Les thématiques du gouvernement, de la gouvernance et de la démocratie électroniques sont à l'ordre du jour en Afrique comme dans les autres continents étant donné leurs avantages théoriques, mais la mise en place de ces nouveaux environnements institutionnels pose des problèmes particuliers liés à la spécificité du contexte tant politique, économique que social.
Electronic government, electronic governance and electronic democracy are high on the agenda, in Africa as well as on other continents, given their theoretical benefits, but the implementation of these new institutional designs raises some peculiar problems and challenges that refer to the specificity of the political, economic and social context.
Les thématiques du gouvernement, de la gouvernance et de la démocratie électroniques sont à l'ordre du jour en Afrique comme dans les autres continents étant donné leurs avantages théoriques, mais la mise en place de ces nouveaux environnements institutionnels pose des problèmes particuliers liés à la spécificité du contexte tant politique, économique que social.
Comment de tels systèmes, pour l'essentiel conçus au Nord dans des univers où l'informatisation de la société est extrême, au point d'en arriver à un encartement proliférant des individus et à l'interconnexion des territoires, peuvent-ils se concrétiser dans des pays caractérisés au contraire par les carences de l'enregistrement des biens et des personnes, avec des territoires lacunaires où les réseaux physiques sont discontinus et médiocres ?
Malgré le paradoxe apparent, cette informatisation est vue par ses promoteurs, en Afrique comme ailleurs, le meilleur moyen de formaliser l'informel et d'améliorer la gouvernance. Certaines expériences positives existent déjà comme la mise en ligne du fichier électoral qui a permis au Sénégal d'éviter des contestations lors des dernières élections présidentielles Si l'informatisation peut être un vecteur pour la démocratie, elle donne aussi la possibilité de mieux asseoir un contrôle administratif panoptique de la société: la dérive sécuritaire depuis le 11 septembre se traduit ainsi par des projets de fichage généralisé des individus, aux Etats-Unis comme en Afrique du Sud.
Dans une approche comparative, on étudiera les discours et les pratiques de e-gouvernance dans deux pays africains, l'Afrique du Sud et le Sénégal. On évoquera les cas du Cameroun et du Cap Vert.
Electronic government, electronic governance and electronic democracy are high on the agenda, in Africa as well as on other continents, given their theoretical benefits, but the implementation of these new institutional designs raises some peculiar problems and challenges that refer to the specificity of the political, economic and social context.
How could such systems, conceived in Northern countries where the computerization of societies is comprehensive (from the interconnection of territories to the constitution of citizens' details databases), be implemented in countries characterized, on the contrary, by a lack of registration for goods and people, with loose territories where telecommunication networks are discontinuous and of poor quality?
Despite this apparent paradox, this computerization is being promoted as the best means of formalizing the ‘informal’ sector and improving the governance in African countries. A few positive experiences already exist, such as the creation of an online voters' roll that enabled Senegal to avoid fraud and legal battles at the time of the last presidential elections. If computerization can foster democracy, it also makes easier the constitution of a high-tech panopticon: the security drift since September 11 indeed results in projects of comprehensive devices to trace and track individuals, for instance in the United States and South Africa.
In a comparative approach, we will study the discourse and practices of e-governance in two African countries, South Africa and Senegal. We also evoke cases from Cape Verde and Cameroon. The question needs to be looked at in the global context of a paradoxical modernisation which challenges the role of the State.
ENGLISH
Is e - governance, the new avatar for development? ICTs
are becoming the cornerstone of debates on development. Promise of an immaterial
wealth - of information, leisure and knowledge - results in new concepts such as
the ‘digital divide’, ‘e-readiness’, ‘e-development, e-governance’. Is it a new
support for recycling evolutionist and technicist perspectives ?
For international organisations it looks like an opportunity to legitimate action. The World bank is very active in supporting e-governance (providing funds and experts, outlining programs). It often becomes a tool in the promotion of the interests of private companies in a ‘business thought’ where ‘do as if’ ICTS could be the sesame for improving wellbeing. The question needs to be looked at in the global context of a paradoxical modernisation which challenges the role of the State.
FRANCAIS
Introduction : e - gouvernance, nouvel avatar pour le
developpement ? Les TIC, sont en train de devenir la pierre angulaire des débats
sur le développement.
La promesse d’un bien être immatériel lié à l’information, et à la connaissance produit de nouveaux concepts tels que ‘digital divide’, ‘e-readiness’, ‘e-development, e-governance’ (élaborés par les think thank américains).
Les TIC sont ils un support pour recycler des visions évolutionnistes et technicistes du progrès ? Ils constituent une opportunité pour les organisations internationales de recycler leur discours et de légitimer leurs actions. La BM est particulièrement active pour promouvoir la e-gouvernance (en fournissant des fonds, des experts, des modèles de programmes). ‘Faire comme si’ les TIC étaient le sésame pour améliorer le bien être des populations constitue aussi souvent un outil pour promouvoir des intérêtes privés. Des concepts au terrain, la question est à considérer dans le contexte global d’une modernisation paradoxale qui met en question le rôle de l’Etat.
Pour le gouvernement au Sénégal, l'e-gouvernement est devenu un élément clef pour faire face aux problèmes du secteur de l'éducation. Comme des projets d'e-gouvernement en Afrique souvent sont en proie à des difficultés, l'intérêt du cas sénégalaise est lié au fait que ce projet paraît d'ajouter pas mal de valeur public.
E-government has become a key element in the Senegalese government's effort to address the problems of the education sector. As there is a high incidence of failure within e-government projects in Africa, the interest of this case is connected to the fact that it seems to have achieved to add a great deal of public value.
This paper reviews the move towards electronic government (e-government) as conceptualized and implemented by the South African government. The massive use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) within public service is driven by the Batho Pele (‘People First’) framework that strives to promote a new model of information and service delivery based on a customer-centred approach, higher efficiency and effectiveness, openness and transparency, and value for money. In this context, the construction of a comprehensive e-government infrastructure aims at achieving two objectives: rationalising the State inner structure and its modes of intervention on the one hand, strengthening the grip of the State on the society on the other. The Government Gateway Project gathers all initiatives developed in this regard and is articulated around five building blocks: information provision, interaction and participation, multipurpose portals, transactions and, in fine, government’s overall transformation. Despite the ambitious sophistication and implementation of some major e-government initiatives, some structural realities limit their full deployment throughout South Africa. Indeed, ‘physical access’ is still a problem: telecommunication infrastructures are still lacking in some parts of the country, affecting numerous people, while regulatory uncertainty makes innovations more difficult. Beyond the problem of ‘physical access’ to ICTs, ‘social access’ is also a challenge: the lack of awareness and of incentives and the low financial resource can limit the use of e-government facilities. For these reasons, the South African government is broadening the definition of e-government by including, beyond web-based technologies, some other tools (cell phones, call centres, third parties networks). Although the added value of e-government in terms of information and service delivery is well documented, ICTs in government can also be used for less desirable ‘or more questionable’ purposes. With its focus on e-government, the South African government is indeed promoting a disturbing ‘business political philosophy’ that turns citizens into customers and the State into a delivery firm. More than that, ICTs give the State the capacity to act as a ‘Big Brother State’ invested with a panoptic control over the society. In the South African context, this scenario not only refers to the Apartheid political regime that used ‘control electronics’ but is actually being updated today, mainly through the Home Affairs National Identification System (HANIS). The ambivalence of ICTs as political technologies can therefore be clearly understood. As much as they can foster a panoptic control, they can also promote emancipation, notably by the use of Open Source Software (OSS) within government. South Africa rightly sees OSS as a highly valuable opportunity to create an ‘indigenous e-government model’ based on locally produced technologies that fit specific needs and priorities. OSS would also facilitate the move towards independency from foreign firms and technologies. Although obstacles still remain, the South African government is determined to demonstrate the original contribution of Africa to the thinking and implementation of e-government frameworks worldwide.