Article Preview
TopIntroduction
Electronic government is considered as the application of appropriate Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in public administration combined with organizational change and new skills with a purpose to improve the delivery of public services and broaden the democratic processes as well as support for public policy formulation and implementation (Åkesson, Skålén, & Edvardsson, 2008). It is also the provision of government information and services online through the power of the Internet (Bwalya, 2009; Kefallinos, Lambrou, & Sykas, 2009). The application of ICTs in government operations is expected to make government through its state institutions more accessible, effective and accountable to the citizens’ and the general public (Wangpipatwong, Chutimaskul, & Papasratorn, 2009). E-government according to the World Bank is the application by Government and its agencies of appropriate ICTs such as Wide Area Network, the Internet and mobile computing that have the ability to transform relations with citizens, businesses and other arms of government (World Bank, 2015). The adoption of these technologies in government operations is expected to enhance the delivery of public services to citizens, improved interactions with businesses and industry, citizens’ empowerment through access to information or more efficient management (World Bank, 2015). The ultimate impact resulting from the adoption of e-government would be less corruption/reduction in corrupt practices, increase transparency and accountability, and greater convenience for both government and its citizens (World Bank, 2015).
The adoption and implementation of e-government by Government is expected to enhance the two-way communications and interaction with all diverse stakeholders in the society such as citizens, businesses, the government itself, employees and nonprofit organizations. This leads to the creation of different models of government interaction with the public through e-government (Safeena & Kammani, 2013). These models of interactions are Government-to-Citizens interactions (G2C), Citizens to Government (C2G) Interactions, Government to Business (G2B) interactions, Business to Government (B2G) interactions, Government to employees (G2E) interactions, Governments to Non-profit organizations (G2NGOs), Non-profit to Government (NGOs2G) interactions and Government to Government (G2G) Interactions. The G2C and C2G forms of e-government provide opportunities for both governments and citizens to interact through the provision of e-government services from government to citizens while at the same time citizens can also enjoy services and provide feedback to the government (Safeena & Kammani, 2013). The G2B mode enables the government to provide transactional e-government services and procurement facilities while the B2G businesses have the opportunity to provide communication, collaboration, transactions and procurement of goods and services. The G2E is considered as the e-government initiatives by the government to facilitate the management of the civil service /public sector and internal communication with government employees to encourage paperless office. The G2NGO enables the government to provide information and communication from government to nonprofit organizations, political parties and social organizations and legislature etc. while the N2G provides a platform for the exchange of information and communication services from nonprofit organizations to government organizations, etc. (Safeena & Kammani, 2013).