The Imperative of E - Participation in Sustainable Community Development in Ghana

Abstract

The study examines some relevance of e-participation in achieving sustainable community development in Ghana. Information and Communication Technology has created an avenue to promote participation, transparency and trust when adopted by government. As a newly discovered political tool, ICT serves as a toolbox for reaching out and engaging the public on governmental policies thereby drawing government closer to citizens in policy and decision making. Through the use of secondary data, the study highlights the necessity for ICT and mostly importantly e-participation adoption in local government administration in Ghana. Citizens having enough access to their elected representatives and some basic public services through the provision of information communication and technology ensures effective and efficient communication between the government and the people at the local level, while it also provides a door for the citizens to receive feedbacks from the right local government quarters. The study concludes that e-participation enhances effective and efficient government service delivery and enhancing citizen"s active participation in local governance to ensure sustainable development.The paper recommends that the in other to ensure active participation of citizens, government should provide the necessary infrastructure and fast track the adoption of ICT and also the training of local government personnel in the art of e-participation through which sustainable community development can be fully attained in Ghana

Citizen e-Participation as an Important Factor for Sustainable Development

“…in decision making, is possible due to eparticipation (Musiał-Karg, 2014, 2017. "ICT serves as a toolbox for reaching out and engaging the public on governmental policies thereby drawing government closer to citizens in policy and decision making" (Kyere & Kumah, 2017). A number of researchers indicate that the omnipresent digitalization is correlated with sustainable development., and one of areas where the process is particularly vivid is the participatory space.…”

Local Government Capacity on E-Participation in Tanzania

“…The primary reason is, ICT can be used to help the current cooperative methods of policy approach, which exist to enhance the quality of the process, yet in addition to build the representation and the contribution from citizens. Kyere and Kumah (2017) argue that e-participation has been a significant channel in consulting, issuing public information, improving active citizen"s participation, providing feedback to the citizens, monitoring and evaluating government projects and its implementation as well as making government responsive, accountable and transparent in its total political discourse. The implementation and progress of e-participation in the local governments rely on the government"s technical, financial, political, administrative capacity as well as the willing of the local governments to encourage the electronic participation of the citizen (Zheng, 2015).…”