Exploring the Problems, Issues and Challenges of E-government in Kiribati

ABSTRACT:The use of e-government to deliver public service is a recent phenomenon for the small island developing states (SIDS). This paper uses the Contingency approach to explore e-government in Kiribati. The Contingency approach is chosen for his paper on the grounds that it is able to adequately explain the 'situational factors' that affect the provision and delivery of e-government services in the context of Kiribati. Some of the situational factors present in the small island developing states that affect the provision and delivery of e-government services are poor infrastructure environment, technological environment, political environment, socio-economic conditions and dispersed geographical environment. The findings from this study showed that some of the problems, issues and challenges of e-government in Kiribati are poor internet connectivity, poor infrastructure environment, technical problems in developing and maintaining e-government website, low level of computer literacy rate, low level of computer and internet access, cultural issues and digital divide, lack of awareness on e-government services, privacy and trust issues, and language problems on the e-government website. Some of the ways how these problems can be addressed are development of infrastructure environment, training and development of staff, integrating e-government dynamics in the school curriculum, financial support, improving the e-government website and increasing awareness on e-government service.