The emergence of e-government services in East Africa

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine the pattern of e-government adoption from 1998 to 2003 using the three East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, and 98 websites of their government agencies as case studies. The study also identified the factors that have influenced the observed patterns of adoption. The adoption patterns were determined using the number of websites (which corresponds to the number of government agencies, since each agency had only one official website) created each year and cumulative numbers over a five-year period. The adoption patterns were found to exhibit various degrees of "S" and normal distribution (bell) shapes as described in diffusion of innovation theory. There were a few early adopters in each country, including the embassies representing those countries abroad, and across the region as a whole, and the numbers of adopters increased over the years. However, the patterns of adoption were more gradual for Tanzania and Uganda than those of Kenya, whose rate of adoption was slow, with a sharp increase occurring in 2003, and associated with the establishment of a new government. Although early adopters were mostly embassies, their subsequent adoption patterns showed very low rates (only 3 compared to 16 for government ministry websites per year) in five years. Possible reasons for this trend include resource constraints, lack of pressure from governments, and lack of demand from potential users. This study is important in that it can help both researchers and policy makers to predict the extent and pattern of adoption so that they can assess points that require policy interventions to enhance effective adoption and implementation of e-government services.