towards a transformational government framework for sub-saharan africa

332 Pages·2015·6.25 MB·English

TOWARDS A TRANSFORMATIONAL GOVERNMENT
FRAMEWORK FOR SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
by

TENDANI MAWELA

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the PhD in Informatics in the
Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences

UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA

STUDY LEADERS: PROF. NM OCHARA AND
PROF. H TWINOMURINZI

FEBRUARY 2015

© University of Pretoria
ABSTRACT
Title: Towards a transformational government framework for sub-Saharan Africa
Candidate: Tendani Mawela
Promoters: Prof. Nixon Muganda Ochara
Prof. Hossana Twinomurinzi
Department: Informatics
Degree: Philosophiae Doctor (Informatics)

The study aimed to understand the contribution of information and communication
technologies (ICT‘s) towards socio-economic development. Electronic Government (e-
Government) projects are pervasive within the African continent as seen with the
numerous governments that have expressed strategies outlining plans for the
implementation of a variety of e-government initiatives. However, despite the elaborate
strategic plans and policies, the core challenge remains with the minimal successful
implementations of e-government projects.

In the face of this disappointment, the sentiment that ICT‘s do hold the potential to
transform the trajectory of development remains. This research study focused on
investigating how e-Government programmes and the emergent area of
Transformational Government (t-Government) are currently conceptualised for
developmental impacts. The study concerned itself with the overarching question: How is
Transformational Government conceptualised within sub-Saharan Africa for
Developmental Impacts?

The study relied on a critical realist philosophical paradigm to offer an explanatory
critique of current e-Government programmes. To do this, the study conducted research
at the national, provincial and local government levels supported by methodological
pluralism comprising of intensive and extensive approaches.

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The study showed that our current conceptualisation within ICT enabled development
initiatives is limited and problematic for attaining t-Government. It is overly technically
focussed and alternatively requires a socio-technical understanding. The study argued
that t-Government may be driven by several generative mechanisms and these include
participatory governance coupled with transparency and trust in government. It also
requires transformative technology and infrastructure innovation. Furthermore, there is a
need for public sector operational effectiveness to be addressed. Finally it argued that
the current gap in understanding across the various tiers of government may need formal
and informal feedback procedures supported by monitoring and evaluation frameworks.

The study contributes to the dearth of research in the nascent t-Government domain. Its
main theoretical contribution is the proposed conceptual framework for t-Government
towards socio-economic development. Methodologically it offers an example of how
critical realist case studies supported by methodological pluralism may be used to
understand the trajectory of ICT driven projects within a developing country. Practically it
proposes several principles to guide implementation when undertaking t-Government
initiatives.

Keywords: ICT for Development (ICT4D), Electronic Government (e-Government),
Transformational Government (t-Government), Electronic Participation
(e-Participation)

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DECLARATION

I declare that the thesis titled: ―Towards a transformational government framework
for sub-Saharan Africa‖ which I hereby submit for the degree PhD (Informatics) at the
University of Pretoria, is my own work and that all sources I have used have been
indicated in the references and acknowledgements. It has not previously been submitted
by me for a degree or examination at this or any other tertiary institution.

Tendani Mawela
February 2015

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DEDICATION

To my family:
Lucas, Tokelo, Tshwanelo and Tlotliso
You are my inspiration.
Your faith in me carried me through this journey.
Thank you.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A heartfelt thank you to all those that assisted me with this study. I would particularly like
to acknowledge the following:
Firstly, I would like to thank God, from whom all wisdom and blessings flow.
My supervisors, Prof. Nixon Muganda Ochara and Prof. Hossana Twinomurinzi, thank
you for challenging me and continuously asking the difficult questions. I truly appreciate
your support, guidance and insight.
My mum, Prof. Cynthia Marivate, thank you for the immeasurable support and always
being an excellent example of true wisdom.
My extended family, the Mawela‘s, Marivate‘s and Tseki‘s, and my friends who provided
support and understanding throughout this process. Thank you for the many prayers and
words of encouragement.
Prof. Alta van der Merwe and the Department of Informatics. Thank you for your support
and the enabling environment for the completion of my studies.
The Vice Chancellors office, the office of the Vice Principal-Research and Post Graduate
Education, and the Department of Research and Innovation Support. Thank you for
awarding me the UP Academic Development Grant which allowed me the time to
complete the writing of my thesis.
All the respondents, who shared their time, knowledge and experiences. Without you this
study would not be possible.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................. II
DECLARATION .......................................................................................... IV
DEDICATION .............................................................................................. V
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................... VI
LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................... XV
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................ XVIII
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS, ACRONYMS AND INITIALISMS ............... XXI
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND ..................................... 1
1.1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1
1.2 BACKGROUND AND MOTIVATION FOR THE RESEARCH ................................................... 2
1.3 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY ........................................................................................... 4
1.3.1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................... 5
1.3.2 GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE ....................................................................................................... 6
1.3.3 SOUTH AFRICA AS A DEVELOPMENTAL STATE ............................................................................ 7
1.4 PROBLEM STATEMENT ............................................................................................... 9
1.5 OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH ............................................................. 11
1.6 RESEARCH APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY OVERVIEW ............................................. 11
1.7 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ........................................................................................... 12
1.8 DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ................................................................................. 12
1.9 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STUDY OF ICT FOR DEVELOPMENT ....................................... 13
1.10 THESIS OUTLINE ..................................................................................................... 13
1.11 SUMMARY .............................................................................................................. 15
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................... 16
2.1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 16
2.2. ICT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR ..................................................................................... 16
2.2.1. THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT .................................................................................... 16

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2.2.2. E-GOVERNMENT ..................................................................................................... 17
2.2.3. E-GOVERNMENT VS. E-GOVERNANCE ....................................................................... 20
2.2.4. THE PURPOSE OF E-GOVERNMENT ........................................................................... 21
2.2.5. E-GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVES .............................................................................. 21
2.2.5.1. RELATIONSHIP PERSPECTIVE ............................................................................ 22
2.2.5.2. EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE........................................................................... 22
2.2.6. NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT AND E-GOVERNMENT ...................................................... 25
2.2.6.1. FOUNDATIONS AND OBJECTIVES OF NPM .......................................................... 25
2.2.6.2. NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD .................................... 27
2.2.6.3. E-GOVERNMENT AND NPM PHILOSOPHIES ........................................................ 27
2.2.6.4. CRITICISM OF NPM AND THE EMERGENCE OF POST-NPM PHILOSOPHIES ............ 28
2.2.7. PUBLIC VALUE PRINCIPLES ...................................................................................... 30
2.2.7.1. DEFINING PUBLIC VALUE .................................................................................. 30
2.2.7.2. PUBLIC VALUE AND E-GOVERNMENT.................................................................. 31
2.3. E-GOVERNMENT AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ............................................ 32
2.3.1. DEVELOPMENT ....................................................................................................... 33
2.3.2. THE CONTRIBUTION OF ICT‘S TO DEVELOPMENT ....................................................... 35
2.3.3. DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY ......................................................................... 37
2.3.4. PERSPECTIVES ON ICT AND DEVELOPMENT .............................................................. 38
2.4. E-GOVERNMENT CHALLENGES ................................................................................. 41
2.4.1. IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES ................................................................................ 41
2.4.2. THE E-GOVERNMENT MYTH ..................................................................................... 43
2.4.3. E-GOVERNMENT OUTCOMES .................................................................................... 45
2.5. FOCUS ON BENEFITS AND IMPACTS OF E-GOVERNMENT ............................................. 47
2.6. TOWARDS TRANSFORMATIONAL GOVERNMENT .......................................................... 48
2.6.1. ALTERNATIVE CONCEPTUALISATION .......................................................................... 48
2.6.2. UNDERSTANDING TRANSFORMATION ........................................................................ 49
2.7. E-PARTICIPATION OF CITIZENS ................................................................................. 54
2.8. CITIZEN ADOPTION FACTORS ................................................................................... 58
2.8.1. DIGITAL DIVIDE ....................................................................................................... 59
2.8.2. ACCESS ................................................................................................................. 59
2.8.3. SKILLS ................................................................................................................... 60
2.8.4. ATTITUDE ............................................................................................................... 61
2.9. MOBILE GOVERNMENT ............................................................................................ 62
2.10. E-GOVERNMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA ................................................................ 64
2.11. RESEARCHER‘S REFLECTIONS ON THE LITERATURE ................................................... 66

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2.12. SUMMARY .............................................................................................................. 70
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FRAMEWORK .............................................. 71
3.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 71
3.2 PHILOSOPHICAL PARADIGMS .................................................................................... 72
3.3 THE PHILOSOPHICAL BASIS OF THIS STUDY ............................................................... 74
3.4 CRITICAL REALISM .................................................................................................. 76
3.4.1 THE ONTOLOGY AND EPISTEMOLOGY OF CRITICAL REALISM ....................................... 76
3.4.2 CRITIQUES OF CRITICAL REALISM ............................................................................. 80
3.4.3 APPLICATION OF CRITICAL REALISM TO THE RESEARCH STUDY .................................. 81
3.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................... 83
3.5.1 RESEARCH APPROACH ............................................................................................ 83
3.5.2 CASE STUDY STRATEGY .......................................................................................... 84
3.5.3 METHODOLOGICAL PLURALISM ................................................................................. 87
3.5.4 QUALITY OF THE RESEARCH .................................................................................... 89
3.5.5 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ...................................................................................... 91
3.6 THE ROLE OF THEORY............................................................................................. 91
3.6.1 THEORY AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS RESEARCH ...................................................... 91
3.6.2 CRITICAL REALIST REFLECTIONS ON THEORY ............................................................ 93
3.6.3 APPLICATION OF THEORY ........................................................................................ 94
3.7 AXIOLOGY .............................................................................................................. 95
3.8 SUMMARY .............................................................................................................. 97
CHAPTER 4: STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR T-GOVERNMENT ............ 98
4.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 98
4.2 SOUTH AFRICAN ICT LANDSCAPE ............................................................................ 98
4.2.1 TOWARDS A NEW ICT POLICY ................................................................................ 101
4.2.2 DEPARTMENTS INFLUENCING E-GOVERNMENT ......................................................... 102
4.3 PUBLIC SECTOR STRATEGIC PLANNING .................................................................. 104
4.3.1 CHALLENGES OF PUBLIC SECTOR PLANNING ........................................................... 105
4.3.2 STRATEGIC PLANNING IN SOUTH AFRICA................................................................. 106
4.3.3 STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL GOVERNMENT ............................... 108
4.4 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ................................................................................... 109
4.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY OVERVIEW ................................................................... 113
4.6 SUMMARY OF DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLANS ....................................................... 115

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4.6.1 DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION ......................................................................... 115
4.6.2 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION ......................................... 116
4.6.3 DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ......................................................... 117
4.7 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS ...................................................................................... 118
4.8 STRATEGIC PLANNING INSIGHTS ............................................................................. 125
4.8.1 POLICY ENVIRONMENT AND T-GOVERNMENT CONCEPTUALISATION ........................... 126
4.8.2 INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY ...................................................................................... 129
4.8.3 LINGERING E-GOVERNMENT MYTHS ....................................................................... 130
4.8.4 IN SEARCH OF PUBLIC SECTOR VALUES .................................................................. 131
4.8.5 NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT IDEOLOGIES ................................................................. 133
4.9 SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ 135
CHAPTER 5: ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
IN E-GOVERNMENT PROJECTS ........................................................... 137
5.1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 137
5.2 CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ......................................................................................... 138
5.2.1 BACKGROUND TO CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ............................................................... 138
5.2.2 JUSTIFICATION FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ............................................................. 139
5.2.3 E-PARTICIPATION IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR ............................................................... 140
5.3 THE RELEVANCE OF E-PARTICIPATION IN SOUTH AFRICA .......................................... 140
5.4 THEORETICAL FRAMING OF THE STUDY: AN ACTOR NETWORK PERSPECTIVE ............. 141
5.4.1 CENTRAL TENETS OF ACTOR NETWORK THEORY ..................................................... 142
5.4.2 CRITIQUING ACTOR NETWORK THEORY .................................................................. 144
5.4.3 APPLICABILITY OF ACTOR NETWORK THEORY .......................................................... 145
5.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................................... 146
5.5.1 DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES ........................................................................... 146
5.5.2 DATA ANALYSIS PROCEDURES ............................................................................... 146
5.6 CASE STUDY BACKGROUND: THE GAUTENG FREEWAY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT ........ 147
5.6.1 OVERVIEW OF ELECTRONIC TOLLING ...................................................................... 147
5.6.2 RATIONALE FOR ELECTRONIC TOLLING ................................................................... 148
5.6.3 CASE SIGNIFICANCE AND RELEVANCE..................................................................... 149
5.7 PROJECT ACTORS ................................................................................................. 150
5.8 TIMELINE OF KEY PROJECT MILESTONES ................................................................ 152
5.9 NETWORK ANALYSIS: IMPACT OF KEY PROJECT DECISIONS ...................................... 154
5.10 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS ...................................................................................... 156
5.10.1 PROBLEMATISATION .............................................................................................. 156

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