E - governance in Africa : challenges , trends and issues

This paper uses content analysis and webometric approaches to respectively examine egovernance challenges and the presence and performance of African governments on the Web as well as review and compare the availability and use of various types of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the region. Results show that, despite several challenges that are faced by countries in Africa, African governments’ presence on the Web is improving; several ICTs and related tools are increasingly becoming available; Africa experienced the highest growth rate of Internet use between 2000 and 2007; there is minimal inter-linkages amongst the government Websites; majority of African governments are at the initial stages of e-governance development; external information to which the governments provide links include freeware, news, and general information (e.g. tourism) sites, etc. Recommendations for effective e-governance planning and implementation are provided.