Shifting shores: investigating how the shift from electronic to mobile government interacts with the development practice in Kenya.

Abstract

In this paper we try to investigate potentials of mobile technology use between the Kenyan government and its citizens. On this account the paper will interact with supply and demand side practices of e-governance specifically in Kenya, although drawing from global circumference. From the supply side, we look at Kenya's current e-governance practice, whether it is indeed achieving development objectives. From the demand side the paper seeks to understand the extent in which citizens are interacting with government's web presence, and the issues that underlie this extent. On both these accounts, we consider the level of developmentalism brought about by computer based web presence and access to government services and information through mobile phones. We will also attempt to dismantle the bottlenecks that impede access to government services and information even in a connected environment. Then emerging from this line of interrogation we move on to reflect on alternatives, in particular the greater possibilities which lie in mobile phones relative to computer based Internet.