Report on the Proceedings of the Workshop on Electronic Governance -- The Commonwealth Center for Electronic Governance

REPORT ON THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE WORKSHOP ON ELECTRONIC GOVERNANCE

REPORT ON THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE WORKSHOP ON ELECTRONIC GOVERNANCE

ORGANIZED BY THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS ASSOCIATION AND C0-SPONSORED BY THE COMMONWEALTH FUND FOR TECHNICAL CO-OPERATION and the COMMONWEALTH CENTRE FOR ELECTRONIC GOVERNANCE

4-5^TH SEPTEMBER 2000 AT THE SAFARI PARK HOTEL

The workshop formerly kicked off at 9:59 AM with a brief address by Mr John Liboyi, who acting as Master of Ceremonies then invited the Chairman of the Information Technology Standards Association Dr John Onunga to make a welcoming address.

In his address, Dr Onunga highlighted the following:

That it was a great honour indeed for ITSA to host the workshop, which was in keeping with its stated vision and mission.
He thanked the Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance for sponsoring the workshop.
He emphasised that the workshop had received ardent support from the government, specifically the Minister for Trade, Industry and Tourism Mr Nicholas Biwott who had every intention of participating but was distracted by other pressing duties, and the Attorney-General Mr Amos Wako who was unable to attend as he was out of the country but was looking forward to receiving the resolutions of the workshop that may be enacted into relevant laws.
Dr Onunga observed that though electronic governance was a relatively new concept, it will rapidly gain in importance in this new century and deliberations at the workshop should thus constantly bear this in mind.

In his address, entitled Introducing the Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance: Implications for Commonwealth Member Countries the Chief Programme Officer at the Commonwealth Secretariat Mr Rogers W'O Okot-Uma highlighted the following points:

That the workshop was one of a series that will be run in all member countries of the Commonwealth on this issue of eGovernance.
That this was the first such workshop in Africa, and though it was predominantly an in-country programme it would impact on the whole East Africa Region given the co-operation between the three states as formalised in the East African Community.
That the CCfEG was launched at the 2^nd Global Knowledge Conference in Malaysia in March 2000, being a special focus centre under the Management and Training Services Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
He noted that the launch was in keeping with global trends in the public sector management reform intended to enhance efficiency, effectiveness and productivity, add value to established modes of business practice by governments and a need for easy and interactive communication between governments and their major clients.
He pointed out that the creation of the CCfEG was cognisant of the beneficial long-term effects of e-governance, namely financial and time resource savings and access to information and empowerment in the use of that information and knowledge.
He defined the threefold vision of the CCfEG: the civil service, business and citizens working together for mutual benefit; social reform that would capture the full benefits of emergent information technology; and citizen participation and empowerment in public life through sharing of information and ideas electronically - giving rise to eDemocracy.
Coupled with this vision, he informed the participants that the CCfEG's mission is to assist the transition to electronic government and ultimately electronic democracy; and to promote good practice in electronic government, sharing of learning experiences, dissemination of information and management of knowledge.
Mr Okot-Uma explained that the CCfEG employed the following strategies, amongst others, in its endeavours: facilitating networking of communities, facilitating sharing and dissemination of information and ideas, carrying out advisory and consultancy services, facilitating high-level specialist training, organising seminars and workshops, and implementing research and development projects.
In achieving its purpose, he explained that the Centre will forge alliances and partnerships with governments and government establishments, academic institutions, knowledge-based organisations and public and private sector institutions.

In a supplementary to Mr Okot-Uma's presentation, Professor Thomas Riley, Interim Executive Director of the CCfEG, made the following remarks:

He thanked all the participants for taking the time to attend this important workshop whose future impact could be profound.
He observed that the world of the new millennium is heavily dependent on information technology, thus the need for a body such as the CCfEG, though the level of its proliferation and usage was largely country-dependent.
He revealed that in the next month or so, the CCfEG would launch both a web site and a paper (published by the Commonwealth Secretariat) on the state of electronic governance in the Commonwealth and related issues.
Professor Riley asked the participants to consider the possibility of Regional Networks for eGovernance and to carefully consider both the potential benefits as well as the difficulties and challenges of eGovernment.
He noted that the CCfEG would play a facilitative role in the advancement of eGovernance, and may in the future establish Regional Centres for the same.
He emphasised that CCfEG appreciated the wide diversity within the Commonwealth which created various challenges, but expressed hope that its work would indeed in future go beyond this body.

The official opening of the workshop was conducted by Assistant Minister for Trade, Industry and Tourism the Hon. Mohammed Abdi Mahmud on behalf of his Minister, Hon. Nicholas Biwott. The highlights of his remarks were as follows:

He thanked the organisers for the honour of opening the workshop, and the CCfEG for financing it.
He noted that the workshop provided an opportunity for public and private sector professionals to exchange views on harnessing information technology for national advantage.
He observed that the villagisation of the globe underscored the importance of information flow between governments and its people - especially with economic liberalisation that necessitates aggressive marketing of the country.
He pointed out that significant challenges exist that must be surmounted for the optimum utilisation of IT in the country. These include public and private sector integration, creating awareness, provision of the requisite equipment, enactment of relevant legislation, personnel development, and provision of a modern telecommunication network.
However, the government had taken several measures to overcome these challenges with a view to laying the foundation for eGovernance. Amongst these measures are the privatisation of the telecommunications sector, promoting and preserving competition in the domestic market by opening up to foreign investment and guaranteeing access to the broadest range of information services.
The minister reiterated that the government is committed to good governance, one of the objectives of eGovernment, implementing measures that enhance transparency and accountability, tackle corruption and insecurity and strengthen budget planning and execution.
He concluded with the hope that the workshop would make proposals that will enhance information technology in the country.

In his paper, Electronic Governance: Reinventing Good Governance, Mr Roger Okot-Uma highlighted the following:

That good governance is a concept that has become common parlance in all the social sciences but particularly in development management, where it is particularly associated with public sector reform.
Within the commonwealth, the Harare declaration committed members to the democratic process and institutions, the rule of law and an independent judiciary, just and honest government and fundamental human rights. It emphasises provision of high quality services by public managers, increasing managerial autonomy with reduced central control and the importance of providing the relevant resources to enable such public managers to perform their duties with efficacy. As part of this, the public management sector would be receptive to competition and yet open to collaboration with partners from both the private sector and civil society in an environment of trust.
Having established the credence of the concept of good governance in contemporary development discourse, Mr Okot-Uma defined it as comprising the processes and structures that guide political and socio-economic relationships, with particular reference to commitment to democratic values, trusted services and just and honest business.
By this definition, he observed that good governance has three foci: a democratic focus that encompasses the relationship between the government and citizens, between politicians and the civil service and between the legislature and the executive; a business focus which encompasses the relationships between the government and the markets, between the governments and the voluntary or private sectors and between central governments and local governments; and ultimately a service focus that is concerned with the relationship between government and citizens, the relationship between local government and urban and rural dwellers and the relationship between nation states and international institutions.
He pointed out that the emergence and rapid development in information and communication technology has created opportunity to add value to the attributes that characterise good government, providing new opportunities for growth and development. However, this development has also created a digital divide.
The challenges arising from the digital divide include installing the requisite national information infrastructure, developing the requisite human resource and providing adequate financial resources to achieve both.
He noted that the digital convergence that has resulted from the rapid development in ICT has triggered a creative divergence that will lead to benefits such as improved healthcare, easier access ton public services, new commercial, leisure and entertainment opportunities, etc, and above all good governance. He however warned that on the flip side of these benefits, there will be problems of strategy, context and operation that will have to be overcome.
Mr Okot-Uma emphasised that local, central, national and regional governments have a responsibility to create knowledge societies to derive advantage from the emergent information and communication technology. This it can do by enabling participation in the information society, creating the infrastructure for the information society and fostering a sense of citizenship and cultural identity using ICT. He declared that the barriers to the creation of knowledge societies are non-technical in nature - being mainly concerned with high level commitment and leadership, policy, investment, education, organisation, regulation, culture and delivery.
He pointed out that the emergent ICTs offer governments great opportunity to get closer to the citizenry and forge alliances with diverse communities to promote national development agendas. This is what eGovernance is about.
Mr Okot-Uma pointed out that eGovernance is a concept inclusive of eDemocracy encompassing all communications between the citizen and government, eGovernment encompassing all processes and structures for the electronic delivery of government services and eBusiness which incorporates electronic buying and selling (eCommerce), electronically servicing customers, electronically collaborating with partners and electronically conducting the internal affairs of the business entity. eGovernance is founded on the principles of open government and the citizens access to information and knowledge on all issues that interest and concern them. He emphasised that this access to information is the fundamental driving force behind the digital revolution and therefore inalienable from eGovernance.

In his paper, Electronic Governance: The Indian Perspective His Excellency Mr R.K. Bhatia, High Commissioner of India to Kenya made the following remarks:

He noted that as internationally-observed information technology was a big issue in India, with an enormous economic impact and great enthusiasm from officialdom. Indeed India was seen as an emerging IT superpower in the community of nations.
Mr Bhatia quoted statistics indicating the enormous developments in the Indian IT industry, from the billion-dollar exports of software to the United States and Europe to the great number of Indian professionals and entrepreneurs in the IT industry in the United States and elsewhere.
He observed that information technology is power, but is also a government's greatest equity that it should carefully utilise in ensuring the greatest good for its peoples, and this should be the premier principle of e-governance.
He said that eGovernment is part of India's overall IT strategy, as implemented by the Ministry of Information Technology and the National Taskforce on information Technology and Software Development to achieve rapid national development.
As a result of the work of this taskforce, Government Ministries and departments are required to spend a specified portion of their budgetary allocation on IT and prepare a strategic IT plan specific to their needs. Additionally, IT literacy has been incorporated as an essential part of government employment policy.
Mr Bhatia revealed that the Federal Government in India has taken many tangible steps towards eGovernance in areas such as land transfers and commodity priced monitoring. Similar efforts have been taken by a number of state governments and municipal authorities.
The exemplar has been the state of Andhra Pradesh, which has shown exceptional creativity and effectiveness. It has set up systems for online payment of utility bills, transport licensing and registration, tax remittances, employment and many others.
He explained that the purpose of IT policy in India is to create Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent (SMART) government, and this is gradually being achieved and will be accelerated by the establishment of a Centre for Electronic Governance by the Ministry of IT.
Mr Bhatia observed that some of the conditions that favoured the It explosion in India exist in Kenya. These include the widespread thirst for knowledge, proficiency in the English language, the high value placed on university education and the key role of the services sector. The anticipated rapid growth of the telecom sector is another factor that favours similar success in Kenya.
The High Commissioner concluded with then observation that there is infinite room for co-operation between Kenya and India in the IT field, with the former drawing on the experience of the latter.

Mr Jan Mutai, Secretary General of the African Telecommunications Union, made a presentation on the Challenges and Potential for investment in Information and Communication Technology in the Africa Region.

He commended both ITSA and the CCfEG for facilitating this important workshop.
He noted that for eGovernance to be effectively implemented in Kenya and Africa in general, heavy investment in infrastructure would be required.
He said that the government had created the appropriate policy environment but this needed to be more formalised and concretised - by articulating a clearly discernible policy, generating relevant laws to create a legal setting for the policy and then creating regulatory institutions on the basis of those laws. He emphasised that it was only when this three-tier process was complete that it would now be possible to seek and obtain the requisite investment.
Mr Mutai observed that individual African nations may not possess the critical economic mass to justify such investment that would underpin eGovernance, and there was therefore a need to establish mechanisms for regional co-operation and pooling of meagre resources.
He observed that such collaboration could then be escalated to the continental level and ultimately give these nations a voice at the international level where they are currently not adequately represented.
He expressed the opinion that provisions for eGovernance must be made in the strategic plan for the nation to achieve Newly Industrialised Country status by the year 2020.

In his paper entitled eGovernment: Electronic Graft Management, ITSA Chairman Dr John Onunga highlighted the following:

That eGovernment is intended to enhance the delivery of government services to the citizen by using electronic means, and one of the biggest impediments to the delivery of such services is entrenched graft.
He observed that corruption exists in all nations, and only the degree varies - and it is described as entrenched where no government services are delivered without kickbacks, resulting in a very inefficient public administration system which may even endanger lives through disregard for safety regulations..
Dr Onunga emphasised that just because corruption is entrenched does not mean that the citizenry approves of it. It merely indicates a realisation that this is the only way they can avoid mistreatment, frustration and denial of services that they need.
Dr Onunga reviewed the eight methods of fighting corruption proposed by the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank, and noted that Kenya's watchdog agency - the Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority - was doing a commendable job.
He however noted that KACA was focussing on historical cases of grand corruption partially due to the fact that it was not receiving all the information that it requires - especially of the legion cases of petty corruption going on all over the country.
Dr Onunga observed that KACA's current reporting methods are inadequate, inappropriate, inaccessible, and inconvenient or a combination of this. Use of paper mail was inappropriate as many people would not wish to commit their names to paper as this did not protect their privacy. Reporting by telephone is undermined by the often inaccessible and unreliable telephone system and by the fact that the relevant person may not always be present when the call goes through. Not having physically met the KACA officers, many members of the public may find it difficult to file a corruption report - given the sensitive nature of such information.
Dr Onunga revealed that ITSA is working with KACA, major Internet Service Providers and the media to increase public awareness and encourage public participation in the fight against corruption by electronic means. The overall vision of this project an efficient and corruption free Kenya that is enjoying rapid economic growth and development.
The project when fully implemented will empower the citizen electronically through cybercafes in the urban centres and telecentres in the rural areas, at the same time improving Internet connectivity for trade and development. The pilot project will make use of the existing Internet infrastructure in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Nakuru, and Nyeri, Busia and Isiolo, which have no existing Internet infrastructure, will also be set up for a feasibility study for connecting the larger rural areas.
Dr Onunga observed that the use of email to report corruption was advantageous in that it is a facility that is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It would also exploit the inherent trust that people have for computers and at the same time ensure privacy. It would also be relatively cheap. By its nature it would serve to arrest perpetrators of ongoing graft, prevent planned graft and deter future graft.
Once the Electronic Graft Management (EGM) Centre is set up, it will filter information from all reporting centres with minimum human intervention and forward it for appropriate action to the concerned authorities - amongst them KACA and the Police.
Dr Onunga reported that the main issues in the design and implementation of the EGM System are security and awareness. In the former class are issues such as the physical security of the cafes, information tampering especially where the person reporting is not computer literate, confidentiality, tapping in transit, access to information at the receiving end by unauthorised persons and the authenticity/reliability of the information. In the latter class are informing the public of this alternative channel, getting them to use it, making allowances for those that are illiterate, costs however minimal they may be and protection from the perpetrators of corruption.
The implementation will entail making use of the two types of Internet Cafes in operation in the six centres with Internet connectivity as well as developing an efficient and cost effective Internet connection for the two remote sites that do not have the service at this time. In progress already is the development of an EGM web site (www.eGraftMgmt.co.ke) that will both inform the public about official procedures for conducting government transactions as well as provide them with a feedback channel to report complaints. Implementation will also need to address public awareness and participation through reporting. In this area Dr Onunga identifies the corrupt as unlikely to participate, the victims who are likely to participate if adequately offended or frustrated by corruption and the rumour mongers and vindictive persons who may want to get back at business rivals or other perceived enemies by filing reports that may not be genuine.
For purposes of creating awareness, Dr Onunga explained that ITSA proposes to use highly motivated youth volunteers who will target teachers, traders and their associations, NGOs and other community based organisations, churches and other religious groups as well as private and public institutions. The campaign will employ both door-to-door and personal contact approaches as well as the mass media.
In conclusion, Dr Onunga said that the EGM would monitor reporting via this channel on a monthly basis, with an increased volume assumed to indicate greater awareness and trust amongst the public. It will also obtain statistical feedback from the implementing agencies on action taken on reports forwarded to them, which will be availed to the general public as an incentive to continue reporting.

Mr Mike Eldon, Group Executive Director of the Symphony Group of IT companies, presented a paper entitled eBusiness: Public-Private Partnership - A People View.

Mr Eldon observed that the e in eGovernment might as well stand for excellent government as for electronic government. He noted that such a government would require a committed and visionary leadership. It would need to focus on its customers with prompt, high quality and cost-effective services and on the taxpayers with good use of the funds entrusted to it.
Mr Eldon listed the prerequisites for excellent Government as vision that is realised through strategy and implementation; the employment of skilled, empowered and appropriately rewarded personnel; a focus on processes and procedures that work rather than on hierarchies; facilities for the free flow of information; effective procurement mechanisms and project management and the employment development of solid technology infrastructure. He measured the Government at this point in time against this criteria and found it wanting.
Mr Eldon observed that though Kenyans are a high energy people, most of this energy is destructively focussed on each other due to low trust. The result of this, he noted, is that all persons lose as there can be no winners in such a situation of low trust and high energy. This he said is exemplified in the relationship between the private and public sectors.
He noted that the attitude of the public sector to the private sector is surmised by the often-bandied phrases: They're just private sector, not official and They're just out to make money, get rich. The private sector on the other hand says of the public sector Nothing works in government, Too many timid, indecisive people with negative power, They hold us back, use us, abuse us, They take our services for granted, use them badly and don't pay.
He emphasised that relationships and partnerships can only work in a situation of trust and mutual respect. This can be generated through a shared vision, mutual giving and receiving creating a synergy, and mutual performance by both parties as a situation where only one party performs and the other doesn't eventually destroys the partnership. There must be aligned expenditure of energy.
Mr Eldon noted that Information Technology and Government will transform and be transformed by each other. He quoted Jeff Papows, CEO Lotus, who held that education and health are not just public services but major aspects of international competitiveness, and that technology has the potential to influence their effectiveness dramatically. This he said underlines the importance of eGovernment, a partnership of modern information technology and traditional government services.
He reiterated that neither Government nor the private sector can do what needs doing alone. Salvation lay in C-Commerce, defined us Country-corporation collaboration. Time was therefore the common enemy in the rush towards a knowledge society, and not each other.
Mr Eldon briefly reviewed two instances of such collaboration, including the Government in the Digital Economy Project that brings together 20 western nations together with several states, municipalities and regions with leading private IT firms IBM, HP, EDS, etc.
He observed that 20 countries in Africa have already devised an Information and Communication Technology policy, while Kenya, which was once a leader, has not. Many nations also have in government a prominent and influential person to spearhead the march into the digital age, but Kenya lacks such an individual. He however observed that despite this, a vast number of young people are graduation with IT qualifications each year and the number of ISPs in the country is growing exponentially. Change in Kenya's situation can therefore be achieved by a small number of key, bold and committed individuals with a clear vision - such as those gathered at the workshop - who can share this vision and build consensus, enthusiasm and optimism and then institutionalise it for sustainability.
In his conclusion, he urged the workshop participants to be bold in addressing the challenge but not underestimate its magnitude, and to be visionary but be prepared to start somewhere in a small way.

Mr Victor Kyalo, a lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering of the University of Nairobi, presented a paper on the topic Data Protection, Privacy and Security

He defined eSecurity as the protection of the users of information systems from harm resulting from failures of availability, confidentiality and integrity.
Mr Kyalo observed that the growth of ICT in Kenya will reach a level that will make every citizen a user or potential user, with a concordant rise in the level of investment in ICT infrastructure. He proposed that the underlying guideline for this explosion should be to maintain the confidence of the user that the information systems will operate as intended without unanticipated problems or failures.
He emphasised that where such failures and problems occur, the impact would be gigantic as the infrastructure will not be used to the expected capacity or for the purposes intended with grave economic consequences.
Mr Kyalo pointed out that the main areas of eGovernance where issues of eSecurity arise are Information Networks used essentially for dissemination of information by the government and where issues of integrity and availability are prominent; Client Access, which allows greater one way transactions to lodge, access and modify data (amongst other operations), and where the main concerns are the identity of the user and their entitlements under the system; and eCommerce, where the main concerns are authentication and non-repudiation of messages.
Towards achieving eSecurity, Mr Kyalo explained that the Government would need to be the principle enabler with non-prohibitive legislation and leadership. It would need to conduct an appropriate Risk Assessment and Analysis involving resource identification and consequence analysis, execute careful Planning and Technology Selection in the context of simple eSecurity Policy and invest in the development of Education and Standards to ensure optimum use of the ICT systems.
Mr Kyalo analysed the following as the indispensable prerequisites for eSecurity: Trust, to facilitate fear-free e-transactions; Integrity, to protect data from corruption, destruction and unauthorised change; Authentication, to ascertain the identity of the users, servers, devices and systems; Non-repudiation, to prevent the denial of a valid transaction; Privacy, to protect the data from unauthorised access and viewing; and ultimately Encryption, that provides the underlying foundation for all e-security components.
In conclusion, Mr Kyalo observed that digital signature techniques and public key authentication will play an increasingly prominent role as the ICT revolution progresses. Legal and administrative infrastructure will therefore need to be developed to meet and resolve the challenges that these will create. Efforts will also need to be made to build consensus internationally on eSecurity, but in a manner that will not stifle the growth of the eSector.

In his paper, Pilot Project on Application of ICT for Good Governance in Tanzania, the Director of Information and Documentation in the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), Mr Theophilus Mlaki reviewed the case of Kinondoni District In Dar es Salaam.

Mr Mlaki informed the workshop that the site of the pilot project is one of the 3 districts/municipalities of Dar es Salaam City/Region, being located in the northern parts over an area of 527 km². It has a population of 1.5 million persons divided into 144-thousand-odd households. Health services are provided through 14 hospitals, 6 health centres and 199 dispensaries (of which twenty are state owned). Education is provided through 173 primary schools and a number of secondary schools.
He explained that the aim of the project was the introduction of ICT into district governance with a view to improving information flow and achieving good governance. The pilot project will then be the basis for a more comprehensive project that will serve as a model for the assessment of the impact ICT on good governance at the District level in Tanzania.
This one year project is financed by the International Institute for Communication and Development of the Netherlands, and implemented by COSTECH. Its specific objectives include assessing the impact of ICT of the efficiency and effectiveness of capturing and processing information, the impact on the utilisation of the information outputted from the SCT system, sustainability of the entire process - including the possibility of charging fees for the services rendered, assessment of the applicability of the experience gained from the pilot in other areas and ultimately, facilitating electronic communication for good governance.
Mr Mlaki revealed that the scope of the pilot project was limited to three sectors only, viz. Education, Health and Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages. To cover this sectors, the project was based in 2 Educational Wards, one Dispensary, the District Medical Office, the District Education Office and at the Registry of Births and Deaths.
He explained that the three computer nodes at headquarters were linked by a simple LAN, with the server at District Headquarters linking the three computers there with the three in the field via modem and an ordinary telephone line. Data is generated and processed at all the nodes at headquarters and in the field and consolidated by the LAN host computer that also operates as an Internet Server.
Mr Mlaki said that amongst the project outputs this far are databases on health, education, births and deaths; timely and customised reports; enhanced ICT awareness in the project area; skilled human resource as a result of the personnel training that preceded the implementation and a nascent Computerised District Management Information System.
He revealed that a Mid-term evaluation conducted in August 2000 had revealed that the project was timely and most useful. On the basis of that evaluation, a proposal was made that the project be expanded to incorporate other sectors and a wider area, and a proposal to this effect has already been prepared. If implemented, it will bring into the project two new sectors - Land and Trade - and two additional wards, increase Internet Access Bandwidth through wireless technology, install more PCs to give key decision makers instant access to useful databases and the Internet.
In his concluding remarks, Mr Mlaki noted that one of the greatest benefits observed in the pilot project was a dramatic shrink in the turn-around time for the despatch of data to headquarters and the return of the same back to the grassroots with relevant analyses, recommendations and action. This in turn facilitated rapid and informed decision-making.
He explained that as a result of the project, it is the vision of the authorities to have a computer and Internet connection in every school, hospital, health centre and dispensary; to have all new births, marriages and deaths entered directly into computerised databases; computerise all sectors and activities at the district level, each with its own specialised database, and give all decision makers access to these databases and the Internet.

Professor Thomas B Riley, Interim Executive Director of the Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance, presented a paper entitled The Changing Shape of Democracy Today.

In his paper, he argued that with the rapidly increasing number of people connected go the Internet, and a growth in Internet based activism, the Net will play an increasingly major role in issues of democracy. This electronic activists, he said, are propelling a new political agenda and cyberism is emerging as a new political reality.
Prof. Riley revealed that the online world was now more reflective of the broader society. It is no longer composed of the highly educated, relatively well to do, highly computer literate individuals that dominated its nascent years but a broad spectrum of society drawn from all levels. It is therefore no longer an elitist medium, but one ripe for new populist movements.
He explained that online groups dedicated to specific political issues are on the rise, and these are going to change the very nature of government. This is because citizens all over the world are demanded an increased role in governance, and the interactive nature of the Internet is ideal to bring about this. As a result, he argued, some services of government may actually be rendered redundant.
Professor predicted that by the year 2002, voters in the United States may for the first time cast their vote electronically via the Internet in that country's Congressional Elections. He asserted that the technology for secure Internet transactions that would facilitate this is already in existence. To illustrate the growing importance of the Internet in the political process, he quoted the case of Jesse Ventura of the Reform Party, who was elected Governor of the State of Minnesota significantly due to his creative use of the Internet in his campaigns. Similar virtual political events have been witnessed in both the United Kingdom and France, in many instances without any input whatsoever from Government.
He noted that in the United States and Canada, the citizens are now using email to make their views known to their congressmen and other representatives on any proposed legislation. Increasingly, such lawmakers are realising that this is a constituency that must be listened to and responded to. This has broadened such debate beyond the tight circle of academicians, experts, public interest groups and politicians that charactertised the offline pre-Internet era.
Professor observed that Internet political activism transcends political and state borders as they exit today. He noted that in 1997 and 1998, political interest groups and non-governmental groups from across the world mobilised international support on the Net to scuttle the Multilateral Agreement on Investment that was fronted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The MAI was dropped from the agenda as a result and referred to the World Trade Organisation.
He emphasised that governments need to be involved in the development of infrastructure to bring as many of their citizens as possible online. He however emphasised that this is where the role of government ends as it will not have control on the outcomes of the use of such infrastructure, which will probably radically change both the structure and the workings of the selfsame governments. However, by having developed the infrastructure, they will have been an agent in the changes that result from it.
Professor Riley characterised democracy in the wired world as comprised of electronic interactions between the citizen and the government, between the citizen and groups representing various interests, between these groups and the government, and most importantly interactions and discourses between citizen and citizen. As a result of these interactions the government will no longer be controlled from the top and micro-managed by a few people.
He quoted the massive protests at the World Trade Organisation conference in Seattle in December 1999 as an example of this new paradigm. Those protests sounded a death knell for the old system of government based on secrecy and closed meetings to which only a select few are invited. The citizens loudly expressed their views and forced their governments to listen. These protests were initially organised off and online, but it is the Internet that made them international. It was indicative of the discovery by the citizens of an ideal tool to communicate their views, however radical, that bypasses all the normal channels of government.
Professor explained that this new wired democracy, as opposed to the traditional democracy based on representation, is as a result of the expression of individual voices that join with other voices on line to form a consensus, which will however still have room for dissenters. This process is accelerated by groups dedicated to using the Internet for this very purpose, such as Minnesota E-Democracy and Democracy Online Wire.
He elucidated that eDemocracy is a truly populist democracy, as each individual has as much right to an audience as any other individual just be putting their views on line. He contrast this with the mass media where audience access is still at the discretion of the editor, who decides on whether or not to publish a letter from a reader. He further observed that now discourse that starts on the Internet expressing a given concern spills into main stream media. He quoted as an example the eDiscourse on the proposed merger between AOL and Time Warner, expressing concerns for free speech, censorship, creative freedom and diversity. This debate soon followed in the mainstream mass media.
Professor Riley observed that the power of the Internet as a tool for democracy lies in the fact that what in the old system would have taken months to become an issue will now become one in a day. This is because the Internet as a medium allows the flow of ideas among thousands of channels, increasing the degree to which people can communicate, form opinions and judgement, and then act upon them.
He observed that the vast power of the Internet has however in itself created a backlash, with attempts by many governments to curtail access, content or both. He argues that rather than do this, governments should instead seek to understand this medium and tap into it, because by its nature it is changing the very nature of democracy - and quite soon government will have to contend with a citizenry that is well informed and demanding to be actively involved in the decision making process.
Professor Riley also argued that the Internet has led to a greater democratisation of knowledge, with the intellectual empowerment of the individual and the potential for more informed interactions between the individual and organisations, including the government. He asserts that a citizenry that is able to access information from anywhere in the world via the Internet is more likely to demand more of their government. The government may in turn also benefit more from the expanded intellectual capacity of its citizens. The intellectual capacity of the citizens thus becomes the intellectual capital of the government. Ultimately, the government must apply the principles of Knowledge Management if state institutions are to remain an authoritative source of useful and relevant information.
Professor further explained that the Internet is a technology for social transformation. As a result it is changing the way the individual citizen will interact with their government in the future. The government must therefore adapt to an informed citizenry which can establish communities of interest in cyberspace, independently seek out global information resources and form their own distinctive views of the world around them. This exposure of the individual to the Internet is therefore developing a citizen of the World, not tied down to his immediate space and time and whose opinions are not necessarily shaped by the official position of the government.
In his conclusion, Professor Riley observed that the real change wrought by the Internet is in the role of the citizen to influence, shape and form the public issuers of the day, and in this way create the society of the future. He asserted that never before in history has the citizen been in such a powerful position with such a vast potential for political change.

The Hon Raila Odinga, MP for Lang'ata and Leader of the National Development Party, sent a paper on the theme eDemocracy: Adding Value to the Way the Citizen and the Elected Interact, which was presented on his behalf by Mr J.T. Okinda, the Head of the NDPs Political Desk.

He observed that ICT has inspired tremendous changes in commerce, travel, education and scientific research. He commended the CCfEG and ITSA for giving the issues of democracy and governance an electronic face, thus placing them on centre stage once again.
Mr Raila asserted that it is impossible that politics and the conduct of public affairs can remain the same in the face of such dramatic changes in ICT, and the issue of citizenship, governance and the interaction between the citizens and those they elect to public office must therefore remain prominent in contemporary political discourse.
He pointed out that advances in IT will add value to the way in which the citizen and the elected leaders interact, observing that this was already happening in the established democracies such as Britain and the United States. He acknowledged the role played by electronic media in informing and shaping debate, particularly during elections.
Mr Raila asserted that it is of great importance that Kenya's institutions of governance, such as Parliament and municipal authorities, should adopt ICT . He felt that Parliament must modernise, with well-trained staff and research assistants for the members, e-mail access and a web site.
He felt that the enlightened amongst the citizenry must also take advantage of the emergent ICT and their vast output to more actively engage those elected to public office.
Mr Raila noted that however several challenges must be addressed if both the elected and the electorate are to rake advantage of the emergent opportunities. One of this he felt was the attitude of the elected to the institutions into which they are elected and the attitude of the electorate who do not understand their social contractual rights and obligations. The elected view their election as an end in itself rather than a means to greater goals while the electorate are often ignorant and apathetic. Another problem, he observed, is the credibility deficit that most of these institutions of governance suffer. Neither the citizens nor those elected to the institutions have faith in them. This same attitude is shared by the press.
Mr Raila also lamented the low level of political awareness in the citizenry, their participation often restricted to the elections. There is little interaction between the elected and the electorate in the period between elections, and no programmes for civic education. He asserted that all must recognise the constraints to the growth of democratic institutions of governance in Kenya, which in themselves pose serious challenges to the adoption of the modern technology that would facilitate e-governance and e-democracy.

The Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Kenya, Mr Samuel Kivuitu, presented a paper entitled eDemocracy: the Role of Information Technology in Building Citizens Trust in the Electoral Process.

Mr Kivuitu explained that the Electoral Commission had not adopted the use of IT in all its operations, only in maintaining the register of voters.
He revealed that prior to 1997, Registration Officials would extract information from statutory forms filled in by those wishing to be registered as voters and enter this information in exercise books. These books were then handed over to typists who typed the information therein on sheets of paper, which once bound or stapled together constituted the voters' registers and were stored awaiting the elections.
He observed that these manually prepared registers were used at each election and then abandoned, and fresh registers were then prepared for the next election. As a result revision of voters' registers as provided for by the law was never done, and should any attempt at such a revision have been made, it would soon have been realised to be a messy and confused mission impossible. He felt that the manner in which the registers were prepared, stored and later abandoned did not take into consideration their vital role in democratic governance - as the entire process was laborious, slow, expensive, unreliable, precarious and impermanent.
Importantly, Mr Kivuitu observed that even after the arduous effort of voter registration, the Registration Officers still had no way of establishing whether any given voter had registered more than once. A wily person could therefore register in several centres within the same constituency or even in several constituencies.
Mr Kivuitu lamented that these drawbacks undermined the setting up and maintenance of a credible and democratic electoral process. This is because the electoral body could not maintain reliable information, the information was not readily obtainable or accessible, and the body could not readily furnish such information to those who may request for it.
The Chairman revealed that in 1996, the Electoral Commission decided to computerise the voter registration exercise. However this was not an easy undertaking for a number of reasons. The Commission had to convince the political establishment that this move was necessary, and that the huge expenses it would entail were justified and justifiable. He admitted that the process may have been less painful if the Commission had sought to convince the political leaders of its importance, rather than just relied on its Constitutional prerogative to proceed independently of any person or authority. He explained that a feasibility study financed by the United Nations Development Programme was then conducted, and the government eventually financed the computersation - albeit grudgingly.
Following the computerisation, Mr Kivuitu said the registration of voters commenced on 9^th May 1997 and went on to 30^th June 1997, the objective being to register 10-million persons. In the end just under 9 million were registered. The scanning of the OMR forms, which was centralised I Nairobi, and correction of errors took another four months - at the end of which the accuracy of the registers neared 100%. The Commission then for the first time used the computerised registers in the General Election of December 1997.
In addition to computerisation of the voter registers, Mr Kivuitu informed the workshop that the Commission used the same technology to capture both the details of candidates as well as obtaining from them other statutory forms. He marvelled that despite the large number of candidates - 15 presidential, 883 parliamentary and 8468 civic - the processing of their particulars was easy and fast. This was particularly important as the ballot papers were to be printed in the United Kingdom, and speed and accuracy were thus vital. He observed that the computerisation facilitated the transmission of the requisite information to the UK by e-mail, which was both fast and accurate - as opposed to the old system where a person actually physically carried it there. He admitted that there were errors in the details of a small number of civic candidates, which occurred either at the stage of feeling in the OMR forms or in the transmission of the information to the UK.
Mr Kivuitu expressed total confidence in the accuracy of the voter registers, attributing this to the computerisation. He revealed that to confirm this beyond all doubt, the Commission intends to publish all the registers for public inspection in the near future. He further announced that the Commission will also introduce continuous voter registration, again a development made that much easier by the use of IT.
He further revealed and emphasised that as a result of the computerisation, the Commission was able to detect all cases of multiple registration irrespective of where it occurred, enhancing the integrity of the electoral process. Using this information, the Commission was able to extract the legal penalties for this offence.
The computers were also used to collate the election results as they were received from the field. As a result any inquiries from members of public could be answered fairly instantly, and by a single individual - unlike the situation that prevailed previously where a whole battery of clerks would take a prolonged period of time to respond to the same inquiry.
Collateral benefits arising from the computerisation at the Electoral Commission that Mr Kivuitu reviewed include access to the Internet, to be enhanced in the near future with the development of a Web site for the commission. He noted that this Internet access will now enable the Commission to source electoral materials more efficiently and enhance co-operation with partners such as International IDEA, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the UN Electoral Assistance Office and with the electorate.
In reviewing future application of IT to the electoral process, Mr Kivuitu emphasised that the application must meet ten absolutely indispensable criteria: accuracy, such that the final count reflects the intent of the voters; security, in that there are measures in place to protect the integrity of the process; secrecy, to ensure that no vote can be traced back to the elector; verifiabily and auditability, such that the tally of votes can be verified after the initial count; privacy and confidentiality, guaranteeing that elector information is used for the election purposes only and within the purpose for which it was collected; transparency, to ensure the process is open to external scrutiny; accessibility, to ensure that no electors are disenfranchised; neutrality, whereby the electoral procedures and materials do not favour one candidate or party over another; simplicity, such that the voting procedures are not unduly complicated; and one vote per election per person, as this is the provision of the law as it stands today.
In conclusion, Mr Kivuitu observed that the deployment of information technology at the Commission had infinitely enhanced efficiency and accuracy and greatly reduced costs, and contributed greatly towards citizens' trust in the electoral process though a few problems still exist - the main one being the Commissions limited funds, as a result of which it cannot retain top IT professionals for its purposes. The Commission was now in a position to meet the provisions of the law for the revision of voter registers, and indeed the voter registration exercise preceding each general election will be reduced to a mere updating of the existing register rather than a fresh and costly re-registration. He expressed the hope that in the future, the Commission will extend and disseminate the use of IT to the district level, with a nation-wide network managed from the Head Office. However, he observed that more elaborate application of IT must be in full consultation with and general acceptance of the electorate and the elected, given the relatively limited national knowledge of computers and the mystique and suspicion with each the average citizen regards them.

Mr Aloysius Makata, Director of Library, Research and Information Services in the Parliament of Uganda, presented a paper entitled The Role of IT in the East African Parliaments: The Ugandan Experience.

Mr Makata explained that his paper would review the ICT facilities of the Uganda Parliament as an exemplar, and using that endeavour to discuss the role of ICT in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of Parliament and as a platform for greater parliamentary co-operation within the East Africa Region.
Mr Makata revealed that IT facilities were only introduced in the Uganda Parliament in 1999 under the Department of Library, Information and Research Services. Presently, the Uganda Parliament has 80 PCs most of which are connected to a Local Area Network. In 1999 a VSAT was installed for Internet connectivity with a Web Server providing a dial-in facility. All Members of Parliament as well as parliamentary staff now have email addresses and a parliamentary website was developed at http://www.parliament.go.ug.
He explained that amongst information contained at the site is the history of the Uganda Parliament, the administration of the same, the Constitution of Uganda, Hansard and Committee Reports and a database of all the MPs and their constituencies.
Mr Makata revealed that on the Parliamentary Intranet, a Bill Tracking System and a Library and Research Reports Online Service have been developed. Additionally, the pilot phase for a project to connect PCs in the MPs homes to the Parliamentary Internet and Intranet Services is in progress.
He explained that the use by Parliament of simple office applications in a network environment had reduced paper-based operations - saving time, reducing costs and enhancing efficiency. Included here is electronic messaging, information storage and retrieval and general communication.
Mr Makata observed that the Internet had given the Members of Parliament direct access to vast research resources and databases globally, which can be used when considering bills and other issuers before the house. This has in turn had the effect of enhancing the quality of debate and parliamentary output, and because all are well informed time spent on debate is also reduced.
He added that the Internet had also enhanced the sharing of information and provided a means for discussion and negotiation. He revealed that Members of Parliament had negotiated development assistance for their constituencies directly with partners overseas over the Net. Ugandans in the Diaspora were also for the first time able to participate in the legislative process by sending their views over the Internet to the relevant Committees of Parliament. The activities of the African Parliamentary Network Against Corruption (APNAC) are also co-ordinated via the Internet.
Mr Makata said that the electronisation of Parliament had also tangibly enhanced communication between Parliamentarians and their constituents, both individuals and groups. E-mail communication was being used for this purpose, with the result that the Members were in greater touch with the needs and aspirations of their constituents.
He revealed that the Uganda Parliament was considering introducing an Electronic Voting System within the House. He observed that this would be a transparent way of deciding issues before the house, with the concurrent benefit of creating a record of how members voted on various issues.
Mr Makata informed the workshop that the Uganda Parliament has recently a Budget Analysis Office to enhance its oversight functions. He noted that ICT will be a key factor in the operations of this office, facilitating the speedy and efficient accessing, analysis and synthesis of information from the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and other Government Departments - thus reinforcing Parliament's watchdog role.
Mr Makata emphasised that ICT, and especially the Internet, is irreversibly changing perceptions of democracy world-wide. He asserted that the Parliaments of the region should be at the forefront of managing and using this change. To foster greater co-operation and entrenchment of democracy, he felt that all three legislatures should have access to the Internet and a formal set-up for the exchange of information, with a view to a joint parliamentary web site for the region in the future.
He observed that the greatest challenges to greater use of ICT by Parliament are the poor telecommunications infrastructure, high connection and usage fees, and the prohibitive cost of computers and other IT equipment and software. As a result of this combination of factors, the vast majority of the population have no access to modern IT - thus limiting their access to Parliament and Parliamentarians even where the legislature itself is computerised. Mr Makata proposed wireless technology as a possible solution - noting that the number of telephone lines in Uganda had quadrupled in the two years since the introduction of the same. He however decried the cost of this useful technology.
Mr Makata predicted that in the near future IT facilities would be necessary in the Chamber of the House. He however noted that this would entail rearranging the physical set-up of the chamber, with individual desks with IT equipment.
In conclusion, Mr Makata emphasised that the application of IT does tremendously improve the efficiency of Parliament and cut costs. It enhances the effectiveness of the legislature and promotes democracy and transparency. Its potential to enhance communication and co-operation between the peoples and legislatures of the region if realised would accelerate the creation of an East African Culture - which would in turn strengthen the East African Community.

Mr Gunnar Hillgartner, Manager, Corporate Internet Business Solutions, Africa Online, presented a paper on The Role of the Internet in eGovernance.

In his paper, Mr Hillgartner explored the beneficial role of the Internet in eGovernance, reviewed local and regional examples of initiatives in eGovernance, examined the challenges to eGovernance in Africa and how they can be overcome, and Africa Online's efforts to facilitate eGovernance in Africa.
Mr Hillgartner briefly reviewed the characteristics that make the Internet an ideal tool for eGovernance as follows: it is an open system that is easy to navigate; the interactivity of media employed on the Net allows for robust targeting and usage tracking, on the basis of gender, age, geography, etc; it compresses time and process through instantaneous service that is immediately accessible; it fosters transparency in decision making - by for example publicising tenders; it facilitates tremendous cost savings over traditional communication methods; and finally, it offers tremendous reach through wide accessibility in many countries, and great potential for the same in many others.
Mr Hillgartner quickly reviewed a number of eGovernment initiatives in the African Region. He gave of the South Africa Government Online website as an example of an eGovernance Website that both provides a vast amount of relevant information as well as facilitates the rendering of government services and citizen participation in the governance process. The site contains information on the Government system, Government Departments, tenders, speeches by government officials and Acts/Bills pending before parliament. The Republic of Botswana site he gave as an example of a site that focuses on information, to promote investment and tourism. The Republic of Togo site he characterised as one designed for Government to Citizen communication, containing policy papers and other relevant information. It also provides for direct messages to the President of the Republic, and is in both French and English. The Central Bank of Kenya site he said contains a lot of useful information on both the Bank's activities and its principal officers, Treasury Bills, etc - a useful site indeed for potential investors and other interested parties.
Mr Hillgartner identified four main challenges to the establishment of eGovernance in Africa: the very low rates of computer and telephone line penetration; the poor quality of telecommunications infrastructure where it exists; a lack of knowledge by the key policy makers; excessive regulation that creates a vast amount of red tape; and existence of monopolies resulting in high costs and inefficient service. To overcome this, he explained that Africa must invest more in ICT infrastructure, liberalise the telecomm sector, promote greater awareness and ensure greater accessibility.
He concluded by briefly explaining what Africa Online is doing to promote the development of eGovernance and the eCitizen. The company was promoting wider and affordable Internet access through the Africa Online E-Touch^TM product and promoting eGovernance through consultancy on web-based developments with various governmental agencies. The company he said also actively participates in local and regional associations dedicated to the development and liberalisation of the information industry.

Mr Muriuki Mureithi, Director of Summit Strategies, presented a paper entitled Creating an Environment for eGovernance to address the topic Comparative Experience of eGovernance: Opportunities and Challenges.

In introducing his paper Mr Mureithi explained that while preparing his subject, he had come to the realisation that none of the countries of the west could provide an ideal comparator for Kenya in matters of ICT. He therefore opted for Malaysia for a number of reasons: like Kenya, Malaysia was colonised by the British - thus sharing the same colonial legacy; as a an independent nation, it is of approximately the same age as Kenya having gained independence in 1957 while Kenya did in 1963; at independence, its economy was based on agriculture, as was Kenya's; it has a population of 23 million while Kenya's is 28 million; it has the same ethnic diversity as Kenya, and the impact of this on the politics of the country is the same; finally, like Kenya it sits on the equator.
Having established the historical and geographical similarities of the two nation, Mr Mureithi then contrasted their state at this point in time: Malaysia's GDP is 32 times greater than that of Kenya; Where Kenya has a teledensity of 1%, Malaysia's is 50%; one hundred times as many Malaysians as Kenyans have access to the Internet; and finally, the Malaysian economy has been growing in double digits while Kenya's has been regressing.
Mr Mureithi explained that in 1990, Malaysia launched Vision 2020, whose primary objective was that by the year 2020 Malaysians would enjoy the same standard of living as that enjoyed by the people of the developed world. It was a national agenda embodying the collective hopes of the Malaysian peoples and that, by drawing upon past achievements, set out specific goals and objectives for long term development. The initial strategy was to achieve this through industrialisation. However, Mr Mureithi explained, by 1994 the country's planners realised that this was unattainable given that Malaysia would be competing with the nations of China, India and Indonesia all of which had much larger populations and greater resources for industrialisation and investment purposes. In that year, Vision 2020 was revised and relaunched, with the objective of achieving developed status by way of a knowledge economy.
Mr Mureithi explained that to steer the redefined Vision 2020, a National Information Technology Council was set up. This council defined a National Information Technology Agenda (NITA) for the transformation of the economy and the society by focusing on human resource development, development of hard and soft infrastructure, and development of application solutions for the realisation of the information age. The Council also developed a Demonstrator Application Grant Scheme to support the development of applications that hastened the realisation of the NITA. It identified three areas on which it would focus its efforts: eSovereignty, eLearning, eEconomy, eCommunity, and ePublic Services. Finally, the Council envisioned the development of a Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) as the premier vehicle to the intended Information Society and possibly a future Silicon Valley.
Mr Mureithi described the phased development towards a Knowledge Economy in Malaysia. Phase 1, lasting from 1996 to 2003, has four set objective: the development and enactment of relevant cyberlaws; the establishment of the Multimedia Super Corridor, the launch of seven Flagship Applications, and the establishment of Cyberjaya (for the private sector) and Putrajaya (for the public sector), the world's first intelligent cities. Phase II, scheduled to run from 2004 to 2010, is planned to link the MSC to other cybercities in Malaysia and the world and to create a web of corridors with a second cluster of world class IT companies. Phase III, 2011 to 2020, is should see the transformation into a knowledge-based society. In this timeframe, Malaysia is also to have developed into a test bed for new Multimedia/IT applications, and become the host for the International Cybercourt of Justice.
Mr Mureithi took time to explain the concept and purpose of the Multimedia Super Corridor, which is the centrepiece of the country's Vision 2020. He explained that it is intended as a vehicle for attracting technology-led companies and developing local industries. It is to be an exemplar, an island of excellence with multimedia-specific capabilities, technologies, infrastructure, legislation and policies. It is to provide an ideal test site for new inventions and research. When fully developed, it will be a Multimedia Utopia, providing a productive and intelligent environment for the production of high value multimedia goods and services for delivery across the globe. The corridor will comprise of a global community of smart homes, smart cities, smart schools, smart cards and smart partnerships - right on the cutting edge of a global information society.
Mr Mureithi discussed the supporting pillars upon which the Malaysian ICT revolution has been built the first of this being an enabling legislative framework. He explained that Malaysia had enacted a large number of cyberlaws to facilitate the orderly and rapid development of the sector. Such laws include the Digital Signature Act, the Computer Crimes Act, the Copyright Amendment Act, the Telemedicine Act, the Electronic Government Act and the Multimedia & Communications Act. The country had also developed a mechanism for the resolution of cyber-disputes, with the establishment of the ASEAN Cyberlaw Institute & Cyber Court of Arbitration.
The Malaysians have also developed the multimedia infrastructure to support the ICT revolution. These comprise of a 2.5 - 10 Gbps fibre optic backbone, high capacity international links - 100Gbps and beyond - to the United States and Japan, internationally competitive telecom tariffs and regional satellite services. This hard infrastructure provides the ideal platform for the prolific use of ICT.
Mr Mureithi explained that the Malaysians have also developed the soft infrastructure to support the development of ICT. This infrastructure comprises of fiscal incentives and education policies. In the latter category are zero taxation on ICT companies in their first ten years of operation, a 100% investment tax allowance for the same, zero tax rating for multimedia imports, research & development grants and the setting up of the MESDAQ - a special bourse for high technology stocks. The education policies have been geared to create knowledge workers.
Mr Mureithi observed that Malaysia's ambitious ICT policies had already begun to yield dividends. Over 570 private companies were committed to participate in the Multimedia Super Corridor by November 1999, while six important government departments - including the Prime Ministers Office - had already moved into Putrajaya. Most of the pilot applications commissioned towards the ends of the last century were launched this year covering areas of electronic government, health, etc. Quite significantly, the region and the world are beginning to recognise Malaysia's leadership in the area of creating a Knowledge Economy - with many countries organising learning pilgrimages to Kuala Lumpur.
Mr Mureithi then endeavoured to extrapolate lessons for Kenya from the Malaysian model. He proposed a comprehensive national SWOT analysis to establish Kenya's competitive advantage and utilise the same in future planning. He asserted that an Information Society is a National Effort guided by a clear vision and strategy, which we lack and must therefore endeavour to develop urgently. He emphasised that the Government must champion and drive the process to ICT development and ultimately the emergence of an Information Society, a role he felt the government was not adequately playing at this time. Finally, he felt that the process towards an Information Society must be both top-down and bottom-up, and institutions and mechanisms must be established top ensure that it is so.
In conclusion, Mr Mureithi observed that a small start had been made in Kenya with the establishment of the Kenya Information Society - whose Secretariat has been set-up with seed money from the British Council. He explained that participation in the society is open to all interested persons and institutions. The Secretariat will address issues of Operations & Support, Infrastructure & Policy, Resource Mobilisation, Communication & Education and Special Interest Groups

A number of Open Discussion Sessions were incorporated into the workshop.

Mr Hassan Omar of Muungano wa Vijana Wazalendo inquired whether eGovernance could precede good governance. Mr Okot-Uma observed that all the nations of the Commonwealth had committed themselves to good governance in the Harare Declaration. He however observed that progress towards the achievement of the ideals of that document was evolutionary and varied in pace from nation to nation, though good governance will ultimately prevail. He pointed out that eGovernance could indeed enhance or facilitate good governance.
Mike Eldon observed that it was a good idea to involve the youth, as represented by Mr Omar, in the workshop - because the IT world was in many ways a young persons world. He observed that some firms were even making use of inverse mentoring - with young IT wizards providing IT guidance to older executives. Professor Riley concurred, and said this intrinsic understanding of technology that the youth possess was a great tool for empowering them.
Mr Jan Mutai observed that the youth could be great wealth creators and agents for change. He noted that many countries around the world celebrate youth through sports, entertainment and now entrepreneurship through the great potential of IT and especially the Internet. He lamented that Kenya youth are largely being passed by in this respect, and just used for political thuggery.
Ms Martha Mbuggus was of the opinion that IT emphasis should not just be on the youth, as forward movement would require the involvement of all segments of society. Dr Onunga responded that the youth were an ideal vehicle for informing other societal groups, thus the emphasis on them - which should therefore not be seen as a marginalisation of those other groups. She further sought to know from H.E. Mr Bhatia, High Commissioner of India, how long it had taken India to achieve its current high profile in IT and how it had achieved the same. She also wanted to know what bottlenecks were encountered in the process.
Mr Bhatia said that the IT revolution in India was largely a product of the nineties though the seed was planted at independence with the creation of Institutes and Colleges of Science and Technology. Mr Bhatia revealed that amongst the means used to achieve the rapid development was widespread provision of hardware through purchase, assembly and low tariffs. Software education was then propagated in a big way, leading to India's current status as a software superpower. Concerted efforts were also made to put into place the appropriate infrastructure, especially telecom.
Mr Bhatia observed that amongst the bottlenecks encountered in the process was the existence of inefficient monopolies, especially in the telecom sector. This was overcome through the licensing of many small players. Another problem was the geographical size of the country and the size of its population. This was again overcome through the use of cable television - which was more widespread than telephones. Mr Bhatia emphasised that the main driving force behind the revolution was political vision and will and a strong push from the private sector.
Ms Lucy Kinyanjui of the British Council lamented that Kenya's strategic plans to achieve newly industrialised nation status by the year 2020 made no mention of eGovernment. She felt that this is a gross omission that needs to be corrected urgently. She also suggested that members of parliament be included in the proposed Electronic Graft Management System, to consolidate this effort with existing ones and ensure support in the elected leadership of the land.
Mr Hassan Omar wished to know from Mr Samuel Kivuitu, Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Kenya, how independent the commission was and thus to what extent it could of its own initiative apply ICT in its operations. Mr Kivuitu explained that the Electoral Commission of Kenya is a creation of the constitution that defines its composition, powers, privileges, etc. He explained that the election calendar is by law defined by the government in power, but beyond this the Commission was independent in its operations. He however observed that the Commission does not generate its own funds, relying on appropriations from the government. This, he conceded, may to some degree limit the scope of what it can do - including application of ICT.
Mr Fred Okono asked of Mr Kivuitu if the Commission had any plans to introduce automatic voter registration upon attainment of majority age and voting from a remote location, not necessarily at the polling station where one is registered. Mr Kivuitu explained that the law as it stands now requires that one present a National Identity Card or Passport at the time of registration as a voter. This precluded automatic voter registration. He further explained that the Commission would wish to introduce voting from remote locations, in much the same way that one can now register as a voter from anywhere in the country. However this is not possible at this time due an endemic lack of trust on the part of the electorate and their leaders - who may feel that this facility may be abused to rig the vote. He expressed hope that with growing awareness and public confidence in the electoral process, this may be possible in the future.
Dr Onunga expressed the opinion that there are many progressive and positive persons within government, such as Mr Kivuitu. He expressed hope that people working for advancement in ICT and eGovernance, such as were gathered at the workshop, will be able to work with such individuals to move the country forward.
In a question addressed to Mr Mureithi, Mr Hassan Omar wished to know what role if any civil society had played in that country's ICT revolution. Mr Mureithi explained that there was no apparently prominent role for civil society in the process, and speculated that this may have been due to the fact that from the outset it involved all stakeholders. Professor Riley further opined that civil society activism was very limited in Malaysia, with civic organisations that exist not being as frontline as has been the case in Kenya and the West. Mr Mike Eldon observed that though governments were often apathetic, confrontation between them and civil society was undesirable - often leading to negative consequences. Co-operation was a much better approach, he emphasised.
Mike Eldon inquired from Mr Gunnar Hillgartner of Africa Online, how Kenya compared with the rest of Africa in ICT application and development in general and eGovernance in particular. Mr Hillgartner opined that though there are countries that are both more and less advanced than Kenya on the continent, it was lagging behind in both areas - given its history and potential.
Mr Okot-Uma revealed that a High Level Group, chaired by South African President Thabo Mbeki, had been created within the Commonwealth to help put ICT on the world political agenda. He hoped that the group will achieve this purpose when they present their report to the Conference of Heads of State and Government to be held in Australia in 2001.

An ad hoc Committee distilled from the proceedings of the conference five action points to guide follow-up. This were presented to the delegates by Mr Mike Eldon as follows:

That efforts be made to deliver the report of the proceedings of the workshop and resolutions arising therefrom to the relevant people in Government, as well as to any other stakeholders who were unable to attend.
An East African eGovernance Consultative Group be formed under the Commonwealth Center for Electronic Governance to facilitate the transition to eGovernance within the East African countries. This group may later be expanded to cover the entire African continent and form a nucleus to create awareness among African countries and encourage them to join the consultative group and embrace eGovernance.
That efforts be made to establish partnerships with India, the Economic Commission for Africa, the Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance, the World Bank, USAID, CIDA, British Council, etc. with a view to sourcing resources and expertise to advance the course of ICT development in Kenya and the region.
That mechanisms should be established for the exchange of information on model ICT programmes within East Africa, with a view to fostering co-operation and learning from each other. This could be done in the context of an East African Regional Council on Information and Communication Technology.
That mechanisms be established to foster partnerships and work together to facilitate Kenya's entry and development in the digital age. This would entail the establishment of a National IT Advisory Council with representatives drawn from the Government of Kenya, the Kenya Private Sector Foundation, ITSA, the Kenya Information Society Initiative, the Computer Society of Kenya, KENNET, Joint Industrial and Commerce Council, the Institute of Computer Studies of the University of Nairobi, etc. The Council should immediately undertake a SWOT analysis and from that develop a National Information and Communications Technology Strategy.

Last Revised: 19 September 2001