E‐government and public service quality in Ghana

• Author: Alex Osei‐Kojo
• Date: 01 August 2017
• Published date: 01 August 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1620

ACADEMIC PAPER

E‐government and public service quality in Ghana

Alex Osei‐Kojo

Department of Public Administration and

Health Services Management, University of

Ghana, Accra, Ghana

Correspondence

Alex Osei‐Kojo, Department of Public

Administration and Health Services

Management, University of Ghana, Legon,

Accra, Ghana.

Email: osei_kojo@hotmail.com

This article contributes to the growing discourse on the potential of e‐government to trans-

form the operations of public sector institutions, thereby improving public services. It does

so by conceptualizing public service quality into efficiency, economy (cost reduction), cus-

tomer satisfaction, and service accessibility and draws on qualitative data from the Ghanaian

narrative for illustration. As previous studies have demonstrated, this study also affirms the

potential of e‐government in improving public services delivery by increasing efficiency,

reducing the cost of operations, expanding access to services, and achieving customer

satisfaction.

Yet, there remains a repertoire of challenges such as weak ICT infrastructure especially in towns

and villages, incessant power outages and illiteracy, which are drawbacks to fully harnessing the

benefits of e‐government in Ghana. The study recommends that these challenges should feature

prominently in e‐government policies to increase the chances of solving them.

KEYWORDS

e‐government, Ghana, public service quality

1|BACKGROUND

Weber’s (1947) bureaucratic theory was a paradigm shift in public

administration theory and practice, as it rationalized administrative

structures and procedures towards efficient public services delivery.

Yet, this paradigm is flawed for being less‐effective and hopelessly

out of touch with modern organizational realities (Bennis, 1972);

over‐formalization of policy formulation, implementation, and

evaluation systems (Raadschelders, 2014); and non‐performing (West,

1995). These ‘disappointments’with Weber’s theory spearheaded the

adoption of the New Public Management (NPM) in public sector

organizations as it promised speed, flexibility, innovation, economy,

and efficiency in public management (Dunleavy & Hood, 1994; Hood,

1991, 1995; Minogue, Polidano, & Hulme, 2000; Osborne & Gaebler,

1992). Nevertheless, many public administration systems, especially

in developing countries, remain weak, inefficient, and less‐innovative

(Turner & Hulme, 1997). The advent of computer and Internet techno-

logy heralded the dawn of a new era where public administration sys-

tems were expected to improve customer satisfaction, increase

efficiency, reduce operational cost, and enhance effectiveness (Heeks,

2002; Layne & Lee, 2001; Margetts, 2003). International agencies such

as the United Nations and the United Nations Conference on Trade

and Development encouraged countries to adopt Internet technology

to propel development (Holiday, 2006). Consequently, electronic

government (e‐government) arrived as governments established their

presence online, using Internet to provide services to citizens and busi-

nesses (Layne & Lee, 2001). The adoption of Internet and computer

technology in the operations of state bureaucracies has been termed

as e‐government (Asogwa, 2013; Heeks, 2002; Kaisara & Pather,

2011; Schuppan, 2009). It comprises public sector use of information

and communication technology (ICT), including the Internet to boost

information dissemination, enhance service delivery, and facilitate

citizen participation (Holiday, 2006).

Ghana adopted e‐government through the ICT4AD (ICT for Accel-

erated Development Program) in 2003; followed by the e‐government

strategy in 2005 and GeGov project in 2008. These efforts have

received significant financial support from international agencies such

as the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program

(UNDP). For instance, the World Bank in 2006 provided a US$ 40

million facility to strengthen institutional capacity and build an enabling

environment towards the e‐Ghana project. Also, the government

recently, received a US$ 38 million facility for the Eastern Corridor

Fibre Optic Backbone Infrastructure Project from the Danish Govern-

ment.

1

The adoption and implementation of e‐government was

expected to improve the quality of public service in Ghana. Yet, anec-

dotal and empirical evidence on the state of public service quality sug-

gest that poor service quality remains a daily experience of people

accessing various services from government ministries, department,

1

See Daily Graphic, May 19th, 2015, p. 32.

Received: 26 May 2016 Accepted: 11 August 2016

DOI: 10.1002/pa.1620

J Public Affairs. 2017;17:e1620. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa 1of8

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1620