De studiereis
Reis programmaOnderzoeksprojecten
Projectgroep 1 Projectgroep 2 Projectgroep 3 Projectgroep 4 Projectgroep 5ReisverslagThuisblijversinformatieWeekplanningVoorbereidingenProjectgroep 5 Overheid
projectgroep 5: Kevin Kluijtman, Desi van der Burgt en Maarten Engberts
Summary research government theme
Internet offers a potential platform for various new and innovative services. Also, Dutch
citizens often have a (broadband) Internet connection. 74% Of Dutch citizens has a
broadband connection and another 8% has a ‘classical’ telephone connection or ISDN1. It therefore
seems of no surprise that the Dutch government has found its way to the Internet.
This development is displayed through a number of initiatives when it comes to e-
government in the Netherlands: DigiD, the digital counters of the local governments, tax
declarations via the Internet, and so on. But what about South Africa and the concept of
electronic government? Are there opportunities which can be enabled by e-government? And
what threats the success of this concept in South Africa? How is the chance of success or
failure influenced by the strengths and weaknesses of this nation? This has resulted in the
following research question:
Can the investment in a mature South African e-government be justified?
To answer this question we conduct a literature study and interviews with experts on the subject of
e-government (or subjects related to e-government), and by using the results we fill in a SWOT-
analysis which can be visualized as follows:
A strong/weak point can influence a chance / threat positively (+), negatively (-) or has no
influence (0). All positive and negative scores can be added up. When the sum of the positive scores
outweighs the sum of the negatives scores we can conclude that investments to realize a mature e-
government can be justified, when the situation is the other way around we can conclude that the
investment to realize this mature e-government cannot be justified.