Adoption of e-governance applications in local authorities Zimbabwe: A case study of the City of Harare (2010-2015).

Abstract

The aim of the study was to analyse the impact of adoption of e-governance technological applications on local authorities with reference to the City of Harare. The study was necessitated by the realisation of the change in the technological advancement world where e-governance has been adopted by many municipalities with the import of improving on service delivery. The researcher reviewed literature from various authors and the main theoretical aspects that emerged to be essential in developing the concepts and variables to be studied. The researcher identified the democracy theory as anchoring heavily in the broader societal developments centered on shared values critical to e-governance as it relates to the technological development. The main areas of concern driving technological capability and promotion of e-governance anchored on issues allied to service delivery, strategies being adopted to upgrade e-governance platforms and training offered to ensure the key result areas are achieved. In conducting this study, a target population of 500 employees in the City of Harare based at Rowan Martin and City Council Headquarters, Officials from Ministry of Information Communication Technology and local government and ratepayers. A sample of 110 respondents was chosen from the target population through stratified random sampling where strata were defined by gender and rank category. A total of 110 questionnaires were personally distributed by the researcher and 90 were returned. The study found out that the City of Harare was faced with financial challenges that were hindering technological advances. Due to financial constraints the City of Harare was not adequately equipped to deal with current ICT developments as it did not have the latest gadgets which negatively impacted on service delivery and convenience for the ratepayers. The study also revealed that the City of Harare reviews its training programmes which has resulted in alterations in the training programmes, there are some areas that are still somewhat outdated. Basing on these findings the research recommended that funds be availed to ensure that technology development efforts in the City of Harare are not put to waste. This could be achieved through increasing the City of Harare technological improvement and thrust budget to support technological advancements and facilitate the purchase of modern equipment. The City of Harare is also recommended to be more proactive in informing the rate payers on the benefits accruing out of using e-governance platforms The study also recommended that the City of Harare should continue sending its personnel on ICT courses and workshops that are relevant to e-governance.. A regular review of training programmes to establish individual training needs as well as the competency of trainers was also prudent to ensure that the training provided is relevant and satisfies both employees and organisational training requirements.