An exploratory study of inderstanding electronic government in facilitating intergovernmental relations to encourage cooperative governance in South Africa

Abstract

The study seeks to investigate the perceived lack of coordination, integration, and coherence among units of government as related to eGovernment. The nature of the study is qualitative with a focus on the use of eGovernment in the public sector and whether it can facilitate intergovernmental forums business processes in an effective and efficient manner. The scope of the study is confined to the intergovernmental fiscal system but focused on eGovernment, intergovernmental relations, and cooperative governance. The primary objective of the study is to explore the use of eGovernment whether it can facilitate, coordinate, and integrate intergovernmental relations. Some studies portray that there are challenges in the coordination of intergovernmental forums which have resulted into a disintegration of services. The study further investigates options that could mitigate these challenges through acknowledging the effective application of ICTs (eGovernment) in government services. The study has found that South Africa has a functioning system of intergovernmental which are not effectively coordinated in terms of engaging each other in matters of mutual interest. On the other hand, eGovernment promised to bring about cohesion and transparency when they are effectively employed. The study revealed that the application of eGovernment in the intergovernmental forums has the capability to improve their operations, respond to its ineffective coordination and improve delivery of services. In a nutshell, the study has found that there is a need for a radical planning outlook that recognises proper utilization of eGovernment in the intergovernmental forums to promote cooperative governance.