Ict policies in Developing Countries: An Evaluation with the Extended Design‐Actuality Gaps Framework

 
5.2
E-Government 
Design: The ICT policy and action plan recognized that the use of ICT for socio-economic 
development cannot be accomplished unless ICT becomes a part and parcel of government 
services. A focus on developing ICT capabilities to support government processes 
emphasized and required the government to provide funding for several initiatives, such as 
providing computers to government officials and staff, development of software for 
government services, and websites for various government bodies. Additionally, government 
agencies such as the National Database and Registration Authority were established to 
provide database capabilities for government’s future planning purposes. In order to facilitate 
data sharing and exchange between government bodies, standards were to be planned. 
Government agencies were encouraged to roll out their plans for computerization and 
increase the role of ICT in their interaction with citizens and other government agencies. 
 
Actuality: In order to achieve the objectives set out in policy documents, several steps were 
taken. The creation of the National Database Organization (later named National Database 
and Registration Authority – NADRA) demonstrated that the use of ICT for developing 
national databases was a doable task. It is the largest IT organization in the country and 
undertook the development of national identification system as one of its first projects. This 
project increased international confidence in Pakistani identification documents by reducing 
the possibility of counterfeit ID cards, passports, and birth certificates. Similarly, the e-
government directorate took a number of initiatives including computerization of national 
elections rolls and computerization of business processes for land records and law 
enforcement. Furthermore, most of the government agencies have online presence in the form 
of websites and downloadable forms.

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EJISDC (2015) 71, 1, 1-34 
The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries 
www.ejisdc.org
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