New technologies are driving and reshaping Governments throughout the world by improving public services delivery and engaging citizens. Despite significant progress Tanzania has made in using information and communication technology (ICT), Tanzania has yet to fully utilize ICT serv ...Click here to read more

New technologies are driving and reshaping Governments throughout the world by improving public services delivery and engaging citizens. Despite significant progress Tanzania has made in using information and communication technology (ICT), Tanzania has yet to fully utilize ICT services due to a number of factors, including inadequate infrastructures, human capacity, legal framework etc.

The Government recognizes the value of Electronic-Government (e-Government) in promoting and improving efficiency in public services delivery and strengthening citizen’s participation and engagement. However, responding to the demand for e-government requires a cross-sectoral approach, as well as interdepartmental collaboration and multiple dissemination channels.

The tremendous increase of mobile ownership provide a stronger case for leveraging e-government to significantly improve access to public services and in transforming government, making it easily accessible to the citizens. Government can share information with citizens through mobile messaging and micro-blogging services.

Examples of e-government services includes e- procurement, payment of bills and taxes, licensing, downloading of government forms, online services, public information, business opportunities etc.

The main objective of this discussion is to explore how Tanzania can take advantage of emerging technologies to improve government service delivery and citizen’s engagement through e-government, mobile- government and the use of web 2 technologies like Twitter, Wikis, blogs and other social networks.

Specifically we would like to hear your views on this important topic, targeting policy recommendations on the following questions:

1. How can e-government and Mobile Government transform the lives of common Tanzanian

2. What are the types of services which can be easily provided through e-government including mobile phones/devices? What are the best practices?

3. What should be the role of other stakeholders in making e-government a success?

The most developed website is that which belongs to the Ministry of Home Affairs. Here one can find information in Swahili language. The ID Cards information is in Swahili and other information regarding passport, visa etc are in English

The downloads found in this websites are as follows:-

Naturalisation married women

Declaration Renuanciation of citizenship

Declaration concerning citizenship

There are several contact email addresses:

ps@moha.go.tz;prisons@moha.go.tz;fire_rescue@moha.go.tz;admini@immigration.go.tz

info@nida.go.tz; withitswebsite http://www.nida.go.tz;refugees@moha.go.tz;phq@policeforce.go.tz with its website http://www.police.go.tz;Complaintsdivision@moha.go.tz

The Ministry has also a developed IMail Server (Web Message) for its workers. This is actually a sort of what we call Intranet and the information in this system is just for the workers (among themselves).This means each worker can be given

1-Username and 2. Password.

He/she can reach the personal information regarding salary, leave, allowances and other payments.

This actually means the Ministry of Home Affairs is ready to engage itself in e-governance It can render services to the public at all levels.

Dr.Khamis

Sweden 

I have found out that we can be wrong while complaining about updating Tanzania government websites. We have the national website under the link  http://www.tanzania.go.tz

 Under this link one can find each ministry under /ministriesf.html and all the information here is up to date( 2010).One can even find President’s office, Public Services Management html that has contact email address of the Principal Secretary as  permsec@estabs.go.tz  with downloads in pdf.-files. It has also Webmail service.

However the Ministry of Energy and Minerals has a section of Online Services that includes the following:

Download forms---- (but there are no forms at present)

Download Documents (but there are documents at present)

Ask the Ministry (this function is working)

Staff Mail:  requires    User name

                                         Password

We have also websites of all ministries under the link: http://www.tanzania.tz/government/ministries/html

Here one can find 20 websites: The Ministry of education and Vocational Training has http://www.moe.go.tz

This website is up to date information (by 2010) and you can even find Education Statistics under the ESMIS database. The contact email address is given as psmoevt@moe.gio.tz

Thanks Mr.Fungo for your information. Updating of Ministries’ websites seems to be a big problem. It is even critical if the Ministry of Finance has out of date information in its website since this is a ministry that has to show a good example to other ministries in Tanzania. If I am not wrong it is the first ministry in Tanzania that employed the use of computer in 1970’s.

If Tanzania government websites have not been updated since 2005 as suggested by Mr. Shabbir this means there is a lot of job to be done.

Some ministries have provided email contacts in their websites for example Madini Dodoma website has such information, even the Parliament website which is often up to date has also contact email address. Therefore some websites are up to date.

However some ministries use the old method of applications. If they advertise jobs they want applications to be sent to their post address instead of using email. The modern technology provides the applicant the means of sending application including CV and cover letter via email

We have a long way to go!

Dr.Khamis

Sweden

Just to comment what WP Mtega has said,

Most websites including the most respected BOT, Ministry of finance, academic institutions has out of date information and sometimes has none useful information. Just to compare visit the ministry of agriculture website of Kenya and compare with that of Tanzania. Tanzania website lacks a lot.

Who am I?

I am a teacher, with diploma in education, working with the ministry of education in Zanzibar  since 1974. In 1986/7  I was transferred to the Co-operative education centre Moshi in Tanzania mainland working as a senior tutor study organizer until 30^th June,1999 when I rejoined  the ministry of education up to the moment.  But,apart   from being a civil servant, I am a member of a non-governmental organization working as a vice chairman and a student of an Open University in Tanzania.

Thanks Mr.Mtega.Since the computer language is in English so most of Tanzania government websites are in that language. Some Ministries such as Foreign Affairs (here including all our embassies  ) have to use English language especially  for tourist information etc. The Ministry of Minerals has also to use English language in its website since our mine investors are foreigners from Canada, Australia, UK Ghana etc. However, other ministries could use Swahili language in their websites especially now when we want to use e-governance.

Updating websites is not a problem found only in websites belonging to Ministries it is also there in websites belonging to some universities in Tanzania. This is simply because there is no one person who is in-charge of updating a website in our Ministries or universities. Another problem is that there is no IT department in any of our Ministries. This will make the application of e-governance difficult to implement.

One can ask just a simple question. If all our ministries have websites why is it difficult to apply ICT?

Well the question of tax exemption for mobile phones should be possible. But here we must understand that there two types of taxes 1. Importation tax 2. Sales-tax. Therefore the government can remove the sales tax so that mobile phones can be a   bit cheap so a common Tanzanian can afford to buy one. Some years ago our mine investors were given 3 years tax free so that they could establish mines in our country. This is a lot of money compared to tax exemption on mobile phones

Dr.Khamis

Sweden

Thanks Mr.Mtega.Since the computer language is in English so most of Tanzania government websites are in that language. Some Ministries such as Foreign Affairs (here including all our embassies  ) have to use English language especially  for tourist information etc. The Ministry of Minerals has also to use English language in its website since our mine investors are foreigners from Canada, Australia, UK Ghana etc. However, other ministries could use Swahili language in their websites especially now when we want to use e-governance.

Updating websites is not a problem found only in websites belonging to Ministries it is also there in websites belonging to some universities in Tanzania. This is simply because there is no one person who is in-charge of updating a website in our Ministries or universities. Another problem is that there is no IT department in any of our Ministries. This will make the application of e-governance difficult to implement.

One can ask just a simple question. If all our ministries have websites why is it difficult to apply ICT?

Well the question of tax exemption for mobile phones should be possible. But here we must understand that there two types of taxes 1. Importation tax 2. Sales-tax. Therefore the government can remove the sales tax so that mobile phones can be a   bit cheap so a common Tanzanian can afford to buy one. Some years ago our mine investors were given 3 years tax free so that they could establish mines in our country. This is a lot of money compared to tax exemption on mobile phones

Dr.Khamis

Sweden

While computer systems enjoy some tax exemption considerations, as a 'system' ... With innovation of hand held communicating personal devices, these have now become part of productivity tools, effectively 'miniaturized systems' - but they are systems!

They surely should be given not some, but full tax exemption just as TRACTORS, Computer Systems etc, as the benefits from productivity from such bold moves vastly outweighs the short term loss of tax being collected at a moment. It is not even a loss, it is investment in people as I see, helping more people to be more productive, and smartly.

Apollo Temu

Thanks Mr.Maro for your information most of the modern mobile phones manufactured by Nokia, Samsung   and Sony Ericsson   have a function for Internet connection. This can be used for Tanzanians who cannot have access to computers Mobile phones with internet connection will be useful in remote areas.

I would like to add one point. That is the so called PERSONAL NUMBER. This is what is called identity number for all citizens. Zanzibar has already such identity number. This number will be attached during electronic application for example in filling forms of any type, payment of bills in banks and etc.

I hereby give an example. If I enter my bank web site and I will be asked to identify myself by using my personal number. Then   through my digital pass I will be required to enter some numbers and finally the bank will send a code in my digital pass like 458867. Upon entering these figures in the web site, I will get access to my account page at the bank and make my payments in Sweden/Denmark or even to Canada.

Actually the government will save a lot of money in using ICT. It will reduce the number of its employees and reduce other expenses. However, it will be able to create other jobs.

 I WISH YOU ALL HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011!

Dr.Khamis

Sweden

Not sure if contributors here are aware of this development, personally I just found it from one of my archive emails purely by accident, but great progress to see this moving forward, which I must add, tremendous efforts from the EthinktankTz had played key role in the early days of policy formulation:

"...Please be informed that Tanzania's e-Government Agency is nearly ready to be launched. The post of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for this new Executive Agency is now being advertised, with a response deadline of 21st Dec.

For those among you who may be interested, or know someone who could be suitable, the ad describes the nature and scope of this post as follows:

"The Chief Executive Officer will be responsible for managing the e-Government Agency (eGA) that has the responsibility for the coordination, oversight and promotion of e-Government initiatives in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Local Government Authorities (LGAs).

The functions of the Agency are an integral part of the Public Service Reform Programme that aims at improving service delivery to the public, throughout Government."

Application modalities as well as more details on this vacancy may be accessed by visiting www.utumishi.go.tz and clicking on "Vacancies", or by directly downloading a PDF document of Vacancy Announcements (dated 9th Dec. 2010) from the following link:
http://www.utumishi.go.tz/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=325&Itemid=57 ...."

There are a number of issues which are neglected despite their importance in enhancing e-delivery of information resources to citizens. I did a research on"government websites and delivery of information to citizens". The units of analysis were the different ministerial websites/institutional websites.

1. Most of the websites present information in English language. One can ask "Is the information meant for Tanzanians? If "YES" then Swahili could meet the intended goal. Moreover; one can have multiple languages/double versions

2. Updating websites was another problem identified. Most contents were very old. In some websites even the names of the ministers were not changed. It is the issues of accuracy and currency of the contents.

3. Types of information presented. It is important to know what people what to know from each ministry before delivering information. People are not after pictures, they are after information which can help them solve their problems. Websites can hardly meet that target if those responsible do not know what citizens need or what to know.

There are many issues which can be discussed and shared among us.

Thank you for today

From

Mr. Wulystan Pious Mtega,

Sokoine university of Agriculture,

P.O.Box 3022,

Morogoro.

Tanzania

I think this subject requires wholistic approach from strategic point of view from policy perspective with aim to effectively and aggresive use ICT as enabler of development strategies across the board. Massive benefits in my view can be realized.

The country needs almost like a CIO office at national level with direct access and link to cabinet level decision making.

ICT is one of highly specialized toolkit in the fight to foster serious wealth creation (notice I use wealth creation and not poverty eradication), hence it makes sense to have the advisors / commander in the war cabinet.

Surely we are missing the opportunity and the whole point by sidelinig ICT as a mere accessory to the private sector and simply let it grow organically.

-

Apollo Temu

1. How can e-government and Mobile Government transform the lives of common Tanzanian

2. What are the types of services which can be easily provided through e-government including mobile phones/devices? What are the best practices?

3. What should be the role of other stakeholders in making e-government a success?

This topic "improving public service delivery and citizens engagement through E-government" is indeed important. Yes its true that not all citizens are computer literate and or know how to use all the applications offered by the mobile phone. However, it is true that people communicate, they talk and have views. It is also true that the mobile phone and internet are spreading all over. The implication here is that this huge potential has to be harnessed. And this potential exists in terms of sending out information but also allowing the citizens to provide a feed back.

I for one would not worry about the issue of illiteracy etc. For this is where opportunities exist for us to come up with programs that empower the people or educate the people as to how to use these facilities. Afterall ICTs are just a channel and indeed the language of communication can be adjusted to reflect the conditions on the ground.

Now Tanzania is privileged in that most of or all its citizenry can speak one language ie swahili. This should be harnessed.

Having stated the above, I think the government has the duty to put on-line all documents that are public. These include policy documents, vision etc. I have not goggled for government departments and ministries, but can some one tell me if all the ministry policy documents and strategic plans are on their websites? Do all the ministries and govt departments or parastatals have websites and if so whether the information that is meant for public consumption is there?

If we have gone beyond this the better but if we have not, then I request that all governement departments should have websites that contain these documents.

The next step should be to make them iteractive. They should introduce blogs so that they get a feedback on performance and impact of these policies. Let me share an experience I recently had. I have conducting an analysis of policy and you cannot imagine how difficult it is to obtain the current policies and their historical formulations ie what was there before and what is being addressed etc.

Kelly

Dear Members,

I would like to add two challenges and proposed solution that could fuel the use of ICT or rather e-goverment for better service delivery.

In order hasten the use of ICT or rather e-government, we need make sure at least we have attain satisfactory level in the government institutions (Ministries, Departments and Agencies-MDAs). In my view, when one is cleaning a house he/she starts inside and then goes outside. This is to say that we need to promote the internal use of ICT within and among these government institutions before going to the public.

Kabuje F.L.

Dear participants,

This topic is so exciting that I wonder why it is not getting an  avalanche   of subscribers.

While this is awaited,  I have to continue harping on the need for government to substantially improve the facilitating environment for the e-government to succeed. In my last contribution  I listed 5 such facilitators. May be that large number obscures at least  two that are inevitable: i.e. (i) raising the general education of the population (literacy), (ii) getting reliable and widespread electricity.  On the latter, it is a fallacy to think  that mobile phones do not need  electricity. They do: such as for charging the phones and for running the network and  transmitter stations . In addition, ICT in e-government is  much more that mobile phones if we take a wider view of the broad range of possible services that can be provided: like health services, distant education, filling all sorts of application forms (and getting replies) for services such as for government licenses and permits, jobs, school vacancies and  training,  sending  money electronically, paying taxes and levies, virtual policy discussion forums and remote voting, etc.

E-government  also implies electronic systems for more efficient  processing and storage of government data and its retrieval (moving away from physical mountains of  files), interaction among government offices and with the general public including the private sector. So the technological facilities used by all these actors are many: such as personal computers, mobile phones,  web-sites, networks, radios/TVs, etc, all aimed at improving government performance for providing better services and information to its citizens. It is important to envision the e-government having several layers  of operating centres. For example,  think  finally  of  an electronic  local government  office  (kijiji and mtaa level) that is most close to  the citizens, and that is also electronically connected with other local service nodules and higher supervising authorities . It  will need a highly literate public to interact with as well as a sure source of electricity.  This is the kind of vision that  Omari Mwinyi Hamis is talking about of Sweden and Norway.

Deo Mutalemwa

Thanks Mr.Kabuje for giving us your important views concerning the use of ICT, since you are working in the government. I will go into ICT policy for Tanzania and read about it. Probably the speed of implementing the ICT policy is not sufficient. If our farmers can now harvest a part of the ICT policy by looking at the prices of their products by using the modern communication technology this by itself is encouraging news.

If 90% of the 43million Tanzanians have no electricity it means that we have use mobile phones and fixed home phones /office phones in the implementation of the ICT. Just yesterday I was reading that one Scandinavian telephone company (Tenenor) together with another Norwegian company has developed a device in their mobile phones so that they can be used to make payments, booking for train tickets, booking for a taxi etc. Such mobile phones could be used in our villages in Tanzania so that one does not need to come all the way from Mbeya to Dar es Salaam just to fetch a form that could be downloaded in a few seconds in Mbeya! It is a waste of both time and money.

One can ask if the Ministry of lands is not using ICT!

The idea of a computer room for public use is very good one. In Sweden for example certain banks have public computers. These computers are normally used by their customers while making payments or looking in their private accounts. Therefore in Tanzania we could place such public computers at out   Post Offices around the country.

Another important thing is for the government to prepare the next generation in the use of ICT. This means that we have to introduce computer education in our primary schools and secondary schools. In Scandinavian countries computer education starts at kindergarten (at the age of 6 years)!

Dr.Khamis

Sweden

In this regard, What I observe is,  the e-government is centralized to a large extend, and therefore there is a need to decentralize to the grassroots level such as LGAs (I believe every district has a power). The real problem could be;

1.      As others have noted, often times you find the information (either in website or else ) is not updated, and not oriented to e-government scenario i.e necessary forms/queries/procedures are not placed in the web

2.      The e-government or ICT system including equipment are not extended to the local government where many service users are found.

My suggestion is, there is a need for the Central government to strengthen ICT section/department at LGA level . There should be a computer room which would be used by the public in trying to get particular services from central government e.g downloading/filling forms e.t.c. This can easily be access event the poor, whether computer knowledgeable or not , because they will be assisted .  

Dear Collegues,

I have gone through some of your contribution quickly and may be I need to add my views. I am an employee of the central government and therefore let me highlight my experiences.

Let me first highlight that Tanzania has ICT policy (One can google ICT policy Tanzania), of which I find it has very good vision, mission and policy statement/objectives can lead us to right direction, if well implemented. May be the question would be, are we implementing this policy?  Is the pace of implementing good enough? Where are the areas that need to more emphasis currently? What are the constraints?

many have cited lack of power (electrical power) to be the hindering factor, yes it might be but I believe to a very small small extend. I remember this fact that less than 10% of Tanzanian population does access power, but how many (percentagewise) have mobile cellphone. Certainly, more than 10% (one with figure can quite) . then if this is the case, what about the 90%? Of the population with no power. So this convinced me that electricity is just a tip of an iceberg!  

Yes, many have cited the benefits of ICT in improving government service delivery. Let me add one of the popular marketing system ‘LINKS’ under Ministry of Industry Trade and marketing  that  helps farmers /businessmen in getting prices of livestock And some of the crops from  various markets across the country. There are government employees who flash prices for various commodities into the system daily where anyone can access using his/her mobile phones or internet. Thus anyone can know the prices of livestock/crop every day in more than 30 markets across the country.   This marketing system has enabled farmer to become aware of prices in the market and make decision whether to take his products to the market or not.

I do agree that the pace towards e-government is so slowly, may be we need to emulate our collegues from Rwanda. Imagine a person from Mbeya importing day old chick or Meat from Malawi, he/she is supposed to come to dsm and process necessary document before going back to Mbeya. The implication of these arrangements adds costs to business person and are time consuming. My argument here, there should be internet based system to make sure such person can apply and clear all documentation while in Mbeya!.

 Another example, it took me more than a year to process ownership transfer of plots I purchased, it is simply go and return to land offices and most of the time you don’t find officer in charge in office. These are the few areas where I believe ICT would helps to solve these problems and even corruption!

I will be back after a short while
Kabuje F.L.

Dear TANKNET contributors

As we continue the discussion on the ensuing topic,  we need to keep very much closely tied to the initial questions posed by the discussion initiators. One example is  delving more deeply into the issue of getting more  benefits out of e-government to try to answer to “ How can e-government and Mobile Government transform the lives of a common Tanzanian?” It is not jumping on a technological breakthrough for the sake of it or for the few members of our society. We must make the idea of e-government a success for serving the majority of our people. Therefore while in the first ground we list out areas where the e-government can be efficient, we must hasten to address the stumbling blocks so that it will be of maximum benefits to address the core  of our development objective.

It is for this reason in my previous contribution I mentioned the challenging needs  such  as (i) raising the general education of the population (literacy), (ii) getting reliable and widespread electricity (even mobile telephones need this) (iii) integrity of public servants including those who operate the ITC systems, (iv) showing  uptodate information on  government websites, and (v) good maintenance of ICT facilities . I could add additional dimensions some deduced from other contributors like (v) ensuring IMS interlinkages among different services like  tax agency/records  and credit issuing institutions to enhance borrower’s credibility,  or land registry and credit agencies for checking on lending guarantees, students loan board and TRA records to verify status of loan applicant’s parents, students loan board and employment records to trace loan repayment process,  hospital services  and  employees social  protection schemes,  etc. One can easily see here the urgency of a comprehensive national identity card which has been on the drawing board for years.

We should not gloss over these needs as we applaud the merits of the e-government initiative. Unfortunately in a number of past initiatives that were intrinsically good like UPE or expanded secondary education we buried ourselves in the glory of crude   outcomes and came to realize  the fundamental drawbacks rather late.

Deo Mutalemwa

I do agree with Mr.Mbilinyi compleletly.We Tanzanians need to change, our leaders need to be creative and ready for modern technology. If I can use solar lamps to light my house garden in Denmark/Sweden how is it impossible to use solar lamps in Tanzania? We actually don’t need a foreign investor for solar energy. TANESCO could start such projects in Tanzania and ease black outs . One can store the solar energy in lead-batteries and use it when required. Some of my solar lamps can recharge the lead batteries themselves.

Progress does not come in any country without reliable electricity. We can’t depend on diesel to generate electricity since this is the most expensive way using tax payer’s money. Your e-governance will not function properly without reliable electricity. Our heavy industries and mines cannot function at 100 percent capacity without reliable.

Besides we have enormous coal deposits in the country that can be used for a period of almost 100 years. Why can’t we use this natural resource to generate electricity?

Tanzania has also uranium! Why can’t use uranium to generate electricity. We have Professors in Physics and atomic energy in the country!

The lack of teachers is just another example. There are many Tanzanians living abroad who want to come back to Tanzania and teach but they are not given the chance by   the Tanzanian government, schools or universities. Many of them have applied to be lectures and they are highly qualified but they receive no replies from Universities in Dar es Salaam, Morogoro, Dodoma etc. But you can hear that “Our leaders are putting very much efforts on education”?

Dr.Khamis

Sweden

Yes we need to change. The whole system in government and private sectors have to change. These slogans njoo kesho or file is not found has to cease. We have to be open proper HAKI has to be dispenced then changes will follow suite.

Dear Brothers and sisters

EGov is is a possible phenomenon in our Government systems today but we must look ahead to spot what is comming at a supersoninc speed with a new name Mgovernment that looks more relevant to our environment.

According to Nawar (2005) defines E gov as follows:

"E-Government refers to the use by the general government (including the public sector) of electronic technology (such as Internet, intranet, extranet, databases, decision support systems, surveillance systems and wireless computing) that have the ability to transform relations within the general government (bodies) and between the general government and citizens and businesses so as to better deliver its services and improve its efficiency."

Basing on the above definition there is no dought that e gov has a very close relationship with the internet. In Africa when talking about the internet immediatelly one has to reflect to the following challengies which are:

a) the improvement of overall literacy rate

b) the development of telecommunication infrastructure

c) the commitment of governments to genuine transformation towards a more transparent and citizen-centered governance.

Other important challenges include the formulation of new regulations and policies,

Having this challenges on EGOV the alternative is MGOV meaning MOBILE GOVERNMENT.

The mobile phone is the mostly used gudget by both Government employees and the citizens. thus while E Gvernment can be used to link Government offices .Mgov could take the lead in both areas that is one Government office and another but also Government and its citizens in cases such as fire imegerncy, ambulance services, police sercices, short reports among Government employees and their superious etc. But in areas like Kilimo Kwanza the mobile phone can now link the farmer and  the extension officer. Other areas include votting results, markets for certain agricultural products already in use in Rwanda.

So for sure MGovernment should now take the lead especilly in a country like TZ where the internet penetration is still at the infancy stage.

God Bless you

“Most Tanzanians waste time and money for seeking government services like we are living in Stone Age. The loss is due to queuing, corruption, unnecessary delays, bureaucracy, poor customer services, absenteeism of accountable officers, etc. All these factors make government services to have very high hidden costs and often not accounted”.

Yes I do agree that most Tanzanians waste time and money due to the above mentioned reasons. However CNN has interviewed people around the world and has come to conclusion that CORRUPTION has actually increased in the world, in America, China, Middle East, Asia, Africa etc. In some places the increase ranges between 72 to 85%.

Bureaucracy is the major hinder even if the government introduces ICT services this will be a problem that has to be solved. It is followed by poor customer services. This is because government workers are not “service minded”. They don’t know how to deliver a good service. It is not in their tradition.

The local government could get ICT help from the main office either in Dar es Salaam or Dodoma. I remember when we started computerizing services in our mining company we had all important databases belonging to our individual mines at the main office. From the main office we could update their databases, forms, accounts, ore reserves etc.

Let us start with ministries communicating through e-mails:(sending meeting notes,plans,forms etc as attached documents in their e-mails. They can gradually extend this service to video meetings etc.

If all ministries are connected via SKYPE computer telephone service they could Principal Secretaries/Ministers could phone each other free of charge. In case they have mounted a camera on their computers, they could even see each other.

The technology is actually there. Just use it!

Dr.Khamis

Sweden

This topic comes on time when most development economists are looking for poverty escape routes. We are in the era of information age where less informed will remain poor indefinitely. So what can the governments do about this plague? Moderators question on how ICT or precisely e-government help to transform the lives of the poor? In this era poverty solution should be embedded on ICT tools. India had a vision of distributing internet and computers to cover the whole of rural economy. Our neighboring country Rwanda is moving in the same direction. They understood that transformation of rural poverty using industrial age technology will take years but the process can be boosted using information age technologies.

This is the direction our governments, corporate, public sector, civil society, students and everybody should engage with regardless of all odds. Some contributors noted some obstacles toward provision of e-government service delivery. In my view I tend to differ since I feel it’s a must DO option. I am wondering despite few roads there is an increasing importation of cars. This is because transport is an issue. Similarly the government has to simplify the life of poor and rich all alike in accessing government services. It should be noted most Tanzanians waste time and money for seeking government services like we are living in Stone Age. The loss is due to queuing, corruption, unnecessary delays, bureaucracy, poor customer services, absenteeism of accountable officers, etc. All these factors make government services to have very high hidden costs and often not accounted.  

I read that some are worrying on knowledge gap among users due to poor education quality. These are problem which in my view I see are solvable with time. At the beginning of mobile phone technology it was similar scenario but push factors made even illiterate to use the devices. Now Tanzania is leading in the region for having larger number of mobile users (even if some have triple lines). If government will move toward e-government services completely I am sure it’s an incentive for people regardless of their education to be inquisitive on how to use/get the service. After all no one is willing to spend money to move up country to Dar es Salaam to get a government form from the Ministry while he/she can get through ICT devices like mobile phones or computers.

Services which can be provided by the government have been mentioned by other contributors. But I want to stress the need of the government to expand provision of e-services. For example BRELA can make business registration forms online and can improve its data base or its archive using ICT technologies. This is one of the government agencies but there are many others which need to operate in the current era of information age. However one of the great weaknesses of the government is maintenances of these sensitive technologies.  The government has to issue a secular to all of its offices to ensure that the systems are properly maintained and monitored. Bad practice of maintenance is more in district offices and other offices located in remote areas.

Mawazo ya ndugu Makongo ni mazuri sana.lakini utumiaji wa SMS na simu za mikono una gharama kubwa sana kwa vile hapa charge yake ni kwa dakika au ukubwa wa SMS yako.

Kila kitu ni kigumu mwanzo wake lakini serikali itapoona faida ya kutumia ICT yenyewe itatia nia ya kuendeleza teknolojia hii. Kwa mfano kama sikosei  Rais wetu anazungumza na wakuu wa mikoa mara kwa mara kwa kutumia simu au pengine sasa anaweza kutumia SMS.Lakini anaweza kutumia VIDEO na kuitisha mkutano huo kwa wakuu wote wa mikoa kwa wakati mmoja wakati yeye yuko IKULU kwenye komputa yake na gharama ya mkutano huu itakuwa ni ndogo sana.

Wengi wa mawaziri katika serikali mpya wanafahamu umuhimu wa komputa,simu na nyenzo nyingine za mawaziliano.Wengi wao waliishi ng’ambo,USA,CANADA,UK etc kwa hivyo ni rahisi kuishawishi serikali katika kutumia ICT.

Tungelianza na kuwa na website kwa kila wizara na pia iwe na e-mail address kama info@midini.com

Kwa vile wao wanashighulika na kazi nyingi za utafiti nadhani wanayo website yao na unaweza kupata habari nyingi.Bunge letu pia linayo website na unaweza kutowa maoni yako.Kitu kinachotakiwa ni kwamba zile wizara ambazo hazina website zianze kufungua na kuziendeleza vizuri na kupanua utumiaji. IKULU pia ina website yake!

Vyuo vyetu vikuu vyote vina website zao.Migodi yetu mingi ina website pia kwa vile wamiliki ni watu kutoka Canada,Australia,UK ,South Africa etc.

Kwa hivyo kazi hii ya ICT kwa kweli imekwisha anzishwa nchini jambo lilobakia ni upanuzi wa matumizi tu.

Shidhani kwamba kicha cha habari ambacho ni” e-governance” ndicho kinacholeta shida.Watungaji walikuwa na nia nzuri ya maendeleo.Hata tungelibadilisha kichwa na kuita ”COST- EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SERVICE” lengo lake litakuwa kama lile la” e-governance”

Dr.Khamis

Sweden

Nakubaliana na maoni ya Mtalemwa kwa sehemu kubwa, lakini tunaweza kuanza. Mwanzo mgumu lakini tukiwa na nia tutafanya makosa na bila shaka wengine tutajifunza. Kwangu mimi changamoto zinazotajwa hapa ni chachu ya kutafuta mkakati wa kudumu. Hatuwezi kusimama kwa hofu kuwa hakuna umeme, website za serikali siyo functional na kuwa watu hawana utamaduni wa mambo mapya. Hapo ndipo tunatakiwa kuanzia ili kujenga ushawishi wa serikali kuona umuhimu wa e-governance.

Pengine kichwa cha habari (e-governance) ndicho kinaleta shida. Labda tuite "IMPROVING ACCESS OF INFORMATION FOR QUALITY PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY" 

Naona mawazo ya wengi yametafsiri e-kama kompyuta peke yake....kuna technolojia nyengine kama vile simu za mkononi-sms communication. Hili jambo siyo jipya, na limeanza katika baadhi ya sekta au miradi. kwa mfano, UNDP na SNV wametoa msaada wa kuanzisha initiative inaitwa ACCESS TO INFORMATION (ATI) katika kuimarisha huduma ya jamii kwa sekta ya maji (bukoba rural) malaria (Uyui tabora) kupunguza vifo vya akina mamaw aja wazito (bunda) na elimu ya msingi (Morogoro). Pamoja na kutumia kompyuta, initiative hii imejikita kaitka kuweza mwananchi, viongozi na wataalam kubadilshan taarifa kwa kutumia simu za mkononi. Kuna changamoto zake lakini pia kuna mafanikio katika baadhi ya sehemu na hasa katika kubadilisha mtazamo (mindset) wa viongoi kuwa habari zinatoka serikalini na vyombo vyake tu. 

Kuna hatua kama tatu hivi za msingi katika kuendeleza e-governance:

1. Taasisi zote zinazosimamia matumizi ya teknohama (ICT) zitoe elimu ya jinsi teknolojia hii inaweza kutumika sehemu mbalimbali nchini bila kuathiri uhuru wa watu na usimamizi wa serikali. Hii ni kazi ya muhimu sana hasa kuishawishi serikli kuona kuwa vyombo na vifaa vya mawasiliano kama vile komputa na simu ni muhimi kama ilivyo Landruiser na viyoyozi!

2. Tuanze na huduma za jamii zilizo na mtandao mkubwa toka ngazi ya kitaifa hadi ndani ya jamii kijijini/mitaa. Sekta ya afya ina mtandao na miundombinu ya msingi kila mahali...zahanati, vituo vya afya, hospitali za wilaya nk. Pia kuna taasisi za mafunzo na utafiti. Kwa kuzingatia nia ya serikali ya kusogeza huduma hii ngazi ya jamii, tunaweza kushawishi mashirika na watu binafsi kuwekeza katika kuimarisha miundo mbinu ya umeme wa solar kwa zahanati na vituo vya afya nchini. Hatua hii itwezesha kuoanua mpango wa luoa huduma ya afya kwanji ya mtando..."telemedicine" unaotumiwa na nchi nyingi. Ninajua wizara ya afya na taasis za huduma hapa tz pia wameanza na kuna mchakao wa kuanzisha elimu ya diploma katika fani hii hapo chuu kikuu kwa kushirikiana na chuo kimoja toka demark. Nina uhakika Dr. Khamis huko Sweden utatimIza wajibu wako kwa kuunganisha matumizi haya.

3. Tuanze ushawishi mkubwa wa kuziomba wizara na idara za serikali kuweka kitengo maalumu ya e-correspondance na hasa kuwa na link ya kupokea maoni ya wananchi katika webisites zao.... na kila wiki mtu atoe mrejesho kwa wote waliochangia au kuuliza. Ikiwekwa kama moja ya "deliverbales" za watendajoi na zinazopimwa mwisho wa mwaka watafanya tu.

samahani kwa text ndefu

Sure! Hamisi is right per say by 95 percent.

Tanesco alone should not be always blamed for failure of improper power supply in the country to the contrary our leaders especially members of parliament are the great key to the changes we expect.

Laws governing power supply should be ammended first. Then there should be an independent Board to look for all posibilities to change Tanesco run profitably and competently.

Elly Mdemeka,

I do agree with Mr.Deo that there many challenges for keeping the ICT functionable and up to date. I often enter websites in Tanzania just to notice that they have not been changed or updated for 2010 year information they still have information for the year 2009.

Our major problem will actually be the availability of electricity and computers. In the case computers the government and companies could give loans to their employees to buy computers. This is how the Swedish government and Swedish companies have solved this problem so that almost every Swedish citizen could have home computer.

In the case of electricity there should be other companies that could provide electricity in the country. In EU there are many companies that are providing electricity .TANESCO has actually failed to provide reliable electricity to Tanzanians. In villages we can have solar driven computers since there are some equipment in the market that can provide electricity to computer by using solar.

Another additional point is that all workers should undergo computer training.

Dr.Khamis

Sweden

My Comments on this subject are as follows:

A wide range of government services can be provided to the public very efficiently via the ICT medium. Early gain in this area are  particularly in  spreading information on proposed and approved Government policies, laws and regulations and  for potential beneficiaries of these aspects  to submit their own views to the  policy makers (e.g. elected representatives and drafters of the documents ). People would also be able to inform authorities on the performance of these policies, laws and regulations. Compliance to these  stipulations would also be enhanced as those affected or aggrieved would be able to pass relevant information for corrective action.

Information on specific services provided by government agencies like those related to land titles, permits for selling or transporting confined   products,  rules for importation of goods,  information on availability of farm inputs, agricultural credits  and  farm produce markets,  etc,  can simply   be downloaded from the government  Websites by business and individual persons. In case of application for these services, the needed application forms  would be filled and posted via the same route to the government agencies for processing and obtaining the permit or service without  the need for travelling to the office. Not only is paperwork considerably reduced but also the need for physical contact with the service provider is eliminated or greatly reduced. The advantage of this is in reduction of transaction  costs for business and  rent seeking (corruption).  The Tanzania government has taken the first steps toward easing the drudgery of physical communication by establishing inter-office networking  (via the IFMS) but down-to earth problems persist such as lack of computer facilities by officials or electricity connectivity. Yet there is good progress and prospect.

On the other hand as we move in the right direction in e-government, we should be cognizant of the following underlying challenges: (a) the possibility of creating a widening gap between those  who have means and knowledge to use the e-government and those who simply cannot for lack of education (illiteracy),  poverty (money)  or physical impediment (electricity)  to access the internet, (b) unscrupulous government agents who would be able to develop the technical ability  to by-pass or frustrate the  ICT systems, (c) the need to keep government website information uptodate , for currently many websites are mostly dysfunctional. Moreover, I always like to harp  on  the general Tanzania malaise of penchant for new things but offset by lack of the culture of maintenance for acquired facilities and  weak monitoring of performance to undertake timely corrective  action. In a highly changing technical field  like ICT these weaknesses can negate  the advantages of e-government. We should keep guard.

Deo Mutalemwa

Dear members

I agree with Timothy Kitundu. We can not move on Improving Public Service Delivery and Citizens Engagement through E-Government without having a sustainable power generation. TANESCO has failed to provide a reliable power not only to rural areas where totally there is no power/electricity but also in town. Taking an example of Dsm, there are so many areas with no access to power, and currently we are in power rationing- in town. Can we improve public service delivery and citizen engagement through e-government really?

I concur with Deo Mutalemwa that “Information on specific services provided by government agencies like those related to land titles, permits for selling or transporting confined   products,  rules for importation of goods,  information on availability of farm inputs, agricultural credits  and  farm produce markets,  etc,  can simply   be downloaded from the government  Websites by business and individual persons”. But there is regular power cut, can we access internet? My cry is unreliable power which limits a number of good initiatives and causes loss to industries, individuals and even small traders who depend on electricity for their business to survive.

I think we have to change, focus on priority areas like energy that can improve other sectors just like what Uganda is doing on prioritizing energy-power supply as the key sector to boost up other sectors for national development.

 Vivian Kazi

ESRF, Dsm.

Dear colleagues,

E-Government is a good idea but for a country like Tanzania which lacks reliable power cannot be implentable as simple as in the developed world. In the US for example, power rationing is like a miracle: meaning that it can never happen. However, e-governance is a swift way of administering development programmes in a well organised countriy or state.

My only comment here is for the government to ensure that connecting the rural areas with reliable electricity supply should be priotitised before embarking on any services of e-governance. TANESCO for instance should not be run as a profit making organisation, rather it should be a service providion firm. From there we can make our start on doing e-governance.

This is an interesting topic. However most Tanzania Embassies abroad have been using the ICT for VISA applications one could download application forms and even sending application by email. Actually TANESCO for example could have all its power users in a database and send their monthly bills electronically. But this requires the cooperation of all banks in Tanzania to make it possible for Tanesco customers to be able to use electronic bill paying system. This means every bank customer will have his/her account attached to a sort of Internet Banking. In this way government ministries will be able to pay their electricity bills via Internet Bank.

Paying of taxes using computer technology will require will require the cooperation of the finance ministry with all other ministries. The finance ministry should be able to merge all employee databases from other ministries so that it could be able to send tax forms electronically to all government employees. Besides the ministry of finance has to have a database of all tax payers in the country. At the end of each year the tax department should be able to send tax declaration forms to all tax payers so that they could make tax declaration electronically. I think this is partly in application for port users!

All this needs the accessibility to computers and not all Tanzanians have computers. Sweden is the most advanced country in electronic paying system and tax declaration. But most swedes have computer at home.

Therefore we have to computerise our villages, our election system (NEC) so that all Tanzanians can be able to use ICT and benefit from it.

I will return to the topic in the near future!

Dr.Khamis

Sweden

Dear members of the TAKNET Forum!

We have introduced a new topic “Improving Public Service Delivery and Citizens Engagement through E-Government” we encourage contributors to focus on how and what should be done for Tanzania to benefit from e-government. Therefore, we would kindly like to invite you to join into discussion in specific issues spelt out below, or other related matters of your primary concern.

1.     How can e-government and Mobile Government transform the lives of a common Tanzanian?

2.      What are the types of services which can be easily provided through e-government including mobile phones/devices?

3.     What are the best practices?

4.     What should be the role of other stakeholders in making e-government a success?

Karibuni nyote!

Moderators: Mrs. Margareth Nzuki and Abdallah Hassan