7
businesses in all parts of the country. Current initiatives must be
coordinated and tightly managed and integrated if maximum service and
cost benefits are to be achieved. Botswana needs to develop a formal eGovernment strategy as a matter of priority. Websites being introduced
by Ministries are not designed around the needs of clients and have no
common standards or “look and feel”. Without an overarching eGovernment strategy (designed in the context of a broader public sector
reform programme), there is a danger of creating “cyber stovepipes”,
wasting money, increasing costs and missing opportunities for service
improvements through Electronic Service Delivery. Many communities
would benefit significantly from on-line access to basic government
information and services. Information on health, jobs and education can
be provided easily and have significant impact. Similarly, simple on-line
transactions, such as licence, registration and permit applications, would
improve customer service standards and reduce costs for citizens and
government.
3.10
Public policy can be a help or hindrance in the development of a mature
networked economy. The favourable climate that can be encouraged by
an appropriate legislative and regulatory regime encourages
communities, organisations and individuals to invest in and use ICTs.
Important areas, such as Internet availability, the use of ICTs in schools
and health facilities, and the growth of e-commerce are all influenced by
public policy and the legal framework developed in Botswana. To fully
implement the programmes that will be needed to fulfil the goals of
Maitlamo and Vision 2016, it will be necessary for Botswana to have in
place an evolving, responsive legal and policy infrastructure that is just
as important as the physical infrastructure in supporting investment and
economic development.
4.0 Legislative Gap Analysis: The Legal Framework Needed to
Foster an ICT Strategy
4.1
In general, countries wishing to participate actively in the
modern connected world must have in place policies, rules or
legislation dealing with a number of areas. Legal certainty must
be assured for electronic commercial transactions that can be
enforced. Electronic documents and signatures must be capable
of being authenticated. Citizens must be able to trust the
electronic environment because issues of transactional security,
privacy and data integrity have been addressed. The potential for
fraud, obfuscation, cross-border and domestic transmission of
objectionable content, as well as new criminal behaviour (e.g.,
the introduction of viruses into a network or intentional and