongoing infrastructural developments, known as the National Digital Data Network, are based on this railway cables. Bangladesh mostly relies on VSAT technology for Internet connection, which costs more, is persuasively slow compared to fiber optics connection, and makes it dependent on the source country. In 1992, the government refused to join in the worldwide information backbone - the fiber optic 'superhighway', on grounds of "security concerns". This move by the government came under severe criticism from various quarters, and was considered as an act of folly. Subsequently, a broad realisation emerged in the governmental quarters regarding the importance and potential benefits of joining this information highway.
In March, 2004 the government signed with SEA ME-WE 4 Consortium to get connected with this Global Information Superhighway. The connectivity of citizens with national data communication network will principally depend on telecommunication infrastructure. According to the statistics of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the tele-density of Bangladesh is the lowest in South Asia. Based on 2003, one study showed that only 1.56 among 100 people had access to telecom facilities.
After a period of reckless misuse and unregulated private sector profiteering, the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology has now been brought under legal and regulatory framework. This move is expected to reduce the cost of overseas call significantly, diverting most of the international calls through Internet.
In the backdrop of the above status-check, an examination of the key challenges facing the sector, is necessary to explore the possible ways of improving the sector's performance in the coming years.
Stocktaking of the current status and predicament facing the sector helps identify a number key constraints that pose a serious challenge to the consolidation and further growth of the sector. These include the following:
l The major national guiding framework for the e-governance and ICT sector concerns the National ICT Policy 2002 which broadly captures the aspirations of the sector. Although the objectives of the policy cut across important governance, economic and social sectors, some analysts argue that the objectives are too ambitious, they do not take into account the ground realities, and therefore, remain unlikely to be fully materialised.
l Bangladesh is deficient in the required infrastructural support i.e. electricity, telephone network, computer, high speed internet connectivity for maximisation of outreach etc. According to The Global Information Technology Report 2002-03 Bangladesh scored 2.53 and ranked as 77th among 84 countries. Bangladesh's deficiency was noticeable in three key segments: Number of ICT professionals, number of computers for per 1000 people and adult illiteracy. For example, according to this report, the number of computers for per 1000 people was 1.5 in Bangladesh. Adult Literacy is still low. Internet Access in Bangladesh is too expensive compared to other countries
l Inappropriate practices in ICT system planning, implementation and management lead to poor decisions and failed projects. For example, in Bangladesh, the lion's share of government expenditure for ICT projects -- often more than 90 per cent -- goes to hardware purchase, and only a little remains to cover software, training, and systems implementation services.
l A reluctant mindset is often noticeable especially amongst the public sector functionaries to change the present process of governance and services. Many of them apprehend that introduction of e-governance could lead to loss of jobs, power and authority. An unwillingness to receive ICT-related training has often been reported.
l Lack of digital literacy among an overwhelming majority of population. The disadvantaged sections of the society, especially, the poor, the aged and physically handicapped are not encouraged to learn and update their digital literacy.
l The pace of implementation of ICT-related commitments of the government has been generally slow. It may be attributable to the fact that many among the concerned political and bureaucratic leadership have a degree of distrust and fear towards ICT and e-governance as these practices may challenge the status quo and their supremacy.
l The nation still needs to strive to have an operational regulatory/legal framework including relevant Cyber Laws. While the ICT Act has been approved recently, the work of drafting the bylaws (19 of them) and rules might take still some time.
Based on the preceding discussions and analyses, a few broad concluding observations, envisioning the future of e-governance, may be made. First, Bangladesh, as a developing country, must endeavour for an inclusive e-governance that will emphasise on social development services like healthcare, distant education, agricultural information dissemination and government services to the poor with less cost for faster and efficient achievement of development goals. Secondly, the result will be improved human capital that will eventually ensure sustainable economic growth, income generation and employment creation. Thirdly, concerted efforts should be made to minimise the digital divide between urban and rural areas, between the rich and the poor. Through e-governance, people at the grassroots should have the opportunity and right to share their concerns with the local, national and international governmental agencies.
At a more specific level, the following measures may be considered for realizing the above board visions:
l Development and consolidation of a comprehensive regulatory framework for e-governance - addressing such issues as laws to protect intellectual property and acceptance of documents in electronic format, control of cyber-terrorism and hacking, and electronic certification -- are necessary.
l Broad based vocational and school-level ICT training and literacy programmes may be arranged for reducing the 'digital divide'. .
l Government support and facilitation of greater competition and growth of internet and telephone service providers are important for reaching out to common members of the public at a wider scale;
l There should be concerted efforts for systematic and long-term planning for building the required infrastructure across the country including expedition of international submarine cable and extension of connectivity outside the major urban locations;
l Along the same vein, strategic planning is also required for developing and retaining adequate number of relevant human resources by supporting the key training institutions, expanding the capacity of relevant departments in major universities, and providing appropriate incentive for retaining high quality professionals who currently tend to leave the country;
l Within the government, a number of measures are imperative such as maintaining open standard in building ICT systems throughout the government for better integration; systematic training of public staff; provision of maintenance and monitoring; updating governmental databases, and standardization in the use of Bangla in electronic formats
l Firm and sustained commitment and support are required from the top political leadership as regards promotion of e-governance and associated practices;
The above reckoning of the recent trends in the concept and practice of e-governance alludes to the fact that we still have, indeed, a very long way to go, and there is hardly any room for feeling complacent.
The importance and potential of e-governance is now well established, and the process for creating a supportive regulatory, policy and institutional environment for backstopping and nurturing people-centred e-governance practices must go on.
Dr. Taiabur Rahman is Associate Professor and Chairperson, Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Dr. Niaz Ahmed Khan is Professor of Development Studies at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh and Honorary Research Fellow, Centre for Development Studies, University of Wales, UK. Dr Khan can be contacted at: niaz.khan@yahoo.com