Case study: Assessing and evaluating the readiness of the ICT infrastructure to provide e-government services at a local government level in South Africa

This case study seeks to understand the challenges experienced by municipalities in providing e-government services. It essentially entails a literature study and a narrative inquiry, to provide insight into and knowledge of e-government services delivery at a local government level. The study focuses on existing research evidence and on the latest developments within e-government studies, to reveal the challenges experienced in local government service delivery. The case study assessed and evaluated the readiness of ICT infrastructure to provide e-government services through local government in South Africa, and focused on all the municipalities in Gauteng Province. The case study has revealed that municipalities lack the drive to provide e-government services; there is no policy that drives e-government services. The results also show that there is no comprehensive strategic plan to provide e-government services in the municipalities. The view of most municipalities is that e-government services are a luxury. Most of the municipalities still use traditional, manual methods to provide services to the communities. The research echoes the conclusions of Moon that the lack of technical personnel and inadequate financial capacity are seen to be major barriers to the development of e-government in many municipalities [1].