6. Conclusion

The following section presents conclusions about the intersections between the e-government ecosystem in Fiji and gender equality in e-government and accountable governance.

The years without a democratically elected government (2006- 14), and the preceding upheavals of four coups, have had a profound impact on governance and public life in Fiji.

During the 1990’s and 2000’s, political and academic commentators critiqued the Government of Fiji’s approach to information rights, stating that there was a general lack of public information and participation in government planning and service delivery.¹³⁷ This was exacerbated for more marginalized citizens (poor and rural).¹³⁸ The lack of public information was linked to a lack of citizens’ ability to demand transparent and accountable governance. This context has influenced the introduction of e-government. While there are governance structures in place regulating the ICT and e-government ecosystem, the governance body (identified as critical in the E-government Master Plan) has not yet been established. Developments following the election of September 2014 will be crucial for e-governance.

In the early days of ICT and e-government policy development, emphasis was placed on technological rather than human requirements and benefits and thus a missed opportunity for advancing gender equality.

The stated strategic purposes of the E-government Programme in Fiji identify enhanced operational efficiency alongside citizen centric outcomes. While there has been a continued focus on e-government implementation making existing government operations more efficient, there has not been a concomitant focus on changing the way the government does business. This lack of focus may be further emphasized by operational oversight since 2013 by private sector technical specialists (market forces driven) rather than public sector administrators (public good driven). Despite e-government policy seeking to address Fiji’s national economic and social development objectives, the e-Government programme has not been followed through by integrating ICT into poverty alleviation and addressing human development as well as economic growth. ICT access and therefore e-government inclusiveness is not a neutral status quo but requires dedicated government oversight (e.g. dedicated e-government authority) to ensure gender justice. Because the gendered underpinnings of the digital divide are not accounted for in e-government design and implementation, policies and programmes have tended to cast e-government in a gender-neutral manner.

There are no clear connections between gender policies and national ICT / e-government strategy.

This separation has both derived from, and reinforced, the divide between efforts to address gender equality and women’s development and e-government implementation. The review findings echo those of an earlier study, that of a “significant gap between the two realms core to the process of gender mainstreaming in e-government – women’s capacity development and e-government development”.¹³⁹

There have been some shifts in ICT and e-government developments to date for gender equality: anecdotal evidence suggests women’s access to ICT has opened up with cheaper mobile phones and mobile Internet access. Government telecentres have expanded the number of Internet access facilities. However, there are no policies aimed at developing women’s ICT access, skills and use, or capacity development programmes explicitly aimed at increasing women’s digital literacy. E-government services are not currently designed with a ‘gender lens’ to identify and deliver women’s differing information, service and access needs. This gap is exacerbated by a paucity of data on women’s e-government and ICT use. Although national policy instruments: National Gender Policy (2014); Fiji Information Technology Development Policy (2004); Fiji E-government Master Plan (2007); Governance of E-government (2008) seek to address digital inclusion, they do not mandate gendered data collection or consultation to inform policy implementation, nor do they specifically address a gendered citizen focused approach to e-government. Explicitly connecting gender and e-government policy objectives will result in improved gender equality and women’s empowerment outcomes.

There is little information available on uptake of e-government services and the effect e-government is having on the relationship between government and citizen.

To date, e-government in Fiji has been focused on technical efficiency gains in service delivery, with interactive access to the government and empowering citizens receiving less emphasis. There is no clear evidence of a changing relationship between government and citizen or the emergence of “new spaces for citizens to participate in their overall development” that e-government initiatives can create.¹⁴⁰ The extent to which operational efficiencies (for example, improved intra and inter-department working and increased IT capacity) have been achieved is difficult to determine. Similarly, legislative and governance frameworks covering data protection, e-government governance, as well as digital rights and safety (e.g. draft national cybercrimes policy) are an evolving space. There have been no test cases to date.

Overall, global barriers to Internet access¹⁴¹ serve as a checklist to consider the current situation in Fiji:

1. Infrastructure gaps

   Although Fiji has a high mobile phone coverage rate, this cannot serve as a proxy for Internet access. The slow roll-out of broadband access in particular, reinforces digital divides within society. Fijians are adversely affected by a lack of adjacent infrastructure (e.g. electricity grid)

2. User Capability

   Fiji has high rates of literacy but digital literacy levels cannot be assumed, particularly for marginalized groups

3. Low incomes and affordability

   Fijians enjoy more affordable mobile access (as a percentage of average monthly income) than most Pacific Islanders, but cost remains a significant factor in Internet access (cost of mobile device, data plan and/or Internet cafes)

4. Incentives

   Evidence suggests high levels of awareness, interest and use of Internet particularly in urban and peri-urban areas

5. Specific local Internet content (as a proportion of global content) is not known.