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IJPSM
23,3 E-governance for improved public
sector service delivery in India,
Ethiopia and Fiji
254
Gurmeet Singh, R.D. Pathak and Rafia Naz
School of Management and Public Administration,
The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji
Rakesh Belwal
Faculty of Business and Economics, Sohar University, Oman

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent of corruption in India, Fiji and Ethiopia and
survey citizen perception of how e-governance could fight corruption. The main objective is to
investigate and explore the potential of e-governance applications in three countries representing three
different regions of Asia, Africa, and Oceania.
Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted over 918 citizens in India, Ethiopia and
Fiji using convenience random sampling. A structured questionnaire was used. The main emphasis of
the survey was on citizen perception about corruption and poor service. It further asked respondents
on how e-governance can cut corruption.
Findings – Benefits of e-governance in developing countries are the same as those in developed
countries but there are many potential benefits that remain unreaped by developing countries as a
consequence of their unlimited use of e-governance. Based on these assertions, the researchers tried to
evaluate and assess the potential of e-governance initiatives in India, Ethiopia and Fiji. By exploring
the role of e-governance for reducing corruption that has afflicted the entire public sector in these
countries, the main finding is that e-governance is positively related to government, “citizen
relationship and corruption reduction”.
Research limitations/implications – This study is highly empirical and does not provide case
studies to further extend on the findings.
Practical implications – The implications of the research are that information communication
technology (ICT) needs to be effectively integrated in the development agenda of government plans in
Ethiopia and Fiji. Government agencies in Ethiopia and Fiji do not seem to be much motivated to build
sound government-citizen partnerships. Citizens can see little of the internal workings of government.
However, for India, where there are many e-governance projects underway, and which is normally
considered to be awakening to the challenges of e-governance and which has to date many success
stories relating to e-governance, it is surprising to see that citizens find various existent formats of
corruption and non-transparent service delivery activities. It is quite evident that bureaucracy is more
or less opaque and very little attention has been paid to improving transparency, including through
the use of e-governance processes. Time, cost and red-tape procedures are major constraints in public
service delivery.
Originality/value – The paper explores a problem that is of practical importance using
principal-agent theory, which is very applicable to the public sector context.
Keywords Governance, Corruption, Developing countries, India, Ethiopia, Fiji
Paper type Research paper
International Journal of Public Sector
Management
Vol. 23 No. 3, 2010
pp. 254-275 Introduction
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited One of the major problems in the public sector in developing countries is corruption.
0951-3558
DOI 10.1108/09513551011032473 Corruption has many negative impacts on affected economies and societies. It drains
off valuable economic resources, creates resentment and frustration among staff and E-governance
reduces organizational efficiency (Davies, 1987). Numerous definitions of corruption
exist in the literature, but for the purpose of this research, corruption is defined as the
abuse of public power for private benefit (Bardhan, 1997 cited in Camerer, 1997;
Rose-Ackerman, 1999 cited in Ellis, 1999). This definition is broad enough to
encompass all types of corruption one encounters in reality, especially in the public
sector. Garcia-Murillo and Vinod (2005) identify the main drivers of corruption to be 255
economic, political and cultural factors. The origins of these causes/drivers of
corruption can be traced to the work of Rose-Ackerman (1978, 2004) and Klitgaard
(1988, 1995a, b cited in Goudie and Stasavage, 1997). In this study, the researchers have
drawn on the work of Kaufmann (2003, 2005) and Lambsdorff (2001), whose authors
have identified the drivers of corruption to be:
.
monopoly of power;
.
discretion; and
.
lack of accountability and transparency.
These critics have explored the drivers of corruption by basing their work on the
principal-agent theory. The earliest analysis of the principal and agent problem were
carried out by Mirrlees (1974 cited in Rees, 1985) and Stiglitz (1974). All these studies
focused on problems of principal-agent relationships in the context of private
organizations. However, recently, Laffont and Martimort (2002) and Lane (2003) have
shifted focus to the relevance of the principal-agent framework for understanding
problems in the public sector. Further, it is often argued that e-governance applications
have the potential to increase transparency and reduce corruption in the public sector
(Tangkitvanich, 2003; Mahmood, 2004).
This study reviews the magnitude of corruption in the public sectors in India,
Ethiopia and Fiji, identifies key factors/drivers of corruption, and assesses the overall
effect of corruption in each society. In particular, it explores whether e-governance
initiatives can be deployed as a “lethal weapon” to improve policies and processes to
increase efficiency, responsiveness, accountability and transparency and to cut
corruption in India, Ethiopia and Fiji based solely on citizen perception. The main
focus of the study is on the potential role of e-governance initiatives to alter the
interaction between the agent (Government) and the principal (citizen) based on citizen
perception.
The study has four sections. The first reviews selected literature on corruption to
identify the potential role of e-governance initiatives in cutting corruption. The second
reviews current analyses of the incidence of corruption in India, Ethiopia and Fiji. The
third reports perceptions of the incidence and impacts of corruption in the three
countries drawn from a survey conducted for this research. The fourth uses the survey
responses to explore two hypotheses about the potential use of e-governance initiatives
to cut corruption based on citizen perception.

E-governance and reduced corruption

The three factors that Rose-Ackerman (1973, 1978 cited in Goudie and Stasavage, 1997;
Rose-Ackerman, 1994, 2004) and Klitgaard (Klitgaard, 1988, 1996 cited in
Tangakitvanich, 2003 Klitgaard, 1995a, b cited in Goudie and Stasavage, 1997)
identified as the drivers of corruption were: monopoly of power; discretion; and lack of
IJPSM accountability and transparency. Naz et al. (2006) emphasized that to tackle these three
23,3 drivers, “a viable anticorruption strategy must be designed as a multi-pronged
endeavour that includes a set of complex measures in different spheres of society and
state organization”. N. Vittal, India’s former chief vigilance commissioner states that in
order to fight corruption:
.
rules and procedures need to be simplified;
256 .
there is a need for greater transparency and empowerment of members of the
public; and
.
there is a need for effective punishment mechanisms for participants in
corruption (Vittal, 2004a, b cited in Pathak and Prasad, 2005).

A similar three-point formula is given by Cisar (2003, p. 2 cited in Naz et al., 2006).
E-governance is defined as the application of information and communications
technologies (ICTs) in a system of governance, to bring in simple, moral, accountable,
responsive, and transparent (SMART) governance (Rajashekar, 2002 cited in Jain and
Ramani, 2005; Harris and Rajora, 2006). More specifically, e-governance focuses on
improving the internal operations of government in order to improve relationships
between citizens and government (Panneervel, 2005). Casaki and Gelleri (2005) and
Iqbal and Seo (2008) highlight that e-governance leads to internal efficiency, service
improvement and citizen satisfaction.
The introduction of e-governance entails streamlining operational processes,
transcribing information held by government agencies into electronic form, linking
disparate databases, and improving ease of access to services for members of the
public. The desired goal is streamlined sharing of information between government
agencies to conduct government-to-government (G2G) transactions in order to simplify
the navigation of government-to-citizen (G2C) and government-to-business (G2B)
transactions. E-governance systems can be designed to increase competition, reduce
discretionary power, remove bottlenecks in routine transactions, increase reliability
and predictability of government actions, ensure better and equal access to information
and services, and promote transparency and accountability. A pure e-governance
solution removes discretion from the equation promoting corruption by
dis-intermediating services and allowing citizens to conduct transactions themselves.
It is envisaged that in a setting with many individuals and many witnesses, corruption
will become much more difficult if not impossible to commit (Cisar, 2003;
Tangkitvanich, 2003; Mahmood, 2004; Seifert and Bonham, 2003 cited in Kumar and
Best, 2006).
A number of analysts argue that to maximize the potential benefits from
e-governance applications, transparency need to be consciously built into the public
service delivery system beginning from the design and planning phase. Objectives to
promote greater transparency and prevent corruption need to be highlighted and
prioritized. This is because an e-governance service can be used to promote multiple
objectives, e.g., efficiency, small business promotion, cost saving, labor reduction and
so on. In some circumstances, these objectives may not conflict. With limited resources,
however, multiple objectives may lead to a lack of focus. In such situations, the goal to
promote transparency and reduce corruption can be lost (Cisar, 2003; Mahmood, 2004;
Tangkitvanich, 2003).
 Other optimistic views presented by Colby (2001), Chaurasia (2003) and Millard E-governance
(2004) suggest that ICTs have a distinct advantage over conventional communication
and information management systems in several important respects. ICTs provide
greater accessibility; facilitate wider multi-communication and dissemination of
information; provide automatic record keeping features; and generally enable better
knowledge management and information sharing. Further, ICTs in government
increase productivity. Singapore provides a good example in this regard. Singapore 257
used to spend US$100 million per year on ICT. Civil service studies have found that
every dollar spent on this program generated US$2.70 returns through expanded
productivity and reduced operational costs. As a result 1,500 jobs were eliminated from
the public payroll and an additional 3,500 jobs were reoriented towards more
productive outputs (Grace et al., 2001). Moreover, the power of ICTs as a vehicle of
communication means that citizens can be more fully involved in all aspects of
government, including policy-making, thus reinforcing the creation of a culture of trust
and mutual interest. It is argued that that e-governance can provide a climate of
honesty, integrity, trust and participation (Yisheng, 2002; Mitra, 2005).
However, corruption takes various forms not all of which can be successfully
combated by e-governance. It is useful to distinguish three categories of corrupt
practices (Shah and Schacter, 2004). The first group is formed by petty bureaucratic
corruption (low-level administrative corruption). The second group consists of
self-serving asset stripping by state officials (state capture). The third group is formed
by great political corruption (grand corruption). All types of petty bureaucratic
corruption can be powerfully diminished through the increased transparency achieved
by using ICTs. Generally, the employment of ICTs and the Internet in administrative
proceedings in all fields of public administration minimizes the opportunities for public
officials to monopolize access to relevant information and to extract bribes from their
clients. In a number of Latin American and Indian jurisdictions e-governance has cut
petty corruption (Bhatnagar, 2003). The most famous and award winning example is
the Online Procedures Enhancement (OPEN)[1] system in Seoul, Korea (Kang, 2001;
Bhatnagar, 2003; Cho and Choi, 2004). Further, the employment of ICTs can also
powerfully foster the anticorruption struggle against self-serving asset stripping by
state officials (Cisar, 2003; Yum, 2003, 2005; Dorotinsky, 2003, 2005; Talero, 2005). Last,
but not least, the employment of ICTs may also potentially play an important role in
preventing some types of grand political corruption (Prahalad, 2005).
Overall, e-governance initiatives are regarded as promising tools in fighting
corruption. But to achieve desired impacts such initiatives need committed,
results-oriented and inclusive management.

Corruption and state of e-governance in India, Ethiopia and Fiji

India
The India Corruption Study 2005 conducted by Transparency International India (TII)
in alliance with Centre for Media studies (CMS), in 20 major states in India, studied the
magnitude and impact of corruption experienced by the “common man”. Public
services were examined in two groups:
(1) six needs based services comprising income tax, municipalities, judiciary, land
administration, police and rural financial institutions; and
IJPSM (2) five basic services comprising schools, water supply, public distribution
23,3 system, electricity and government hospitals.

The research showed that there were no significant differences between the states in
perceptions about the extent of corruption or in citizens’ experience of corruption.
Three-quarters of the citizens surveyed thought that in India the level of corruption in
258 public services had increased in the previous year (2004-2005). Hardly ten percent
thought that such corruption was on the decline. One-third of citizens thought that
“both the officials concerned and the users” of these 11 services knew how much
needed to be paid as “extra” to get a job done (TII and CMS, 2005a, p. 1).
According to the TII-CMS survey the police force ranked highly on the corruption
index. Even for land administration, nearly half of the respondents had paid bribes for
property transaction related issues, and 36 percent bribed to get property documents or
for mutation. Respondents identified seven key factors contributing to the widespread
corruption in the Indian public sector. These are:
.
lack of transparency and accountability in the system;
.
lack of effective corruption reporting mechanisms;
.
lack of honesty in officials in the Government;
.
acceptance of bribe as a way of life;
.
custom and culture;
.
ineffective judiciary;
.
poor economic policies; and
. inadequate training and orientation of Government officials.

Other studies have identified the drivers of corruption in India as: political patronage,
politician-bureaucrat nexus, politician-police-criminal nexus, lack of transparency in
government and bureaucratic functioning, lack of accountability, complex
administrative procedures, discretionary powers of executive and administrative
authorities, absence of effective corruption reporting mechanisms, lack of deterrent
punishments, poor conviction rates of the corrupt, corrupt judiciary, poor economic
policies, black money, and inadequate training of officials (Vittal, 2004a, b cited in
Pathak and Prasad, 2005). The total monetary value of petty corruption nationally in
India in the 11 services surveyed by the TII and CMS (2005a, b) survey was estimated
at Rs21, 068 crores. India contributes a major chunk to the pool of corruption the world
over, being a significant world economy (twelfth largest by gross domestic product
(GDP) in 2005) and one of the most corrupt countries.
The e-governance policies and programs of the national and state governments in
India have made great progress during the last ten years. The national as well as the
state governments have been working together to widen the reach of e-governance
applications to the “common citizens” in India. IANS (2006, p. 3) highlights that “some
Indian state governments are waking up to the advantages of e-Governance”. A study
by Kochhar and Dhanjal (2005) on 21 successful e-governance projects in India shows a
considerable decline in corruption. While not all projects are successful, many projects
have been judged to have a positive impact. These include: Bhoomi, a Government to
citizen e-governance project implemented by Karnataka, which saved farmers Rs806
millions in bribes (Narayan, 2004); Saukaryam, an initiative to reform services E-governance
delivered by Visakapatnam Municipal Corporation in the state of Andhra Pradesh
(AP); and Customs online.
For land administration where corruption is rampant the Indian Government is
planning to launch a comprehensive drive to place all land records online. Some states
have already made progress in this direction. Tiwari (2007) reports that in financial
year 2007 the Department of Land Reforms under the Ministry of Rural Development 259
will launch a Comprehensive Modernization of Land Records (CMLR) that will make all
land records in the country online by the end of 11th five-year plan. The computerized
records will be connected with a national management information system (MIS). This
will generate a reliable database on land ownership, tenancy rights, crop details, land
revenue, sources of irrigation and previous transactions. The proposed scheme will
replace two existing central schemes of computerization of land records (CLR) and
strengthen revenue administration (SRA). To facilitate the integration of registration
processes with land record management, responsibility for registration has been
transferred to the Department of Land Reforms.
According to UNPAN (2004) e-governance survey which covered five major cities –
Dehli, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai, corruption has been reduced
drastically at the middlemen level.
SMART governance, therefore, is possible with increased use of e-governance in the
public sector. However, as Cecchini and Raina (2004) argue, perceptions and experience
are prerequisites for appreciating e-governance initiatives. Without willingness and
awareness by governments in office, e-governance is most likely to fail. Similarly,
Mitra (2005) suggests that e-governance for service delivery should be the key focus of
all e-governance initiatives in India

Ethiopia
In the not too distant past Ethiopia has seen repeated political upheavals. However, the
incumbent government has nevertheless declared good governance to be a priority. In
recent years, Ethiopia has posted a comparatively strong growth performance and has
begun to show progress toward achieving some of the UN Millennium Development
Goals – including strong gains in increasing school enrolment and lowering
malnutrition. The level of poverty also fell from 44.2 percent of the population in 2002,
to 38.7 percent in 2005 (Carrington and Woodeneh, 2007). At present, Ethiopia spends
one-tenth of its GDP every year on IT. The government plans to invest some $100
million in computers for the public sector over the next five years. It aims to equip
hundreds of government offices and schools with broadband internet connections. By
2007 it is proposed to provide Ethiopia’s 74 million people with broadband access
points. According to government sources, the backbone of this network, 4,000km of
optical fiber has already been laid and will be fully commissioned soon. Efficient
implementation of e-governance could substantially reduce the cost of government, for
example, by increasing civil service productivity, dramatically cutting time spent on
processing information and regulatory implementation, and the wide implementation
of e-procurement.
Internet usage in Ethiopia, according to Internet World Statistics is somewhat
equivalent to that of Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo but far less than that
of Kenya (1.2 percent) and South Africa (7.3 percent). The UN Economic Commission
IJPSM for Africa based in Addis Ababa was the first to establish a store- and- forward e-mail
23,3 service called the Pan African Documentation and Information Service Network
(PADISNET) in 1993 (ITU, 2002). Ethiopia is one of the few African countries which
still maintains a monopoly in the telecommunications sector. Total telephone line
penetration is very low at 5.95 per 1,000 people. However, the government is keen on
privatizing the national operator – Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC)
260 – and introducing competition in mobile and Internet services. The mobile sector has
been growing by 100 percent or more per annum in recent years crossing the capacity
limits. Broadband and infrastructure initiatives in 2005 and 2006 were intended to
bring the country closer to the information society. With such new ICT-based
programs the government of Ethiopia is endeavoring to improve deteriorating public
services. Its dream relies on the spread and usage of internet technology.
However, Ethiopia is yet to realize the potential benefits of employing ICT to curb
public sector corruption. Wealth accumulated through corrupt means seeks safer
destinations and moves out of the country. Government agencies do not seem to be
much motivated to distribute information online, and automate processes that are
subject to corrosive and corrupt influences. Most government websites developed to
show the government’s commitment to e-governance have become dysfunctional or
obsolete. Bureaucracy remains opaque. Therefore, it becomes essential to identify
specific targets in Ethiopia where ICT can be successfully applied as a tool in curbing
corruption and improving the quality of public services for the mass of citizens.
Further initiatives are under way. These include a project to connect all federal
courts with a centralized database through a wide area network (WAN). To showcase
the value of ICT for facilitating information delivery in local administration, recently
the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in collaboration with the Information
Technology Center for Africa (ITCA), launched a multimedia touch-screen kiosk in
Amharic (the national language of Ethiopia) at the Nefa Silk Lafto Sub-City of the
Addis Ababa Municipality. The kiosk is part of the Development Information Services
Division’s (DISD) input to the cooperation framework established in 2003 between ECA
and the Mayor of Addis Ababa. Further in August 2005 a ceremony was held in the
historic Ethiopian city of Harar to mark the inauguration of a UNESCO sponsored
community telecenter. Harar is to be included in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites
shortly. The city, founded before the thirteenth century, was the center of Islamic
culture and religion in the Horn of Africa. The Center which offers five internet
connected PCs, access to digital photography, scanning and printing equipment brings
to a total of six the number of UNESCO supported telecenters in Ethiopia.
The availability of internet broadband facilities in major cities, even with varying
degree of penetration, and its non-availability in rural areas itself creates problems. It
shifts power but still leaves it in the hands of a few. Therefore the use of ICT for
removal or reduction of corruption in Ethiopia appears to be limited, not because of the
failure of technology but because of the limits to its reach among citizens generally. It
may that the best that can be hoped for is a phased approach that gradually extends
reach and impact first in the cities and then in the rural areas.

Fiji
Publicized cases of corruption in Pacific countries involving politicians and public
officials tend to be about kickbacks, palm greasing, rank pulling, and other misuse and
abuse of public funds or public office (Asian Development Bank, n.d.). Analysis of the E-governance
National Integrity Country Study Reports for the South Pacific suggests that the main
drivers of corruption in these economies are: lack of social and welfare system, lack of
understanding on cause and effect of corruption, lack of personal values to deny
corruption, lack of personal responsibility and willingness to change, acceptance at all
levels of the status quo (political and social hierarchies), bureaucratic and regulatory
inefficiencies, hardship and opportunity followed by a public service environment 261
conducive to corruption, lack of watchdog agencies, lack of institutional capacity and
mechanisms of accountability, lack of civil society involvement, poor pay, lack of
political will, reluctance to enforce laws, lack of legislative mechanisms to punish and
deter corruption, economic difficulties, and tradition and culture. The governance
index developed by Gani and Duncan (2004) provides evidence about government
effectiveness. The index covers bureaucratic efficiency, economic management and
corruption. The results for the period 1985 to 2002 suggest that government
effectiveness index rose to a peak from 1985 to 1999 and then declined drastically. The
Transparency International CPI 2005 for Asia and Pacific ranked Fiji with a CPI of 4.0.
However, many Asia-Pacific countries performed poorly, with 13 out of 25 countries
scoring at or below 3.0. Fiji had a moderate ranking, while India had a poor ranking.
However, reports by the Fiji Law Commission and National Integrity Systems
highlighted the costs of corruption to the nation which included: personal losses, loss of
time, development cost, political cost, decline in work ethics and degradation of values
and cost to the economy (Fiji Law Reform Commission, 2003; TI Fiji, 2001).
Since the establishment of Internet access in Fiji in 1995, Internet policy has been
developed in the country in the context of both national and regional development. Fiji
has aspired to lead digital commerce in the region. A significant actor in ICT
development has been the University of the South Pacific, which has an active plan to
promote ICT capacity. In May 2004 the university provided a critical analysis of the
Fiji Governments International Telecommuting Advisory Council (ITAC) Draft Policy
“e-Fiji: The Future Online”. The University identified lack of human capital and ICT
networks as problematic areas (Hassall, 2005). Earlier, Toland and Purcell (2002)
suggested that limited ICT infrastructure and access was leading to a sharp division
between rural and urban areas in Fiji. A similar strong urban bias exists for internet
use in all developing countries (Fukada-Parr, 2001). For the Pacific it is therefore
argued that “As the island nations are made up of archipelagos having distinct
transport and communication challenges, ICT Policies need to be established at the
outset that aid in reducing rather than multiplying the digital divide” (Hassall, 2005).
The policy challenge for Fiji is to develop a workable set of initiatives that take
advantage of ICTs. The government has embarked on a three-year e-governance
business solution program and Government information infrastructure (GII) program
with the aim of moving Government services online to improve service delivery. It is
planned to host operational applications with mirror sites offshore to ensure improved
availability (Ministry of Information, Communication and Media Relations, 2005).
However the continuing telecommunications services monopoly hinders further
developments.
Overall, corruption is a conspicuous, continuing problem in India, Ethiopia and Fiji.
However, while e-governance initiatives have been identified as having strong
IJPSM potential to improve services to citizens and cut corruption, consistent, results-oriented
23,3 initiatives enabling wide access to services have yet to emerge.

Survey results
To further explore perceptions of the impacts of corruption and the potential of
e-governance initiatives to improve public sector operations and cut corruption the
262 researchers conducted a survey of citizens in India, Ethiopia and Fiji. The survey used
a structured questionnaire. The survey included 918 respondents selected using
convenience sampling techniques.
This section presents the findings from the survey. The first part examines
awareness levels about e-governance. The second part examines reasons for using
e-governance and pinpoints potential drivers for successfully employing e-governance
as a tool to cut corruption in the three developing countries studied.
Table I presents the demographic profile of the 918 respondents selected for the
study

Public service corruption

Perceptions of corruption in the Indian public service were found to be widely
prevalent and a large majority of respondents (85.6 percent) were of the view that
corruption was increasing in pubic service agencies. Only a small percentage (10.2

Fiji India Ethiopia

Demographics Percent Percent Percent

Age
Under 25 39.5 54.2 55.5
26-39 45.75 39.0 17.8
Over 40 14.75 6.8 26.8
Marital status
Married 49.25 20.3 28.0
Unmarried 50.75 79.7 70.3
Widowed/divorced – – 1.8
Gender
Female 47.25 25.4 16.0
Male 52.75 74.6 84.0
Education
Secondary 16.5 .8 3.8
University 19.75 30.5 78.8
Professional 19.0 68.6 15.8
Others 9.5 1.8
Job status
Business 10.25 1.7 14.3
Housewife 2.75 1.7 0.8
Table I. Others 5.0 .8 2.3
Summary demographic Service 18.5 38.1 62.0
profile of respondents in Students 25.0 55.1 19.3
Fiji, India and Ethiopia Unemployed 47.75 2.5 1.5
percent) of Indian respondents felt otherwise. The results of the survey show that a E-governance
very small percentage (4.2 percent) was unable to say anything with regard to
increases or decreases in corruption in public service agencies. Similar results for Fiji
show that a large majority of respondents (80.5 percent) were of the view that
corruption was increasing in pubic service agencies, while only 19.5 percent felt
otherwise. A large majority of Ethiopian respondents (79.3 percent) also were of the
view that corruption was increasing in pubic service agencies. Only a small percentage 263
(8.5 percent) in Ethiopia felt otherwise. The survey also revealed that only a small
percentage (12.3 percent) in Ethiopia was unable to say anything with regard to
increase or decrease in corruption as in public service agencies.

Extent of public service corruption

However the study revealed that respondents’ perceptions of public service corruption
varied considerably. Only 28.8 percent of respondents from India perceived corruption
as very high and fairly high. However, in Ethiopia such perceptions were reported by
58.1 percent of respondents and in Fiji by 80.5 percent of respondents. Similarly, 19.5
percent of respondents in Fiji perceived corruption as low and fairly low, in Ethiopia
6.3 percent and in India 21.2 percent. Fifty percent of Indian respondents and 35.5
percent of Ethiopian respondents perceived that corruption was moderate. However no
respondents in Fiji felt the same way. Overall, perceptions of corruption in public
services in Fiji and Ethiopia were relatively higher as compared with India.

Time factors in public service delivery and corruption

The study revealed that the time factor in securing services was the biggest obstacle in
dealing with public service delivery and the major cause of concern. The majority of
respondents in each country found it difficult to get their grievances redressed in time.

Cost factors in public service delivery and corruption

The study shows that respondents in both Fiji and India were very particular about
cost factors in public service delivery. In Fiji 77.6 percent of respondents and in India
48.3 percent of respondents agreed that cost factors were a major problem in service
delivery. However, the majority of Ethiopian respondents (62 percent) remained
neutral on this issue. Nevertheless, respondents from all three countries shared the
view that reduction in corruption and favoritism along with decentralization in
government offices could substantially reduce costs.
In public service delivery there are cumbersome procedures and rules to follow that
leads to issues of red-tape, corruption and favoritism (preferential treatment). This,
impacts the time factor in service delivery, as it becomes slow and unresponsive to
customer needs. This further affects the cost factor. For instance running back and
forth to one agency, includes lots of money and time resource wastage; which further
occurs as a result of the rules/procedures. In Bhatnagar et al. (2007) study on Chile and
India based on the survey responses it was found that in using manual versus
computerized systems, the computerized systems have actually reduced the cost of
accessing a system as the number of trips required to make to offices were reduced by
a significant reduction in waiting time by 50 per cent.
IJPSM Red-tape procedures in public service delivery and corruption
23,3 In the view of respondents, red-tape was a major problem in Fiji, Ethiopia and India
because of excessive centralization, corruption and favoritism. However, the results
also showed the potential of one-stop shop initiatives to reduce perceptions of the
impact of red-tape. The study shows that in Ethiopia 24.3 percent of respondents
“totally agreed” that red-tape in the public sector was a major problem due to excessive
264 centralization, corruption and favoritism; 27.5 percent “mostly agreed”, while 29
percent “somewhat agreed”. However one-stop shop initiatives made a difference. One
stop shop services led 3.3 percent of respondents to “totally agree” that red-tape was
not a problem, while 1.8 percent “mostly agreed” and 6.5 percent “somewhat agreed”.
On the other hand, in Fiji 38.3 percent of respondents “totally agreed” that red-tape was
a major problem due to excessive centralization, corruption and favoritism and 39.3
percent “mostly agreed”, while 3.5 percent “somewhat agreed”. In contrast, 2.5 percent
“totally agreed” that red-tape was not a problem because there of one-stop shop
initiatives, while 9.5 percent “mostly agreed” and 4.8 percent “somewhat agreed”. In
India 13.6 percent of the respondents “totally agreed” that red-tape was a major
problem due to excessive centralization, corruption and favoritism and 25.4 percent
“mostly agreed”, while 8.5 percent “somewhat agreed”. Unlike respondents from Fiji
and Ethiopia, a large percentage of respondents in India (44.9 percent) stated that
red-tape “made no difference” for them. However 1.7 percent of respondents “totally
agreed” that red-tape was not a problem because of one-stop shop initiatives, while 9.5
percent “mostly agreed” and 4.8 percent “somewhat agreed.”
Overall, the study showed that, in the view of respondents, time factors, cost factors
and red-tape in public service delivery were major problems in Fiji, Ethiopia and India
because of excessive centralization, corruption and favoritism.

Hypotheses
Responses were analyzed to test two hypotheses about perceptions of the potential
impacts of e-governance initiatives on cutting corruption. The first hypothesis was
that:
H1. E-governance initiatives are positively related to improved government-
citizen relationships and corruption reduction.
Pearson’s correlation coefficient was calculated as a measure of linear association
between the following variables: e-governance initiatives; Government-citizen
relationships; and corruption reduction. Results are presented in Table II.
Analysis of responses showed that e-governance initiatives and improved
government-citizen relationships were significantly correlated (0.271 *, 0.159 * and
0.878 * respectively for India, Ethiopia and Fiji) at 0.01 level (p , 0:01). The analysis
also depicted that e-governance initiatives and Corruption reduction were significantly
correlated (0.363 *, 0.204 * and 0.995 * respectively for India, Ethiopia and Fiji) at 0.01
level (p , 0:01). Thus, in the perceptions of respondents, e-governance initiatives were
positively related to improved government-citizen relationships and corruption
reduction. This is similar to the findings of Pathak et al. (2008) study on Fiji and
Ethiopia. The study supported the hypothesis that e-governance is positively related to
improved government-citizen relationships and corruption reduction. It is also similar
to Pathak et al. (2007) study on Ethiopia. The study by Bhatnagar et al. (2007) showed
 E-governance initiatives Government-citizen relationships Corruption reduction
India Ethiopia Fiji India Ethiopia Fiji India Ethiopia Fiji

E-governance initiatives
Pearson correlation 1.000 1.00 1.00 0.271 * 0.159 * 0.878 * 0.363 * 0.204 * 0.995 *
Sig. (two-tailed) 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001
Government-citizen relationships
Pearson correlation 0.271 * 0.159 * 0.878 * 1.000 1.000 1.000 0.340 * 0.220 * 0.867 *
Sig. (two-tailed) 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Corruption reduction
Pearson correlation 0.363 * 0.204 * 0.995 * 0.340 * 0.220 * 0.867 * 1.000 1.000 1.000
Sig. (two-tailed) 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Note: * Significant and correlated
E-governance

H1 results – correlations
for India, Ethiopia and Fiji
265

Table II.
IJPSM that ICT did have potential for significant reduction in corruption in service delivery in
23,3 the case of Chile and India. The Pathak and Prasad (2006) study reports that
e-governance can be effective in reducing corruption based on an analysis of nine
e-governance projects in India.
The second hypothesis was that:
H2. .The independent variable (e-governance) will significantly explain the
266 variance in corruption reduction.
To test H2, the standard method of regression (enter method) was used taking
corruption reduction as the dependent variable over two independent variables –
e-governance initiatives and improvements in government-citizen relationships.
From the regression output shown in Table III, the equation for Ethiopia will be:

Corruption reduction ¼ 36:705 þ 0:225 ðGovernement-citizen; relationshipsÞcr

The results for multiple regression showed that R square equaled 0.074. This means
that the model outlined above (which is made up of Government-citizen relationships
and e-governance initiatives) helped to explain 7.4 percent of the variance in corruption
reduction (dependent variable). To determine the relative contribution of each of the
variables, the beta values were compared. The beta values in the study showed that
e-governance initiatives equaled 0.173, while improving government-citizen
relationships equaled 0.195. This means that the variable that made the strongest
unique contribution to explaining the dependent variable – corruption reduction –
when the variance explained by all other variables in the model is controlled for, is
improvements in government-citizen relationship. The beta value for e-governance
initiatives implies it made less of a contribution (as beta value for e-governance 0.173 is
less than beta value for government-citizen relationship of 0.195). To identify the
variables making significant contributions, the significance values for the two
variables were compared. The significance values show that an e-governance initiative
equaled 0.000, and cutting government citizen problems equaled 0.000. Since
e-governance initiatives 0.000, and cutting government citizen problems 0.000 were
less than p value 0.05, they were making a significant contribution to the prediction of
corruption reduction. Therefore, H2 was disconfirmed (Table III). It can be concluded
that overall, e-governance initiatives which alter government-citizen relationships, can
have at the most a 7.4 percent stake in corruption reduction in Ethiopia.
For Fiji, from the above regression output (see Table III), the equation will be:

Corruption reduction ¼ 0:008 þ 20:23ðGovernment-citizen; relationshipsÞcr

The results for multiple regression showed that R square equals 0.991. This means that
the model outlined above helped to explain 99.1 percent of the variance in corruption
reduction (dependent variable). To determine the relative contribution of each of the
variables, the beta values were compared. The beta values in the study showed that
e-governance initiatives equaled 1.022 while cutting government citizen problems
equaled 2 0.30. This means that the variable that made the strongest unique
contribution to explaining the dependent variable (corruption reduction)- when the
variance explained by all other variables in the model is controlled for, was
e-governance initiatives. The beta value for cutting government citizen problems was
 Model 1
E-governance
Constant Government-citizen E-governance
Unstandardized coefficients
B
Ethiopia 36.705 0.225 0.11
Fiji 0.008 2 0.023 1.729
India 18.8 0.000 0.402 267
Std error
Ethiopia 3.891 0.056 0.031
Fiji 0.002 0.008 0.017
India 4.854 0.081 0.045
Standardized coefficients
Beta
Ethiopia 0.195 0.173
Fiji 2 0.030 1.022
India 0.000 0.671
t
Ethiopia 9.432 3.991 3.553
Fiji 3.535 2 2.990 102.51
India 3.873 0.006 8.89
Sig.
Ethiopia 0.000 0.000 0.000
Fiji 0.000 0.003 0.000
India 0.000 0.996 0.000
Notes: Dependent variable: corruption reduction; adjusted R square for Ethiopia ¼ 0.074; adjusted Table III.
R square for Fiji ¼ 0.991; adjusted R square for India ¼ 0.441 Coefficients(a)

2 0.30, implying it made less of a contribution. To identify the variables making

significant contributions, the significance values for the two variables were compared.
The significance values showed that e-governance initiatives equaled 0.000, and
cutting government citizen problems equaled 0.003. Since e-governance initiatives
0.000 and cutting government citizen problems 0.003 were less than p value 0.05, they
were making a significant contribution to the prediction of corruption reduction.
Therefore, H2 was confirmed (Table III). It can be concluded that e-governance
initiatives that alter government-citizen relationships, can have at the most a 99.1
percent stake in corruption reduction in Fiji.
And finally for India, from the above regression output (see Table III), the equation
will be:

Corruption reduction ¼ 18:800 þ 0:000ðGovernment-citizen relationshipsÞ

þ 0:402ðe-governance initiativesÞ:

The results for multiple regression showed that R square equaled 0.441. This means
that the model outlined above helped to explain 44.1 percent of the variance in
corruption reduction (dependent variable). To determine the relative contribution of
each of the variables, the beta values were compared. The beta values in the study
IJPSM showed that an e-governance initiative equaled 0.671, while cutting government citizen
23,3 problems equaled 0.000. This means that the variable that made the strongest unique
contribution to explaining the dependent variable – corruption reduction – when the
variance explained by all other variables in the model was controlled for, was
e-governance initiatives. The beta value for cutting government citizen problems was
0.000, implying it made less of a contribution. To identify the variables making
268 significant contributions, the significance values for the two variables were compared.
The significance values showed that e-governance initiatives equaled 0.000, and
cutting government citizen problems equaled 0.996. Since e-governance initiatives
0.000, was less than p value 0.05, it made a significant contribution to the prediction of
corruption reduction. However, for government-citizen relationships, 0.996 was greater
than p value 0.05, implying it made no significant contribution to the prediction of
corruption reduction. Therefore, H2 was confirmed (Table III). It can be concluded that
e-governance initiatives that alter government-citizen relationships, can have at the
most a 44.1 percent stake in corruption reduction in India.
The analysis for the three countries is based on the premise that e-governance
initiatives will reduce corruption. Meaning e-governance being the variable (object of
study) will make greater contribution in explaining any variance/changes or in other
words, the reduction in corruption in all the three countries studied. In Ethiopia,
e-governance does not cut or reduce corruption directly, but it is only effective
indirectly through the improvement of the government-citizen relationship. This
means that corruption reduction was dependent/contingent upon both e-governance
and Government-citizen relationship. Both these variables explain the reduction in
corruption; however, Government-citizen explains a greater degree of reduction in
corruption in contrast to e-governance initiatives alone.
For Fiji and India, corruption reduction was explained more by e-governance
initiatives directly. Meaning in Fiji and India, e-governance can directly reduce
corruption, but in Ethiopia, the results indicated that government-citizen relationship
helps reduce corruption greater than by just employing e-governance directly. The
results for H1 in this study showed that e-governance initiatives and improved
government-citizen relationships were significantly correlated (0.271 *, 0.159 * and
0.878 * respectively for India, Ethiopia and Fiji) at 0.01 level (p , 0:01). The analysis
also depicted that e-governance initiatives and Corruption reduction were significantly
correlated (0.363 *, 0.204 * * and 0.995 * respectively for India, Ethiopia and Fiji) at 0.01
level (p , 0:01). Thus, in the perceptions of respondents, e-governance initiatives were
positively related to improved government-citizen relationships and corruption
reduction. In H2, we tried to identify that if a relationship exists between e-governance
and Corruption reduction and it also exists for e-governance and Government-citizen as
per H1, then can e-governance initiatives alone explain the reduction in corruption in
India, Ethiopia and Fiji. From, this H2, we can conclude that in Ethiopia, e-governance
and improved Government-citizen both contribute to corruption reduction, but
e-governance is slightly greater in the degree of contribution to corruption reduction. In
Fiji it was seen that both e-governance and improving Government-citizen relationship
contribute towards corruption reduction, but e-governance initiatives contribution is
slightly higher than improving Government-citizen relationship. While in India, it was
found that both are contributing, but e-governance has greater contribution while
improving government-citizen relationship makes less impact. The lesson from H2 is
that in some countries, citizens perceive that e-governance is helpful in explaining the E-governance
reduction in corruption, while in others improving government-citizen relationship.
The key point is that both contribute in reducing corruption, but the degree of this
contribution may vary depending on citizen perception. The study by Pathak et al.
(2008) also suggests that while e-governance initiatives can make important
contributions to improving public services they can best do so by helping improve
overall relationships between governments and citizens with specific reference to 269
Ethiopia and Fiji.

Conclusion
By exploring perceptions of the current impact of corruption in India, Ethiopia and Fiji
and the potential role of e-governance initiatives for reducing corruption, this study
supports the hypothesis that e-governance initiatives are, in the perceptions of
respondents, positively related to improved government-citizen relationships and
corruption reduction. This conclusion provides support for concrete initiatives to
strengthen e-governance initiatives in India, Ethiopia and Fiji.
The survey conducted as part of the study showed also that, in the perceptions of
respondents, time, cost and red-tape are major constraints in public service delivery.
For most respondents, bureaucracy was more or less opaque. Improvements in
government-citizen relationships, such as one-stop shops for service delivery, were
highly valued but not perceived as extensive by most respondents.
In these circumstances e-governance initiatives need to be targeted to areas that will
make a clear difference for citizens. Initiatives may need also to be supported by
participatory and citizen-centered strategies that make governance mechanisms more
accessible and enlist the support of stakeholders external to government. Initiatives
that focus on efficiency alone may not succeed. Governments in India, Ethiopia and Fiji
therefore need to take careful steps to ensure that the better reach and access to public
services facilitated by e-governance initiatives are made widely available. Otherwise
existing problems in government-citizen relationships may continue and corruption
proceed unchecked.

Note
1. For more details on this system see “detailed description of the OPEN system” available at:
http://english.metro.seoul.kr/government/policies/anti/civilapplications/

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Corresponding author
Gurmeet Singh can be contacted at: singh_g@usp.ac.fj

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