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Transparency and efficiency in the use of a country’s social and economic resources have been achieved by countries that have successfully implemented e-government (Ndou, 2004). E-government seeks to achieve transparency and clearness in service provision and links government with citizens (Azri, Salti, & Karaghouli, 2010). In ensuring transparency and less corruption, ICT is generally accepted to play an important role as an instrument in curbing corruption and improving service delivery (Gronlund, 2010; Gyamfi, 2018). e-government initiatives have tremendously enhanced the well-being of many citizens in the advanced countries but the same cannot be said about developing countries; as a high percentage of e-government programs implemented in developing countries have failed. This may partly be due to the complex nature of e-government, inadequate resources and other problems. It is certain that developing countries can realize the full benefits of e-government, if these problems are resolved (Schuppan, 2009).
With support coming from international donors such as the World Bank, many developing countries are now implementing e-government with the aim of alleviating poverty and enhancing development (Schuppan, 2009). However, for a country to successfully implement e-government, strategies and implementation plans as well as the entire spectrum of e-government and the socio-cultural factors of the country must be considered. This assertion is based on a study conducted on the factors affecting e-government implementation in Zambia by Bwalya and Healy (2010).
Srivastava and Teo (2010) define electronic government (e-government) as “the use of online channels for enhancing access to and delivery of any facet of government services and operations to the benefit of citizens, businesses, and other stakeholders” (p. 286). According to Al-zahrani, Al-Karaghouli and Weerakkody (2018), e-government is about the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to deliver information and other services to citizens. ICT is now becoming an important tool for transformation of government service delivery (Khan, 2011; Waller & Weerakkody, 2016). Even though e-government has emerged as a powerful instrument for achieving government reform objectives, its implementation in the developing countries leaves much to be desired.
In the developing world, there is a gap on the study of e-government implementation challenges and other associated issues. This study focuses on contributing to literature to assist policy makers in the public sector to come up with policies and actions that will ensure the long-term sustainability of e-government initiatives in the public sector and create the avenue for further research in this area. Although studies have been conducted on how e-government helps improve public administration, there still exist few studies which aim at investigating the challenging factors that affect the implementation of e-government on public service delivery in the developing countries. Considering the challenges associated with the implementation of e-government in the developing world, is there any significant relationship between e-government and improvement in government service delivery? This question triggered this team of researchers to investigate the merits and challenges associated with the implementation of e-government in the developing world. The study setting is the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Ghana.
In Ghana’s bid to improve governance and service delivery to its citizenry because of rapid population growth coupled with the vision of transformation, the nation adopted e-government under the ICT for Accelerated Development policy in December 2006 (Frempong, 2010). Ghana Community Network (GCNet) was one of the ICT initiatives introduced by the country to help achieve this goal.