Presentation 2: Universal e-Government and the Digital Divide
Prof. Rohan Samarajiva

The guiding vision for universal e government must be "citizen-centric government services of all forms-informational, interactive and transactional-made available to all citizens (and relevant others) irrespective of where they live." This does not include all government activities that exists today, but the essential core of government that remains after reengineering, right-sizing and focusing government in way that would meet citizen needs better. This is important because many Asia Pacific governments fall short on the cost-effective delivery of citizen-centric government services.

Universal e government means services available to all citizens (and relevant others) irrespective of where they live. This poses a special challenge in the Asia Pacific region, where despite rapid growth, most countries still fall short of universal telecom/information and communication technology access. The digital divide that precludes many citizens from access to ICT enabled services from government as well as others is one of the most important barriers in the way of universal e government.

The paper addresses the key aspects of reengineering and right-sizing government and ensuring democratic access to government services delivered over ICTs, drawing from the experience of implementing telecommunications reforms and designing the related e Sri Lanka Initiative over the past two years in Sri Lanka. Modalities of overcoming barriers to universal e government, including stakeholder management and the use of market mechanisms including least-cost subsidy auctions are discussed. The creative tensions between the "no door is wrong" approach associated with the Connected Republic discourse and the "one-stop shop" or enclave approach adopted in many countries with weak government capacity are explored.

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