E‐governance for improved public sector service delivery in India, Ethiopia and Fiji

• Date: 06 April 2010
• Published date: 06 April 2010
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/09513551011032473
• Pages: 254-275
• Author: Gurmeet Singh,R.D. Pathak,Rafia Naz,Rakesh Belwal
• Subject Matter: Public policy & environmental management

E-governance for improved public

sector service delivery in India,

Ethiopia and Fiji

Gurmeet Singh, R.D. Pathak and Rafia Naz

School of Management and Public Administration,

The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji

Rakesh Belwal

Faculty of Business and Economics, Sohar University, Oman

Abstract

Purpose – Thepurpose of this paperis to explore the extent of corruption in India, Fiji and Ethiopia and

survey citizen perception of how e-governance could fight corruption. The main objective is to

investigate and explore the potential of e-governance applications in three countries representing three

different regions of Asia, Africa, and Oceania.

Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted over 918 citizens in India, Ethiopia and

Fiji using convenience random sampling. A structured questionnaire was used. The main emphasis of

the survey was on citizen perception about corruption and poor service. It further asked respondents

on how e-governance can cut corruption.

Findings – Benefits of e-governance in developing countries are the same as those in developed

countries but there are many potential benefits that remain unreaped by developing countries as a

consequence of their unlimited use of e-governance. Based on these assertions, the researchers tried to

evaluate and assess the potential of e-governance initiatives in India, Ethiopia and Fiji. By exploring

the role of e-governance for reducing corruption that has afflicted the entire public sector in these

countries, the main finding is that e-governance is positively related to government, “citizen

relationship and corruption reduction”.

Research limitations/implications – This study is highly empirical and does not provide case

studies to further extend on the findings.

Practical implications – The implications of the research are that information communication

technology (ICT) needs to be effectively integrated in the development agenda of government plans in

Ethiopia and Fiji. Government agencies in Ethiopia and Fiji do not seem to be much motivated to build

sound government-citizen partnerships. Citizens can see little of the internal workings of government.

However, for India, where there are many e-governance projects underway, and which is normally

considered to be awakening to the challenges of e-governance and which has to date many success

stories relating to e-governance, it is surprising to see that citizens find various existent formats of

corruption and non-transparent service delivery activities. It is quite evident that bureaucracy is more

or less opaque and very little attention has been paid to improving transparency, including through

the use of e-governance processes. Time, cost and red-tape procedures are major constraints in public

service delivery.

Originality/value – The paper explore s a problem that is of practical importance using

principal-agent theory, which is very applicable to the public sector context.

Keywords Governance, Corruption, Developingcountries, India, Ethiopia, Fiji

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

One of the major problems in the public sector in developing countries is corruption.

Corruption has many negative impacts on affected economies and societies. It drains

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IJPSM

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International Journal of Public Sector

Management

Vol. 23 No. 3, 2010

pp. 254-275

qEmerald Group Publishing Limited

0951-3558

DOI 10.1108/09513551011032473

off valuable economic resources, creates resentment and frustration among staff and

reduces organizational efficiency (Davies, 1987). Numerous definitions of corrup tion

exist in the literature, but for the purpose of this research, corruption is defined as the

abuse of public power for private benefit (Bardhan, 1997 cited in Camerer, 1997;

Rose-Ackerman, 1999 cited in Ellis, 1999). This definition is broad enough to

encompass all types of corruption one encounters in reality, especially in the public

sector. Garcia-Murillo and Vinod (2005) identify the main drivers of corruption to be

economic, political and cultural factors. The origins of these causes/drivers of

corruption can be traced to the work of Rose-Ackerman (1978, 2004) and K litgaard

(1988, 1995a, b cited in Goudie and Stasavage, 1997). In this study, the researchers have

drawn on the work of Kaufmann (2003, 2005) and Lambsdorff (2001), whose authors

have identified the drivers of corruption to be:

.monopoly of power;

.discretion; and

.lack of accountability and transparency.

These critics have explored the drivers of corruption by basing their work on the

principal-agent theory. The earliest analysis of the principal and agent problem were

carried out by Mirrlees (1974 cited in Rees, 1985) and Stiglitz (197 4). All these studies

focused on problems of principal-agent relationships in the context of private

organizations. However, recently, Laffont and Martimort (2002) and Lane (2003) have

shifted focus to the relevance of the principal-agent framework for understanding

problems in the public sector. Further, it is often argued that e-governance applications

have the potential to increase transparency and reduce corruption in the public sector

(Tangkitvanich, 2003; Mahmood, 2004).

This study reviews the magnitude of corruption in the public sectors in India,

Ethiopia and Fiji, identifies key factors/drivers of corruption, and assesses the overall

effect of corruption in each society. In particular, it explores whether e-governance

initiatives can be deployed as a “lethal weapon” to improve policies and processes to

increase efficiency, responsiveness, accountability and transparency and to cut

corruption in India, Ethiopia and Fiji based solely on citizen perception. The main

focus of the study is on the potential role of e-governance initiatives to alter the

interaction between the agent (Government) and the principal (citizen) based on citizen

perception.

The study has four sections. The first reviews selected literature on corruption to

identify the potential role of e-governance initiatives in cutting corruption. The second

reviews current analyses of the incidence of corruption in India, Ethiopia and Fiji. The

third reports perceptions of the incidence and impacts of corruption in the three

countries drawn from a survey conducted for this research. The fourth uses the survey

responses to explore two hypotheses about the potential use of e-governance initiatives

to cut corruption based on citizen perception.

E-governance and reduced corruption

The three factors that Rose-Ackerman (1973, 1978 cited in Goudie and Stasavage, 1997;

Rose-Ackerman, 1994, 2004) and Klitgaard (Klitgaard, 1988, 1996 cited in

Tangakitvanich, 2003 Klitgaard, 1995a, b cited in Goudie and Stasavage, 1997)

identified as the drivers of corruption were: monopoly of power; discretion; and lack of

E-governance

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