ICT and good governance: An appraisal

Md. Azharul Islam The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is a medium to address the deficiency related to the transparency in administration, ensure efficiency in service delivery and facilitate wider public participation in policy making. Due to some constraints, the practice of good governance through ICT in developing countries is still a matter of challenge. Good governance, a well-known concept in the present era, has gradually entrenched itself in the political and development discourses. The existing literatures outline eight major characteristics of good governance. It has to be consensus-oriented, participatory, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive, and uphold the rule of law. From empirical perspective, ICT-based governance can bring the government nearer to the stakeholders by sidestepping the needless bureaucratic interference at the field level. At the same time, it facilitates a two-way communication system: first, government to people and second, people to government. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, for instance, has recently disclosed her personal cell phone numbers to the general people, which gave the people the opportunity to talk directly with the PM via their mobile phones. It is a unique attempt to bring the government closer to the people, which is possible due to the information and communication technology. The introduction of ICT makes the government more accountable and the citizens more responsible. The 'Smart City' initiative of Cape Town, South Africa, and the introduction of an electronic birth registration procedure through Birth Registration Information System (BRIS) in Rajshahi City Corporation in Bangladesh are two excellent examples in this regard. Moreover, the use of ICT can easily lessen the workload of the public offices and help citizens in getting necessary services in a shorter time. Most importantly, the citizens can enjoy direct access to useful information bypassing the conventional and conservative bureaucratic systems. For example, the Nordic welfare states share valuable information with their citizens every day. More than 88 countries, from all regions of the world, have enacted Right to Information (RTI) Act to offer direct access to necessary information related to citizens' rights and government activities. Since the introduction of the RTI Act on April 06, 2009, the people of Bangladesh have been enjoying, to some extent, meaningful empowerment and participation in the governance process. The extensive prevalence of ICT in the governance system enables people to oversee the function of the government and responsible authorities. It has become easier to explore when something goes wrong. The ICT-based governance has got the potential for promoting electoral democracy and good governance. The use of electronic voting machine, is a good example in this regard. Despite the progress in the expansion of ICT in governance mechanism in developing countries in the recent years, the 2012 United Nations E-government Development Survey indicates that all of the top 20 countries are high-income, developed ones. The survey shows that in most cases the developing countries cannot improve their e-government ranking in 2012. The developing countries have to face several constraints and challenges in establishing effective ICT-based governance. The first and foremost challenge is the lack of financial resources. Due to the lack of financial resources, the governments of developing countries cannot provide a large amount of finance to any particular project, thus cannot effectively implement the notion of ICT-based governance. The old-school ideas of the policy makers and the low level of skills and capacity in the administration are barriers to introduce ICT in governance process. Many policy makers often do not like to welcome a new initiative like ICT-based governance. Public-private partnership (PPP) is a good way to implement ICT in governance mechanism that reduces pressure on the public sector and ensures better coordination in the service providing area. There have been a few successful cases of public-private partnership (PPP) in ICT-based governance. Most of the people in developing countries are not aware of the benefits of ICT-based governance. Thus, lack of awareness among the beneficiaries and the low rate of literacy are the key challenges to ICT-based governance in developing countries. Although ICT infrastructure in the developing countries has improved notably in the recent years, it is still limited mostly to offices in the municipal areas. Thus, in most cases, rural people cannot get the benefits of information and communication technology. There are some steps that may be undertaken to build an environment, where good governance can be achieved through the introduction of ICT. The government should provide more financial resources to ICT-based governance initiatives. Many people, especially those in the rural area, are not aware of the process as well as the benefits of ICT-based governance. So it is important to increase the level of people's awareness through publicity campaigns. Full introduction of ICT-based governance is extremely challenging. The developing countries are yet to outline a solid and coordinated approach to overcome the challenges in ICT-based governance. Understanding and management of public demands for good governance is very crucial. The top-down approach to planning needs to be replaced by more participatory approach within different entities of government to guarantee good governance. The writer is a Research Intern at Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA) and a post-graduate of International Relations at the University of Dhaka. [email protected]