The Impact of ICT on Public Service Development in Africa: an empirical analysis

Abstract

This paper considers recent literature and empirical evidence to collate the most frequently cited benefits and costs of developing and delivering digital public services and explore these from a citizen-centric affordability perspective within three countries in Africa. A survey was conducted in the respective cities of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Lagos (Nigeria) and Johannesburg (South Africa). The sample of citizens was drawn from each respective Chamber of Commerce database for Ethiopia and South Africa, and for Nigeria a purchased database of businesses, based on stratified random sampling. Samples were randomly identified from both sectors ensuring all locations were covered with a total sample size of 1,297 respondents. It was found, in particular, that time and cost benefits were important drivers for individual’s decision to opt for accessing public services online and that citizens were willing to pay a fee to be able to access these services through ICT.