A Study on the Contribution Factors and Challenges to the Implementation of E-Government in Cambodia

To this point, there have been few studies of e-Government in Cambodia. This study can be considered as a first step in the examination of e-Government in Cambodia. The paper examines the various factors that contribute and challenge the implementation of e-Government. These factors are grouped into three main categories: 1) management, 2) infrastructure, and 3) human factors. In the context of the implementation of the Government Administration Information System (GAIS) in Cambodia, factors that potentially influence and challenge the progress of e-Government are explored. This exploration indicates that the contribution factors are political leadership and will, effective management within a complex and fragile environment, information and communication technology policy, and capacity development. At the same time, challenges critical to implementing e-Government include variations in support among leadership, the lack of high prioritization of (or even need for) e-Government at present, a poor information and communication technology infrastructure, a low rate of literacy, and a high turnover rate among government information technology staff. Since the United Nations supervised its elections in May 1993, Cambodia has undergone dramatic changes. Most significant have been the country’s transition from conflict to unity (as it finally enjoys peace), from a centrally planned economy to a market economy, and more recently, from one-party rule to a democratic system of governance. However, Cambodia still faces a variety of challenges to effective governance, including corruption, poor public administration, and lack of adequate transparency and accountability in the exercise of public decision making and the delivery of public services. Moreover, after joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in April 1999 [1], Cambodia will face revenue losses due to the ASEAN Common Effective Preferential Treatment (CEPT) Scheme, which will require lowering Cambodia’s import tariffs to 0-5 percent by 2010. The lowering of the import tariffs will definitely affect the government budget, because 16.31 percent of that budget depends entirely on import taxes [2]. These problems have prompted a growing interest in practical reform initiatives. One proposed solution has been to use e-Government to achieve various reform objectives, as the benefits of e-Government can include less corruption, increased transparency, greater convenience, revenue growth, and cost reductions [3]. This proposed solution has led to the adoption of the so-called Government Administration Information System (GAIS).