E-government denotes the strategic, co-ordinated use of information
and communication technologies (ICT) in public administration and
political decision-making. The benefits it is expected to deliver are
greater efficiency of the institutions concerned, improvements in public
services, and political participation and transparency. But fast results
can only be expected where a sound institutional base and good
technical and infrastructural facilities already exist. In the foreseeable
future, the introduction of e-government will mainly be confined to the
industrialised and more advanced developing countries. However,
potential uses are also opening up for the poorer countries. In many
cases, the obstacles to reform are not so much financial and
infrastructural difficulties as political blockades. Development
cooperation can use e-government as a means of supporting partner
countries in devising and implementing political and administrative
reforms and in improving market-oriented frameworks. Beyond the
immediate benefits of the new technologies, e-government should be
taken as an instrument to promote good governance and to strengthen
reform-oriented actors in politics and civil society.
