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Reckoning Electronic Government Progress inBangladeshTaiabur Rahman a & Niaz Ahmed Khan ba Department of Public Administration , Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics andStrategic Studies (KIMEP) , Almaty , Kazakhstanb The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Bangladesh County Office ,Dhaka , BangladeshPublished online: 24 Jan 2012.

To cite this article: Taiabur Rahman & Niaz Ahmed Khan (2012) Reckoning Electronic Government Progress in Bangladesh,International Journal of Public Administration, 35:2, 112-121, DOI: 10.1080/01900692.2011.616990

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International Journal of Public Administration, 35: 112–121, 2012Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 0190-0692 print / 1532-4265 onlineDOI: 10.1080/01900692.2011.616990

Reckoning Electronic Government Progress in Bangladesh

Taiabur RahmanDepartment of Public Administration, Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic

Studies (KIMEP), Almaty, Kazakhstan

Niaz Ahmed KhanThe International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Bangladesh County Office, Dhaka, Bangladesh

In the context of the recent interest and enthusiasm regarding e-government, this article prof-fers an overview of e-government by focusing on its conceptual development and experimentalpractices with a particular focus on Bangladesh. The study primarily draws on an extensivereview of the secondary literature together with personal insights of the authors gained in thecourse of engagements with selected e-government related projects in Bangladesh. It explores,inter alia, the conceptual setting by examining the key definitional issues and models ofe-government; reviews e-government as a practice at the global and developing country con-texts; and examines the policy frame and infrastructural status of e-government in Bangladesh.Major challenges and constraints on wider application of e-government in Bangladesh areidentified and some clues on possible improvement of the situation are also explored. Despitemany constraints, a degree of positive change is already noticeable in reducing the digitaldivide in the country.

Keywords: electronic government, ICT, Bangladesh

INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXTUALIZATION

The recent years have seen something of an upsurge inthe interest and discussions regarding electronic governmentand Information and Communication Technology (ICT). It isoften argued that the emergence of e-government— both inpractice and in concept — has been one of the most salientand strategically crucial developments in public adminis-tration during the last decade. The academic discourse one-government has also been impressive; it has introducednew vocabulary, theoretical models, and linkages betweendisciplines and between theory and practice (Bhuiyan, 2006;Hossain, 2006; Snellen, 2002).

In line with the global interest and enthusiasm regardinge-government, there have lately been some efforts in intro-ducing and institutionalizing e-government in Bangladesh.

Correspondence should be addressed to Taiabur Rahman, Departmentof Public Administration, Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economicsand Strategic Studies (KIMEP), 4. Abay Avenue, Almaty, Kazakhstan.E-mail: trahman@kimep.kz, taiabur_rahman@yahoo.com

The extent and pace of such efforts have, however, beenvery limited. Academic studies and research on the subjecthave correspondingly been strikingly scarce. Both as a con-cept and practice, e-government is still in a nascent stagein Bangladesh, and our understanding on various dimen-sions and issues concerning e-government is marginal. Thepotential for e-government in Bangladesh, however, remainslargely untapped, perhaps because of the difficulty in forexample, redeveloping existing organizational/governmentstructures and skills; decentralizing decision-making; devel-oping new forms of leadership adapted to the newe-government opportunities; transforming existing oper-ational practices toward public-private partnerships; andrealizing the effective involvement of stakeholders, as isrequired. Against this backdrop, this article attempts toproffer an overview of e-government by focusing on itsconceptual development and experimental practices with aparticular focus on Bangladesh. The study primarily drawson an extensive review of the secondary literature togetherwith personal insights and experiences of the authors gainedin the course of engagements with selected e-governmentrelated projects in Bangladesh.

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ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT PROGRESS IN BANGLADESH 113

The article is organized into several inter-related sections.After this brief introduction, the next section (2) exploresthe conceptual setting by examining the key definitionalissues and models of e-government. Moving away fromthe conceptual discussion, the third section focuses one-government as a practice by briefly reviewing the globaland developing country experiences. Continuing the discus-sion at the “practice” level, the subsequent sections (4 and5) examine the general policy frame and infrastructural sta-tus of e-government in the specific context of Bangladesh.Further probing the nature of the “practice”, a few selectedexamples of e-government application are presented inthe sixth section. Drawing on the overall experiences, themajor challenges and constraints on wider application ofe-government in the country are identified in the seventh sec-tion, while the concluding section (8) proffers some clues onpossible improvement of the situation.

UNDERSTANDING E-GOVERNMENT:CONCEPTUAL ISSUES AND MODELS

The concept of e-government defies any universal definition,and there have been widespread ramifications and inter-pretations of the term. In a major empirical survey, theUnited Nations (UN) and the American Society for PublicAdministration (ASPA) defined e-government as “utilizingthe Internet and the world-wide-web for delivering gov-ernment information and services to citizens” (UN/ASPA,2002, p. 1). E-government is defined as the governmen-tal use of information and communication technologies toimprove the quality of governance and service delivery (UN,2008, p. 10). E-Government often refers to the public sec-tor’s use of Information and Communication Technologies(ICT) for transactions and information exchange with cit-izens, business, governments, and other institutions in asociety (Cocchigila & Vernaschi, 2006, p. 7, Layne, 2001).

From a broader perspective, e-Government may beapproached and understood in terms of four concepts:

1. e-service (i.e., e-delivery of the government informa-tion, programs, services over the Internet),

2. e-management (i.e., use of the information techniqueto improve the management of government fromstreamlining business processes to improving flow ofinformation within government offices),

3. e-democracy (i.e., use of e-communication vehiclessuch as e-mail and Internet to promote citizens par-ticipation in the public decision-making [UN, 2003]process), and

4. e-commerce (i.e., the exchange of money for gov-ernment goods and services) (based on Cook et al.,2002).

E-government is intended to serve as a lever to reformoutmoded bureaucracy, give citizens and businesses greater

access to government information and services, while reduc-ing paperwork, increasing efficiency, and ultimately savingmoney for the governments (Backus, 2001; Lam, 2005;Rowly, 2011). Other commonly argued rationale in favor ofintroducing e-government include: reinforcing innovation inpublic agencies, increasing transparency and public account-ability, weakening authoritarian tendencies, and strengthen-ing civil society and democracy (Brown, 2005; Haldenwang,2004; Heeks, 2001; Hossan and Bartram, 2010; Norris,2001; Pardo, 2000).

Due to the inherent nature of government, e-governmentinitiatives are often collaborative in nature, bringing togethervarious units of government, private sector, nongovern-ment organizations, and citizens as key stakeholders (Pontis,2010, p. 41). E-government is outward looking and charac-terized by such popularly coded terms as G2C (governmentto citizens), G2B (government to businesses), and G2G(government to governments), emphasizing the provision ofinformation and services primarily to external stakeholders(Norris, 2010, p. 180; Basu 2010, p. 109).

The common theme behind these connotations is thate-government involves the automation or computerizationof existing paper-based procedures that would prompt newstyles of leadership, new ways of debating and decidingstrategies, new ways of transacting business, new waysof listening to citizens and communities, and new waysof organizing and delivering information (Organization forEconomic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2003).E-government goes far more that just using technology toprovide online services; it often involves the integration ofdifferent services provided by public agencies, the provi-sion of 24/7 service delivery, and the assimilation of newlaws and government regulations (Andersen & Henriksen,2006; Cresswell, Pardo, & Canestraro, 2006; Wimmer &Tambouris, 2002). It calls for technological changes to beaccompanied by corresponding organizational changes (e.g.,new institutions for new forms of interaction between publicagencies), process redesign (e.g., new processes to operateunder new service delivery modes), information technol-ogy (IT), governance implementation (to achieve alignmentbetween IT resources and business objectives), and humancapital training (e.g., training for staff to operate new tech-nologies) (Valdes et al., 2011, p. 177).

However, e-government also brings with it the risks tocivil society through creating a “digital divide” that deepensthe disadvantage of already disadvantaged citizens. The ben-efits of e-government will not accrue simply because newICTs are adopted by government organizations or throughthe proliferation of government websites. E-governmentinvolves complex assemblages of material, human, digi-tal, organizational, business, and social relationships. Therehas to be at least as much attention to human as to non-human factors (Oudshoorn & Pinch, 2003). Technologies arealways embedded in social systems where human skills andorganizational attributes are as crucial as the microelectronicor other material components.

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Without an appreciation of the surrounding social andorganizational contexts and the fundamental demands of thecitizenry, e-government is likely to fail. While implement-ing e-government and setting strategic initiatives to develope-government services by incorporating different functions,public administrators and policy-makers must understandthat “perceived awareness” (PA) and “perceived ability touse” (PATU) are the two potential contributors to success-ful adoption of e-government. Besides, some characteristicsespecially in the developing countries—such as low literacyrates, high poverty rates, slow adoption of technology, thelack of initiative for infrastructural development, and highcorruption—may further complicate any attempt to intro-duce e-government (Bhuiyan, 2011, p. 62). Not attending tothese issues is likely to create a digital divide, thereby jeop-ardizing the mission of e-government (Shareef et al. 2011,p. 27).

A good number of “theories” and “models” have emergedlately in an attempt to explain the development and growthof e-government (see Baum & Di Maio, 2000; GartnerGroup, 2000; Hiller & Belanger, 2001; Layne & Lee, 2001;Ronaghan, 2001;Westcott, 2001). One such prominent per-spective concerns the “stage” models (for example, Layne &Lee, 2001). These posit that e-governance moves throughpredictable stages starting with simple presence or publish-ing on the Web and moving to interactions, transactions, andultimately “transformation” (Dawes, 2008, p. 96).

To date, several models have been used to bothunderstand and predict technological innovation. Rogers’(1995) seminal work on the diffusion of innovation sug-gests that innovations occur in an S shape where activitiesbegin slowly, gain momentum, and then level off. Severale-government scholars have substantiated this finding andhave extended it to an incremental maturational model(Layne & Lee, 2001; Moon, 2001; Norris & Moon, 2005).When considering technological innovation in public agen-cies, these maturational models tend to dominate practitionerdiscussions and scholarly research.

The maturity models (illustrated in Table 1) delin-eate some typical stages as follows (Garter Group, 2000;Howard, 2001; Layne & Lee, 2001; Lee, 2010; Moon,2002):

1. Information-simple information dissemination (i.e.,one-way communication by posting data on the web-sites for constituents to view);

2. Interaction-\two-way communication of request andresponse (i.e., the interactive mode between govern-ment and constituents by incorporating email systemsand data-transfer technologies into the websites);

3. Transaction-service and financial transactions (i.e.,replacing public servants with web-based self-servicesby putting live database links to on-line interfaces);

4. Transformation-horizontal and vertical integration(i.e., pushing information and data sharing among dif-ferent functional units and levels of governments for

the enhancement of efficiency, user friendliness, andeffectiveness); and

5. Participation-political participation (i.e., the use ofgovernment websites for online voting, online pub-lic forums, and online opinion surveys for more directand wider interaction with the public).

With maturational models, the tempo or pace of changeis slow and incremental. They also assume that the tra-jectory is linear, sequential, and hierarchical. Based onempirical examination, it appears that, for the most part, thedescriptions in these models provide a reasonably accurateportrait of e-government in its early stages, from initial Webpresence to information provision to interactivity. Beyondthis, however, the models become both predictive and nor-mative and their empirical accuracy declines precipitously(Coursey & Norris, 2008, p. 523).

The models, however, ignore or undermine the barriersto e-government adoption. One may argue that the modelshave been developed in almost a vacuum. They are basedon neither extant theory nor empirical data. Thus, whileintellectually interesting, the models are mostly speculative.(Coursey & Norris, 2008).

Nonetheless, these models still reflect a certain degree oftechnological determinism, asserting a wide range of benefitsfrom the adoption of e-government applications in the devel-oping world (Cocchigila & Vernaschi, 2005). Technologyis not likely to be a primary barrier to e-government,especially as governments gain experience. Organizationaland political factors are likely to significantly affecte-government application development, performance, andadoption.

While not refuting the developmental impact and poten-tial benefits of e-government, Cocchigila & Vernaschi (2005,p. 4) caution that developing country governments, interna-tional organizations, and donors should undertake a morerigorous analysis of the social, cultural, and political dimen-sions of e-government, taking a distance from the technolog-ical determinism which still underlies most debates on thistopic. Appropriate and suitable policies and programs shouldinstead be designed, enabling developing countries to har-ness e-government projects in their own context. In the samevein, Mayer-Schönberger and Lazer (2007, p. 281) arguethat technology is typically no longer the binding constraintwith respect to the sharing and integration of information—institutions are.” These ideas constitute the core of the“adaptation” perspective on e-government as distinct fromthe “maturity” one (Brown, 2007).

E-GOVERNANCE AS A PRACTICE: THEGLOBAL AND DEVELOPING COUNTRY

EXPERIENCES

A 2001 study of the development of e-Government by theUnited Nations (UN) identified the level of e-government

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ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT PROGRESS IN BANGLADESH 115

TABLE 1A Summary of E-government Development Models

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6

Layne & Lee (2001) Catalogue Transaction VerticalIntegration

HorizontalIntegration

Baum & DiMaio(2000)

Presence Interaction Transaction Transformation

Ronaghan (2001) EmergingPresence

EnhancedPresence

Interactive Transactional Seamless

Hiller & Bélanger(2001)

InformationDissemination

Two-wayCommunication

Integration Transaction Participation

Wescott (2001) E-mail andInternalNetwork

EnableInterorganizational and Public

Accessto Information

Two-wayCommunication

Exchange ofValue

DigitalDemocracy

Joined-upGovernment

Source: (Coursey & Norris, 2008. p. 523).

in 190 nations (UN/ASPA, 2001). It finds that none ofthe surveyed nations had achieved transformation, and only17 had achieved the transaction stage. Most developingnations were either at the information or at the interactionstage, thus providing very few interactive services to theircitizens. Nations with extensive interactive, knowledge-supported services typically also maintained a considerableIT and government infrastructure to offer these, and weregenerally well funded. The feasibility of having a success-ful e-government is directly dependent on the governments’overall ability and readiness to spend on the necessaryinformation technology and related costs.

In the context of developing countries, ICT ande-governance, coupled with smart and timely governmentpolicies, have the potential to reach development objectivesfaster and at a lower cost than conventional approaches.

One particularly strong opinion questions the very rel-evance of an information society in circumstances of per-sisting poverty, lack of clean drinking water, widespreadcorruption, and other characteristics of developing coun-tries that require handling immediately. One cannot denythe vital importance of these and other problems; however,it is not possible to avoid, so to say, the unavoidable. Thedelay in implementation would only cause additional cost.However, one can emphasize the importance of regional andsub-regional cooperation in promoting the philosophy of theinformation society.

Table 2 summarizes the impediments to the growth ofe-government in developing countries.

E-GOVERNANCE AS A PRACTICE: THEBANGLADESH EXPERIENCE

Bangladesh, in line with many other developing countries, isat the initial stage of e-government known as the “automa-tion” phase. This single term reflects the present scenarioand the future prospects of e-governance in Bangladesh.Bangladesh has been emphasizing and promoting ICT from

TABLE 2Factors Impeding an Enabling E-governance Environment in

Developing Countries

Core Factors Symptoms Consequences

InstitutionalWeaknesses

Inefficient PlanningUnclear Objectives

InadequatelyDesigned System

Costs Over-runsHuman Resources Shortage of Qualified

PersonnelLack of Professional

Training

Insufficient SupportIsolation from

Sources ofTechnology

FundingArrangements

UnderestimatingProject Costs

Lack of RecurringExpenditure

Unfinished ProjectsHigher Maintenance

Costs

Local Environment Lack of VendorRepresentation

Lack of BackupSystem/Parts

Lack of QualifiedTechnical Support

ImplementationProblems

Technology andInformationChanges

Limited Hardwareand Software

InappropriateSoftware

SystemsIncompatibility

Over-reliance onCustomerApplication

Legal Inadequacy Complex LegislativeProcedure

Lack of LegalFramework

Source: United Nations (2002, p. 22).

as early as 1997. In that year, the government of Bangladesh(GoB) appointed a task force. The committee submitted itsreport in the subsequent year with some 45 recommenda-tions of which few were implemented like declaring ICTas a “thrust sector” and abolishing custom duties and taxeson ICT products. Their approach was to promote and buildICT-based industries (software and services) for economicgrowth, income generation, and employment creation andthus ensure a good niche of world software and IT servicesmarket.

Since then the GOB is working closely with the pri-vate sector in facilitating the growth of ICT. ICT is stillregarded as a promising sector in Bangladesh. Therefore,

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to provide necessary in-time support, and reduce corrup-tion and red-tapism, and to achieve the objectives in thissector, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, herself, becamethe chair of the present National ICT Task Force in January2001. In 2002, government articulated an outline to achievea strong countrywide ICT base and announced future pro-grams about digital education and improvement of overallICT infrastructure. GOB has also initiated pilot projectsin various sectors of the government through a projectcalled the Support to ICT Task Force (SICT). It is beingimplemented under the Ministry of Planning. Also, theGovernment of Bangladesh is also getting substantial for-eign cooperation in terms of financial assistance and tech-nical collaboration for realization of e-Governance at anational scale.

The ICT policy prepared in 2002, known as the NationalICT policy, emphasized a more holistic approach, with theaim of building a strong ICT oriented, knowledge-basedsociety. For achieving this goal, the present policy articleprecisely defines the necessary ICT infrastructure, capacitybuilding activities, support to ICT industry, application ofICT for socio-economic development, and financing of ICT-related projects. The Ministry of Science and Technologyhas been renamed the Ministry of Science and ICT and hasbeen entrusted the duty of working as the primary hub inimplementing these policies.

The IC pPolicy was revised in 2008. This policy wasnever fully realized due to lack of appropriate plans toachieve the goals set in the policy as well as poor imple-mentation of the underlying actions. The revised ICT Policy,including action items for realizing the goals of nationaldevelopment, w adopted by the government in April 2009.

The e-Government policy framework is currently largelybeing driven by the ICT Policy 2009 and the ICT Act2009. The Right to Information Act 2009 is also expectedto encourage government officials to open up their infor-mation regarding their activities, and financial and materialprogress. However, there is no separate policy guideline fore-Government, particularly with regards to the followingimportant issues (BEI, 2010, p. 21):

• Technological standardization, concerning issues ofstandardized ways of storing governments data andinformation so that they can be exchanged and sharedseamlessly

• Data privacy, concerning issues of who will get accessto what kind of data

• Data security, concerning issues about secure ways ofstoring and transferring data that will be followed byall government entities

• Shared service platforms, concerning issues aboutre-usability of information systems to avoid dupli-cation of efforts, which is a common phenomenonin government offices since similar systems are builtagain and again through separate contracts.

E-GOVERNANCE AND ICTINFRASTRUCTURE IN BANGLADESH

Bangladesh entered into fiber optic-based communication in1989 through installation of fiber optic cables for signal-ing in railways. The ongoing infrastructural developments,known as the National Digital Data Network, are based onthis railway cables. This National Digital Data Network hasbeen implemented by (BTTB) covering all divisional head-quarters, which will gradually integrate the whole countryunder a single digital network for voice and data commu-nications. Presently, Bangladesh relies on VSAT technologyfor Internet connection. This approach is persuasively slowcompared to fiber optics connection, costs more, and makesthe country dependable on source country. In 1992 GoBrefused to join in the worldwide information backbone, thefiber optic “superhighway”, on grounds of “security con-cerns.” This move by the government came under severecriticism by various learned quarters, and was considered anact of folly. Subsequently, there emerged a broad realizationin the government regarding the importance and potentialbenefits of joining with this information highway.

In March 2004, the GoB signed with SEA ME-WE4 Consortium to get connected with this Global InformationSuperhighway by the end of the third quarter of 2005.However, so far, people were not able to use the fibernetwork as GoB again failed to establish Dhaka-Cox’sBazar linkage according to their schedule. The connectivityof citizens with the national data communication networkwill principally depend on telecommunication infrastruc-ture. According to a UN E-governance Survey 2010 (UN,2010) and International Telecommunication Union’s IDIreport (ITU, 2010), the tele-density of Bangladesh is thelowest in South Asia, Only 0.84 (0.5 in 2002) among100 people had access to fixed telephone line and while 27.9(0.8 in 2002), and only 1 among 100 has access to mobilephone (mobile cellular subscription) in 2010. The statisticsalso acknowledged a substantial growth rate of 26 percent inoverall telecommunication sector.

After a period of reckless misuse and unregulated pri-vate sector profiteering, the Voice over Internet Protocol(VOIP) technology has now been brought under a legal andregulatory framework. This move is expected to decreasethe cost of overseas calls significantly and thus divertmost of the international calls through Internet. Table 3reflects Bangladesh’s position in the World E-governmentDevelopment Index in 2010 (UN, 2010).

SELECTED EXAMPLES OF E-GOVERNANCEINITIATIVES IN BANGLADESH

With a view to further elucidating e-governance practices inBangladesh, we focus on selected practical examples in thissection.

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TABLE 3Bangladesh’ Position in the World E-government Development

Index, 2010

2010 2008

Rank in World E-government DevelopmentIndex

134 outof 190

142 outof 192

Online Service Component(Rank 60)a. Points for emerging Information services 48 na∗b. Points for enhanced Information services 44 na∗c. Points for transaction services 05 na∗d. Points for connected approach 15 na∗

Telecommunication InfrastructureComponent (Rank 161)

e. Estimated Internet users per100 inhabitants

0.32 0.31

f. Main fixed telephone lines per100 inhabitants

0.84 0.79

g. Mobile subscribers per 100 inhabitants 27.90 13.25h. Personal computers per 100 inhabitants 2.25 2.42i. Total fixed broadband per 100 inhabitants 0.03 0.00

Human Capital Component (Rank 167)j. Adult literacy rate 53.50 47.50k. Combined Gross enrolment ration for

primary, secondary and tertiary schools48.46 56.01

E-Participation Index (Rank 102) 0.1000 Rank 78

Sources: United Nations (UN). (2010). United Nations E-GovernmentSurvey 2010. New York: UN; UN. (2008).United Nations E-GovernmentSurvey 2008. New York: UN; International Trade Union (ITU). (2010).Measuring the Information Society. Geneva: ITU

∗na- not available

Automation of Internal Processes at the BangladeshBank (BB)

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) is among the handful of pub-lic institutions that have been successful in integrating ICTinto the core business processes of the institute. Today it isone of the most fully computerized public institutions in thecountry. The current system actually automates most of thebanks’ operational processes and some of the most impor-tant strategic processes including monitoring of commercialbank transactions.

Electronic Birth Registration System at the RajshahiCity Corporation (RCC)

The system was introduced by the Rajshahi City Corporation(RCC) and the Local Government Division of the Ministryof Local Government, with technical and financial supportfrom UNICEF. Since 2001, Rajshahi City, Bangladesh, hasbeen registering births online, linking to a database thatcan be shared with other public agencies. For example,the Department of Health uses the system to help ensureimmunization of all children. The system works in Bengali,although it can also generate certificates and reports inEnglish. Before the system was set up, a simple query suchas the number of girls registered took a long time to answer.

The manual process was also subject to errors, duplications,and inconsistencies.

The new system has removed duplication and redundancyfrom birth/registration, automated searching, sorting, andprocessing and reporting tasks, and saved time. A com-bined ID number and bar-coding system has reduced errors.A CD-ROM of the database provides for backup and alsoallows transfer and reuse of data outside the LAN system.Both registration and immunization rates have increasedsince the introduction of the system. Birth registration inRajshahi City Corporation is almost 100 percent. A birth reg-istration certificate is almost provided almost immediatelyat all hospital and clinics. Once a child is registered, thesystem generates an immunization schedule for that child.System- generated ID is also used to get admission in thepublic schools of the city.

The Geographic Information System (GIS) at theLocal Government Engineering Department(LGED)

LGED has established a GIS set-up to facilitate establish-ment and maintenance of a computerized national databasefor planning and implementation of infrastructure develop-ment activities. This includes digitization of the Thana BaseMap at 1: 50000 scale for the whole country. GIS uses infor-mation that is stored on databases and places it on a map,making it clear to read and understand. The maps are usedtogether with a computerized national database to decidewhere new roads or schools should be built. GIS can offerthe most accurate and detailed geographic guide to the coun-try. At headquarters in Dhaka, LGED staff can draw up mapsof the country and super-impose information like the size ofvillages, location of schools, or condition of roads. LGEDhas become an excellent institutional mechanism to plan andidentify priorities. This information is open, transparent, andavailable to all. Any group can get the information and lobbyfor a road or school. This openness means that local coun-cilors are fully informed about plans for their area and arethus better able to make sure they spend their budget wisely.With the help of GIS, tough decisions about developmentpriorities and spending can be determined by local needsrather than the whim of politicians or other vested inter-ests. Thus the system could be used to fight corruption andminimize resource waste and irregularities.

Bangladesh Planning Commission

The Commission attempted to create software for inter-facing between development and revenue budget. The ITsystem at Bangladesh Planning Commission has the fol-lowing features: file sharing facilities through LAN; videoconferencing; electronic notice board; digital library con-taining policies of Bangladesh in searchable format, minutesof meetings, other useful documents etc.; ADP databasefacilities; and software for tracking movement of files.

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Bangladesh Government Digitalized Forms

Accessing government forms online is made possibleby the Prime Minister’s Office of Bangladesh through aproject (e-citizen service) funded by the UN DevelopmentProgram (UNDP) Bangladesh. The website has been devel-oped to make the digitized government forms available topeople having Internet access, while the CD is for the onesstill out of the reach of an Internet network. The CD isdistributed free of charge through various government andprivate institutions so that people can get them without hav-ing to queue up at government offices. This not only savestime but also the cost and hassles associated with travelingto the government offices located at a distance.

Some of the digitized forms which are currently availablein the website are passport application, visa application, cit-izenship form, pension form, birth registration form, incometax return, driving license, and so on. Various widely usedgovernment forms will be digitized in phases under the ini-tiative. There are plans for gradually digitizing some 250 to500 forms of various categories (out of a total 1,200 govern-ment forms) between 2005 and 2009. Only 50 frequentlyselected digitalized government forms are now availableonline (www.form.gov.bd) in both Bangla and English. Thegovernment ministries took inordinate amount of time toselect and finalize these forms.

Other E-governance Initiatives in Bangladesh

• Ministry of Finance: The ministry has customizedsoftware for budget planning, sensitivity analysis,impact analysis, financial projections and variousreports

• National Board of Revenue: Much of the activities ofNBR have been computerized. NBR is computerizingthe revenue budget procedure.

• Personnel Database: The Personnel management sys-tem (more of a database with some analytical report-ing) of the Ministry of Establishment is probably theoldest e-government initiative that is still is in useand in demand. The database is maintained by thetechnical personnel within the ministry and maintainsthe personal information card for each governmentemployee of the “Administration” cadre, includingtheir respective annual confidential reports.

• Stock Exchanges: Both Dhaka and Chittagong StockExchange are highly computerized and networked,allowing citizens to trade with much more ease thanbefore. Procedures such as the enhanced system ofstock trading have contributed greatly to reduce cor-ruption, to save time for business people, and toimprove market responses.

• Railway Ticketing: Technically, railway ticketingmight not be a simpler e-government project but frompeople’s convenience perspective, this is one of theimportant ones. Bangladesh Railway outsourced the

job to a local IT vendor. With a few technical hiccupsthe system was put into operation in 1996. The vendor-owned, -operated, and -maintained the system till early2002. The system was then transferred to BangladeshRailway, which later decided to outsource its operationto another private vendor.

• E-Governance Projects under the SICT Program: TheSICT Program is a GOB-funded project that has amandate to give direction to a holistic developmentof e-governance in the country. The primary objec-tives of the SICT: build ICT infrastructure throughoutthe country; better intra-governmental communicationnetwork through video-conferencing, e-mail, digitallibrary, electronic data exchange, etc.; reduce digitaldivide by taking ICTs outside urban areas; empowercitizens through online utility services and throughrelevant information; enhance democratic values bymaking the government more accountable and service-oriented to citizens and businesses; and encourage sus-tained economic development through more efficientgovernance.

• Community electronic Center (CeC): With the broadaim of “incorporating ICT in rural life”, there hasbeen an initiative to connect the rural areas by estab-lishing 40,000 telecenters throughout the country by2011—the year when the nation celebrates 40 yearsof independence. There are near about 6000 telecen-ters in Bangladesh of 4500 Union Information andService Centers (UISCs) are operated by UNDP sup-ported government project A2I. UISCs are located inthe union council complex. Union is the lowest localgovernment tier (union) in Bangladesh. This moveis being coordinated by the Bangladesh TelecenterNetwork (BTN) under the guidance of the govern-ment through a national plan of action called “Mission2011.” The then Chief Adviser formally inaugurated“Mission 2011”, in 2008. This initiative would play animportant role in expediting the development process,minimizing the gap between the state and the poor, andalleviating poverty (The Daily Star, June 27, 2008).

• Union Information Service Centre (UISC): OnNovember 11, 2010, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinalaunched the Union Information Service Centre(UISC) for 4,501 local government units acrossBangladesh. The centers would help people get mostpublic services at the rural level through informa-tion technology and it is one step forward towardsachieving incumbent government’s vision for DigitalBangladesh by 2021. The centers are likely to pro-vide all government forms, public notifications andgazettes, birth and death registration information, pass-port and visa support, information on public examina-tions, new jobs, laws, health, agricultural, and disastermanagement among other things. These centers willalso provide commercial services and social services

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to the residents. All unions, the lowest rung of localgovernment, are now linked to the Internet (The DailySun, 16 November 2010).

• District E-service Centre: Aimed at reaching all kindsof service of the district administration to the doorstepsof the people, installation of “district e-service centers”are in progress. In line with the present government’svision to build Digital Bangladesh, the UNDP-fundedAccess to Information (A2I) Program under the PrimeMinister’s Office (PMO) is implementing the project.Earlier on September 16, 2010, the first “districte-service center” was launched in Jessore in the firstphase of the project. District e-service centers wouldbe set up in 10 more districts in the second phase.District e-service centers have already been estab-lished in all 64 districts in Bangladesh (The FinancialExpress Dhaka, November 15, 2011).

THE CHALLENGES AND CONSTRAINTS ONE-GOVERNANCE IN BANGLADESH

From stock-taking of the current status and predicament ofthe sector, a number of key constraints that pose serious chal-lenges tow consolidation and further growth of the sector canbe identified. These include the following:

• The major national guiding framework for thee-governance and ICT sector concerns the NationalICT Policy 2002 which broadly captures the aspira-tions of the sector and some well-thought-out objec-tives, cutting across most governance, economic, andsocial sectors. However, as Karim (2008) argues, thepolicy also contains some lacunae. There is a generallack of structure in the way the vision and objec-tives have been laid out without the correspondingimplementation strategies and programs. Many of theobjectives are also bereft of reason and in hind-sight, appear to have been impractical and somewhatirresponsible.

• Bangladesh is deficient in the required infrastruc-tural support i.e., electricity, telephone network, andcomputer and high-speed Internet connectivity formaximization of outreach. According to The GlobalInformation Technology Report 2009–10 Bangladeshscored 3.01 and ranked as 118 among 133 countries.The country’s overall low ranking highlights the urgentneed for improvements in areas such as

(i). the regulatory framework,(ii). developing human resource capacity,

(iii). providing greater access and increasing usage ofICT by citizens and

(iv). investing in ICT infrastructure.

(Global Economic Forum, 2010). For example,according to UN E-government Survey 2010 (UN,

2010), the number of personal computers for per100 people was 2.25 in Bangladesh. The adult literacyrate is still low i.e., 53.5 percent. The number ofInternet users is very low i.e., only .032 per 100 inhab-itants. Internet access in Bangladesh is too expensivecompared to other countries.

• Bangladesh ranked 118 in the global NetworkReadiness Index in 2009–10 (World Economic Forum,2010) up from 130 a year ago, showing an upwardtrend in the information and communication technol-ogy sector. Outside Dhaka, at present a few computernetwork infrastructures have been developed so far.Apart from some educational institutes outside Dhaka,most of the LAN setups are Dhaka-centric.

• Inappropriate practices in ICT system planning, imple-mentation, and management lead to poor decisionsand failed projects. For example, in Bangladesh, thevast majority of spending in government ICT projects(often more than 90 percent) goes to hardware pur-chase, while the remaining fraction covers software,training, and systems implementation services.

• A reluctant mindset is often noticeable, especiallyamong the public sector staff, to change the presentprocess of governance and services. Many of them areapprehensive of the introduction of e-governance lead-ing to loss of jobs, power, and authority. An unwill-ingness to receive ICT-related training has often beenreported (Hossain, 2006, p. 159).

• Lack of digital literacy among an overwhelmingmajority of population. The disadvantaged sections ofthe society, especially, the poor, the aged, and thep-hysically handicapped are not encouraged to learn andupdate their digital literacy.

• The pace of implementation of ICT-related commit-ments of the government has been generally slow.It may be attributable to the fact that many ofthe concerned political and bureaucratic leadershiphave a degree of distrust and fear towards ICT ande-governance as these practices may challenge thestatus quo and their supremacy.

• The nation still needs to strive to have an operationalregulatory / legal framework including relevant cyberlaws. While the ICT Act 2009 has been enacted, itmust be amended to provide adequate data privacyand security provisions and the Right to InformationAct 2009 must be put into action using enabling ICTtools, so that citizens can access information quicklyand effectively (IGS, 2010).

• There is no single coordination point in thegovernment for coordination of planning of e-Government to develop a roadmap for e-Government.Different responsibilities for e-Government are scat-tered across different government entities, whichsometimes hampers centralized strategic planning,something that is quite critical in early stages ofe-Government (BEI, 2010:33).

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120 RAHMAN AND KHAN

CONCLUSION

Based on the preceding discussion and analyses, a fewbroad concluding observations, envisioning the futureof e-governance in Bangladesh, may be made. First,Bangladesh, as a developing country, must endeavour for aninclusive e-government that will emphasize on social devel-opment services like healthcare, distant education, agricul-tural information dissemination, and government servicesto the poor with less cost for faster and efficient achieve-ment of development goals. Secondly, the result will beimproved human capital that will eventually ensure sustain-able economic growth, income generation, and employmentcreation. Thirdly, concerted efforts should be made to min-imize the digital divide between urban and rural areas,and between the rich and the poor. Through e-government,people at the grassroots should have the opportunity andright to share their concerns with the local, national, andinternational governmental agencies.

At a more specific level, the following measures maybe considered for realizing the above-board visions (see,;Bhuiyan, 2006; Hasan, 2003; Hossain, 2008; Jackson, 2000;Khan, 2008; Taifur et al., 2006):

• Development and consolidation of a comprehensiveregulatory framework for e-governance, addressingsuch issues as laws to protect intellectual property andacceptance of documents in electronic format, con-trol of cyber-terrorism and hacking, and electroniccertification.

• Broad-based vocational and school-level ICT trainingand literacy programs may be arranged for reducingthe “digital divide.”.

• Government support and facilitation of greater com-petition and growth of Internet and telephone serviceproviders with a view to reaching out to commonmembers of the public at a wider scale;

• Systematic and long-term planning for building therequired infrastructure across the country includingexpedition of international submarine cable and exten-sion of connectivity outside the major urban locations;

• In the same vein, strategic planning is also requiredfor developing and retaining adequate number of rel-evant human resources by supporting the key traininginstitutions, expanding the capacity of relevant depart-ments in major universities, and providing appropriateincentive for retaining high quality professionals whocurrently tend to leave the country;

• Within the government, a number of measures areimperative such as maintaining open standard in build-ing ICT systems throughout the government for betterintegration; systematic training of public staff; provi-sion of maintenance and monitoring; updating gov-ernmental databases, and standardization in the use ofBangla in electronic formats;

• Considering dedicated allotment (e.g., 10 percent)allocation from revenue and development budget forICT and e-governance;

• Provision of public information centers (supplying thepublic with such information as weather forecasts,agricultural services, health services, public utilities,public transportation etc.) in rural areas;

• Firm and sustained commitment and support fromthe top political leadership as regards promotion ofe-governance and associated practices;

• The country’s dependency on donors in financinge-government projects must be reduced by mobilizinginternal resources.

Although the e-government is still in an incipient stage inBangladesh, a degree of positive change is already notice-able in reducing the digital divide in the country. There aresome signs of a multiplier salutary impact on life and liveli-hood of people of various walks of life. The proliferationof mobile telephones at an affordable price, for example,has benefited millions of people in Bangladesh. The estab-lishment of telecenters and other communicational outletsin the remote rural areas has facilitated people’s increasedaccess to the Internet and e-government services. The roleplayed by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in sup-plying microcredit to the poor people at a reasonable interestrate and creating awareness among them has been conducivein this regard.

On the whole, however, as the above reckoning of therecent trends in the concepts and practice of e-governmentin the country suggests, we still have indeed a very long wayto go, and there is hardly any room for feeling complacent.The importance and potential of e-governance is now wellestablished, and the process for creating a supportive regula-tory, policy, and institutional environment for backstoppingand nurturing people-centered e-governance practices mustgo on.

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