How is e-governance enhancing transparency in Tanzania?

In the last decade, Tanzania has grown into a technology-driven nation utilizing advanced tech for governance and delivery of public services. E-governance refers to the use of information and communication technology, better known as ICT, to provide government services. ICT has come off as an integral tool in bringing accountability and transparency into government practices and services. In this blog, we will learn how e-governance is enhancing transparency in Tanzania, how it has improved future prospects, and a lot more. Read ahead to find out!

Introduction to e-governance

E-governance has emerged as a highly sophisticated initiative to implement effective governance. Today, almost every developed, underdeveloped, and developing country of the world has adopted e-governance techniques to enhance their national growth. Therefore, e-governance holds enormous importance in the modern world. 

The integration of ICT into the governance mechanism is a contemporary paradigm known as “e-government” or “electronic governance,” which empowers every entity right, from individual businesses to the government as a whole, with optimum access and use of information. It gives citizens equitable, accountable, and transparent service delivery. Additionally, it ensures that they participate in the country’s political processes via electronic channels such as websites, email, SMS, etc., while facilitating and improving the governance quality.

E-governance keeps the government abreast with the ever-evolving digital world, thus helping solve modern-day problems like data handling with the optimum utilization of resources and the involvement of the citizens.

Types of e-governance

There are four types of interactions in e-governance. They are:

1. G2C (Government to Citizens) - This refers to the interaction between the government and the citizens. 

• It benefits citizens by effectively delivering several public services.

• It increases the availability and accessibility of government services while enhancing their quality.

• It ensures that the government is citizen-friendly.

2. G2B (Government to Business) -This refers to the interaction between the government and the businesses of that country.

• It fosters the use of e-governance tools for healthy interaction between businesses and the government.

• It aims to eliminate red-tapism and cut down on operational costs and excess time consumption. This helps create a transparent business ecosystem when communicating with the government. 

• It assists in essential services like procurement, licensing, revenue collection, and permits.

3. G2G (Government to Government) - This refers to the interaction between one government to another.

• It facilitates seamless communication between different government entities.

• This communication can be between different agencies and departments within the government or between two governments, such as the state and union governments or between state governments.

• It aims at increasing performance, output, and efficiency. 

4. G2E (Government to Employees) - This refers to the interaction between the government and its employees.

• It helps in making government-employee interactions efficient and fast.

• It helps enhance healthy communication with employees, thus increasing their level of job satisfaction and leading to maximum productivity. 

E-governance Initiatives in Tanzania

E-governance has emerged as a revolutionary approach in Tanzania. In the last decade, it has improved transparency and delivery of public services while fostering citizen engagement. The Tanzanian government has acknowledged the importance of accelerating technology to upgrade its operations and cater to the needs of its citizens. Let us quickly dive into the key aspects of Tanzania’s e-governance initiatives!

1. Policy framework

Vision 2025

The Tanzanian government’s Vision 2025 acts as the foundation for the country’s socio-economic development, prioritizing the role of ICT in leveraging governance and economic growth. 

National ICT Policy

Established in 2003, The National ICT Policy serves as the cornerstone for the effective integration of ICT into public administration. This policy focuses on the development of an enabling infrastructure for the establishment and implementation of e-governance initiatives across different sectors. 

2. Key e-governance initiatives

E-government portal

The e-government portal has been launched as a flagship initiative to offer citizens a centralised platform for accessing government information and services. 

The main features of the e-government portal are:

• Service accessibility - This allows citizens to access all kinds of online services, including business registration, checking vital records, and tax payments, thus eliminating the requirement of physical visits to government offices.

• User-friendly interface - The e-government portal is designed to enhance user experience, facilitating easy availability and navigation of online government services. 

Tanzania Government Network (TGN)

The TGN is a crucial infrastructure project that connects government facilities and institutions across Tanzania. 

The benefits of TGN are:

• Inter-agency collaboration - This facilitates easy communication and data sharing among different government departments, leveraging coordinated and quick responses to cater to public needs.

• Improved efficiency - It supports the implementation of several e-governance applications, thus enhancing the delivery of government services to citizens.

Mobile Technology Integration

With the mobile phone revolution in Tanzania, the government has optimally utilized mobile technology to upgrade and enhance service delivery. 

The key initiatives of the government that integrate mobile technology are:

• Mobile health services - Provides citizens access to vital crucial health information and services, especially in remote areas.

• Mobile tax collection  - Allows online payment of taxes through mobile applications, thereby increasing both convenience and compliance. 

E-procurement systems

The deployment of e-procurement systems improves transparency in public procurement processes. These systems allow open bidding and facilitate regular monitoring of procurement activities, as well as access to procurement information. Such transparency of procurement processes by the government combats corruption and facilitates efficient utilization of public resources. 

3. Capacity building and digital literacy

Training programs

The Tanzanian government acknowledges that the successful implementation of e-governance needs skilled manpower. It has  initiated numerous training programs to:

• Improve digital skills - Impart necessary skills in public servants to efficiently utilize digital platforms and tools. 

• Promote innovation - Promote a culture of innovation within government facilities for a better response to the requirements of citizens.

Impact of E-governance on Enhancing Transparency in Tanzania

Ever since the Tanzanian government has embraced digital technology, it has strived to provide excellent service delivery with an accountable governance ecosystem. Here, we have highlighted the major points that convey how e-governance is enhancing transparency in Tanzania!

Increased information access

One of the most significant impacts of e-governance is the increased public access to information. It has helped citizens to attain data about government services, policies, and budgets via online platforms. This enables citizens to make informed decisions and proactively engage in government processes, thereby facilitating a well-informed electorate.

Reduced corruption

As e-governance makes government processes transparent, it plays a pivotal role in reducing all kinds of corruption in the government department. With the availability of the online tax system, citizens can easily track the tax payment process, reducing tax evasion opportunities and corruption by government employees. Moreover, e-procurement systems facilitate fairness in public procurement, decreasing risks associated with corruption through competitive bidding processes. 

Proactive citizen participation

E-governance programs by the Tanzanian government have fostered active participation by the citizens in the governance system. Now, with the help of online platforms and mobile applications, people can voice their opinions, engage with public sector officials, and report issues with minimum effort. This kind of healthy participation in governance builds a sense of ownership among citizens and fortifies democratic processes, thus leading to a responsive government.

Streamlined government processes

E-governance initiatives in Tanzania have helped streamline government processes, thereby reducing redundancy and increasing productivity. With the automation of workflows and digitization of records, the government can quickly process requests, enabling quicker decision-making and service delivery.

Enhanced service delivery

E-governance has dramatically improved the efficiency of public service delivery in Tanzania. Now that citizens have access to several online services, they no longer have to spend hours standing in queues at government offices. This has greatly helped minimize bureaucratic hurdles. Such enhanced service delivery boosts public satisfaction by increasing trust in government initiatives.

Greater accountability

E-government fosters accountability by providing a detailed and transparent audit trail of government processes, decisions, and actions. It helps citizens monitor the activities of the government and demand accountability from officials for their actions. This helps reduce the chances of misconduct by government officials, thus strengthening democratic governance.

Cost-effectiveness

E-governance programs prove to be cost-effective options both for the government and citizens. As there is a reduced need for physical paperwork and infrastructure, the government can efficiently allocate resources, leading to cost savings. Citizens no longer have to travel to government offices, which saves their travel costs apart from saving a lot of time that would otherwise have been spent accessing government services. 

Better communication

E-governance plays a massive role in facilitating better communication between the government and its citizens. E-governance programs make it easier for the government to disseminate information to the citizens effectively and quickly. This ensures that the public is well-informed about government programs, policies, and services. 

Digital literacy

The massive impact of e-governance has mandated investments in digital literacy and capacity building. Now, it has become integral to invest in training programs both for public servants and citizens. Such improved digital literacy is an excellent catalyst for better service delivery while it also empowers the public to actively and fully engage in governance processes.

Tackling regional disparities

E-governance initiatives are focused on tackling regional disparities in service delivery. With the use of technology, the government can now cater to remote areas, thus ensuring that all citizens have adequate access to essential government services. Such inclusivity helps diminish the divide between rural and urban citizens.

Future Prospects of E-governance in Tanzania

E-governance in Tanzania is all set to pave the way for a much brighter future. It holds great promise for improving accountability, transparency, and citizen management. The Tanzanian government is continuously harnessing the power of technology and aims to enhance further its approach to harnessing the full potential of e-governance.

Here are the key strategies that are bound to shape the future of e-governance in Tanzania!

Expanding internet access

The government should further invest in expanding internet access to every city and village, especially in remote areas. To ensure the widespread benefit of e-governance to every citizen of Tanzania, it is essential to improve the telecommunications infrastructure and promote affordable internet access.

Promoting digital literacy

Implementation of digital literacy initiatives in schools and communities is needed to empower every citizen to navigate online platforms effectively. Digital skills among citizens are required in order to amplify citizen participation and engagement in government processes.

Fortifying cybersecurity

It is critical to invest in robust cybersecurity measures to protect citizen data and government systems. The Tanzanian government should focus on implementing comprehensive cybersecurity protocols to mitigate risks associated with data breaches and online hacking. This is crucial to foster citizen trust in e-governance services.

Encouraging public-private partnerships

Collaboration between the public and private sectors can leverage innovation and expertise to enhance e-governance service delivery and transparency. Such partnerships can exponentially increase the development of more user-friendly digital services.

Implementing feedback systems

The establishment of feedback systems will allow citizens to voice their experiences and opinions regarding e-governance services. Mobile applications, surveys, online forums, etc., aid in the healthy interaction of the public and the government. This helps the government to be responsive to the public needs.

Promoting inclusivity

It is essential to ensure that all e-governance initiatives reach all segments of society. The government should aim to consider the needs of every marginalized community, including the elderly, women, specially-abled individuals, etc. so that the e-governance programs are harnessed to their full potential.

Bottomline

The Tanzanian government has made the most of e-governance techniques, which have benefited its citizens for the last few years. It continues to expand its operations and enhance service delivery, ensuring that all e-governance facilities are delivered to every citizen of the country. Now that you know how e-governance is improving transparency in Tanzania, you can understand its importance in the development of an economically empowered nation. Today, there are various tools available that can help advance e-governance processes and enhance data security. 

emSigner is the leading name in the world of cybersecurity that has been helping in e-governance in many countries. emSigner provides secure digital signature solutions for e-governance processes. Our tailored digital signing tools can help officials sign online documents from any location, ensuring speedy delivery of online public services. emSigner’s robust encryption and authentication techniques ensure document confidentiality and integrity and prevent all kinds of fraud. To know more about our wide range of eSigning services, contact our expert team at emSigner today!