71512 Good Urban Governance through ICT: Issues, Analysis, and Strategies A Knowledge Product (KP) By: Gaurav Relhan, Kremena Ionkova, Rumana Huque Africa Urban & Water Sector Unit (AFTUW) The World Bank 2 Table of Contents FOREWORD ......................................................................................................................................................................... 3 SECTION I: URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND ICT ........................................................................................................................ 4 1.1. THE DIMENSIONS OF URBAN CHANGE .............................................................................................................................4 1.2. THE ICT REALITY .........................................................................................................................................................6 ICT in the Urban System ...................................................................................................................................................7 SECTION II: ROLE OF ICT FOR CITY GROWTH, IMPROVED GOVERNANCE, AND SERVICE DELIVERY ...................................... 9 2.1. LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.............................................................................................................10 Outline of Issues .............................................................................................................................................................10 What can ICT do? ...........................................................................................................................................................11 2.2. INTERGOVERNMENTAL FISCAL RELATIONS AND MUNICIPAL FINANCE .........................................................................................17 Outline of Issues .............................................................................................................................................................17 What can ICT do? ...........................................................................................................................................................18 2.3. URBAN POVERTY AND SLUM UPGRADING .............................................................................................................................22 Outline of Issues .............................................................................................................................................................22 What can ICT do? ...........................................................................................................................................................23 2.4. URBAN PLANNING, LAND AND HOUSING ..............................................................................................................................27 Outline of Issues .............................................................................................................................................................27 What can ICT do? ...........................................................................................................................................................28 2.5. URBAN ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE ......................................................................................................................32 Outline of Issues .............................................................................................................................................................32 What can ICT do? ...........................................................................................................................................................33 2.6. WATER AND SANITATION SERVICE DELIVERY .........................................................................................................................37 Outline of Issues .............................................................................................................................................................37 What can ICT do? ...........................................................................................................................................................38 SECTION III: ICT TOOLS/APPLICATIONS FOR URBAN & WATER MANAGEMENT ................................................................. 43 3.1. E-GOVERNANCE TOOLS ......................................................................................................................................................43 3.1.1. Tool 1: e-Revenue (e-Billing, e-Taxes) .................................................................................................................44 3.1.2. Tool 2: e-Authorization (e-Registration, e-Permit, e-Contract) ..........................................................................45 3.1.3. Tool 3: e-Procurement .........................................................................................................................................46 3.1.4. Tool 4: Financial Management Systems..............................................................................................................47 3.1.5. Tool 5: e-Citizen Development: e-Employment, e-Health, e-Education, etc ......................................................48 3.1.6. Tool 6: e-Municipality ..........................................................................................................................................49 General Methodology for Successful E-Governance Implementation..........................................................................50 3.2. SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY TOOLS ..........................................................................................................................................51 3.2.1. Tool 1: Surveys (Forecast/Retrospective) ............................................................................................................52 3.2.2. Tool 2: Citizen Outreach .......................................................................................................................................53 3.2.3. Tool 3: Digital Publication of Performance data .................................................................................................54 3.2.4. Tool 4: e-Participation mechanisms (blogs, discussion groups, social networking, etc) ...................................55 General Methodology for Successful Social Accountability Implementation ..............................................................56 3.3. GIS SOLUTIONS ................................................................................................................................................................57 General Methodology for Successful GIS Implementation ...........................................................................................59 SECTION IV: POSSIBLE WBG ROLE AND NEXT STEPS .......................................................................................................... 60 4.1. MENU OF OPTIONS FOR THE WBG: SUGGESTIONS FROM WORLD BANK PRACTITIONERS ...............................................................61 4.2. MENU OF OPTIONS FOR THE WBG: SUGGESTIONS FROM READERS ...........................................................................................61 3 Foreword Dear Reader, Africa is currently experiencing the world’s fastest urbanization rate at 3.5% annually -placing increasing pressure on resource-constrained local governments to maintain and improve livability standards of their cities. But simultaneously, an ‘Information and Communication Technologies’ (ICT) revolution has swept across the continent -as evidenced by vastly improved telecommunications and internet infrastructure, leapfrogging mobile communications penetration rates, and emergence of a successful homegrown IT applications industry. Successful e-initiatives in South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and other regions have demonstrated that harnessing of ICT can enable a range of activities when integrated into the urban development agenda, such as strengthened financial management systems, social accountability initiatives capturing citizens’ feedback and so forth. In this context, this report seeks to explore similar strategies for transforming capabilities of urban agencies in the Africa Region through the power of ICT. In view of the World Bank Group’s (WBG) commitment towards promoting sustainable urban development, the objective of this analytical report is to support the strategic direction, focus, and action plan in governance reform by implementing ICT within the urban development framework of the Africa Region. With a focus on replicating successful ICT-Urban Governance strategies in Africa, this report aims to (i) synthesize the role currently played by ICT towards improved governance, management and accountability of urban service providers in Africa as well as other Regions, (ii) explore current ICT initiatives that are relevant to the World Bank’s thematic concerns, (iii) reconcile existing deficiencies/barriers towards potential for replication, and (iv) develop a roadmap to render easy strategy implementation by project teams. Section I outlines evolving trends in urban governance and presents ICT as a potential tool in the environment of modern governance. Section II discusses the role of ICT in some of the Bank’s core areas of urban focus, namely: Local Governance & Economic Development; Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations & Municipal Finance; Urban Poverty & Slum Upgrading; Urban Planning, Land & Housing; Urban Environment & Climate Change; and Water & Sanitation Service Delivery. An analysis of fundamental ICT methodologies employed is discussed in Section III. Section IV, in conclusion, suggests an action-plan for enhancing ICT initiatives as a component of the Bank’s lending activities. But essentially, this report is a work in progress -and requires your inputs to finish! We encourage you to join in the discussion and help shape the World Bank’s roadmap towards applying ICT for urban improvement. Are you aware of any interesting ICT application or methodology that could transform Africa’s cities? Do you have feedback or suggestions on what the World Bank’s next steps should be in this direction? Or simply have questions or need clarifications on the material already presented in this report? Then do let us know! Your views will be incorporated (with accreditation to your name if permitted) in Section IV, building upon some of the ideas already contributed by Bank staff. Thoughts, suggestions, and comments can be conveyed to us using the online feedback form or by emailing grelhan@ifc.org. If you are on Facebook, post your suggestions to the World Bank Africa page. On Twitter, reply to @WorldBankAfrica Hope to hear from you soon. Happy Reading! Best Wishes, Gaurav Relhan 4 Section I: Urban Development and ICT From the founding of ancient Harappa–Mohenjodaro, to the ascent of Rome and Constantinople, to the flourishing of today’s teeming cities, urban agglomeration bears testimony to humanity’s transitioning from agrarian existence towards opportunity-laden clustered inhabitation. Now for the first time in history, more than half the world’s population lives in urban areas. 1 Over 90 percent of urbanization is taking place in developing countries, with the Africa Region experiencing the highest rate of urbanization at 3.5 % annually.2 But while rapid urbanization is transforming urban centers into drivers of economic growth, it can increase poverty if not managed well and may reverse earlier development gains. It also places enormous pressure on cash-strapped governments to meet rapidly increasing demand for services. To this end, the ensuing sub-sections observe salient aspects of the current urbanization context, and in view of the challenges posed to sub-national governments by such phenomena, present the possibilities for ICT to act as an enabler of positive change in the realm of urban governance and management. 1.1. The Dimensions of Urban Change The following paragraphs delineate emerging trends in the urban agglomeration scenario, namely, Urbanization and the Growing role of cities as engines of economic growth: Urbanization: Driven by rapid population growth and increased rural population influx, urbanization has become a defining phenomenon of this century, with nearly 2 billion new urban residents expected in the next 20 years and a likely doubling of urban populations in South Asia and Africa.3 Urban areas in low- and middle-income nations today have more than a third of the world’s total population, nearly three-quarters of its urban population and most of its large cities. They contain most of the economic activities in these nations and most of the new jobs created over the last few decades.4 Many African states, notably, Botswana, Tanzania, Mozambique and Swaziland have had 1 Source: WHO, (2010) 2 Source: UNEP, Africa Environment outlook, Past, Present and Future Perspectives Available at: http://www.unep.org/dewa/Africa/publications/aeo-1/203.htm 3 Source: The World Bank Urban and Local Government Strategy Report (2009) 4 Source: IIED working Paper: Adapting to Climate Change in Urban Areas – Possibilities and Constraints (2007) 5 urban population growth rates more than twice the annual rates of natural increase for the overall population.5 But while such rapid urbanization can be a means for wealth creation, associated costs of congestion, crime, pollution, etc., pose serious challenges to a city’s performance. To cope with such unprecedented urbanization phenomenon, many African countries have transferred power, resources and responsibilities to their sub-national urban governments through the process of decentralization, with South Africa, Uganda and Kenya spearheading the process particularly fast.6 However, although decentralization has helped transfer greater fiscal autonomy and responsibility to local governments, bestowing them with greater say on ordinance formulation, revenue collection & budget allocation, they now find themselves lacking in the necessary resources and capacities required to fulfill their mandates. Growing Role of Cities as Centers & Drivers of Economic Growth: The benefits of agglomeration and accompanying productivity gains constitute the basis of cities to emerge as engines of economic growth, with cities accounting for nearly 70 % of global GDP today.7 One of the main drivers of this trend is that firms in many industrial and service enterprises value agglomeration as they prefer to concentrate close to other firms in the same or related product lines, and in locations with good access to domestic and international markets.8 For instance, 50 % of China’s GDP is generated in coastal urban agglomerations comprising only 20 % of the territory.9 In India, liberalization in the early 1990s led to greater concentration of industry in port cities and metropolitan areas, enhancing economic activity in urban regions multi-fold.10 Thus, the benefits of urbanization underscored by rising productivity, fluid labor markets, and greater market access has led to the recognition that urbanization can constitute a vital force for growth and poverty reduction.11 To cope in the wake of decentralization and the increasing importance of cities as engines of growth, the key objective of urban local governments should be effective urban governance with sustainable development linkages. To this end, municipalities are increasingly seeking greater assistance in 5 Ibid 6 Source: UN Paper (Dec 2007), Political Decentralization in Africa: Experiences of Uganda, Rwanda and South. Africa 7 Ibid 8 Ibid 9 Source: McKinsey Global Institute (2008), Preparing for China’s Urban Billion 10 Source: World Bank Draft Report (2009), Shrinking Distance Identifying Priorities for Territorial Integration 11 Source: The World Bank Urban and Local Government Strategy Report (2009) 6 strengthening governance mechanisms, planning service strategies, and making city management more effective to enable cities deliver on their mandate, which includes delivery of vital services to the urban poor.12 1.2. The ICT Reality No longer limited to the developed world, there has been exponential growth in access to and use of ICT across the developing world, which includes the entire range of telecommunications networks, information technologies (IT), and electronic services (e-services). From telephone services over wireline and wireless networks, to the Internet and related multimedia applications, ICT has had a significant economic and social impact. Since 2008, there are more than 4 billion wireless telephone subscribers and 350 million broadband Internet subscribers worldwide.13 The number of telephone subscriptions in the low- and middle-income countries exceeded those in high-income countries back in 2004 (see Chart 1).14 Driven primarily by the rapid growth of wireless telephony, the developing world now has a widespread telecommunications infrastructure, and a deepening number of users (Chart 2). 15 Particularly noteworthy is the virtual explosion of mobile phones in many African countries, which surpassed 200 million subscribers in early 2007 (providing mobile telephony access to almost 50% of the continent’s population) and continues to grow at higher rates than any other region.16 As these ICT networks spread, they create new economic and social opportunities. By rendering a platform over which businesses, governments, and citizens can communicate, engage in commercial activities and participate in public life, ICT has ushered a change in the way of doing business and interacting socially in developing countries. They connect otherwise separate markets, link people with each other, and allow global coordination of economic activities—creating jobs, increasing incomes, facilitating trade, and reducing costs associated with distance and time. It is estimated that every 10 % increase in the market penetration of mobile phones boosts GDP growth by 6 percentage 12 Source: The World Bank Urban and Local Government Strategy Report (2009) 13 Source: ITU, World Bank data, 2008 14 Ibid 15 Ibid 16 th Source: 10 Africa Partnership Forum (2008), ICT in Africa: Boosting Economic Growth & Poverty Reduction 7 17 points. Another estimate suggests that for every 10 % increase in broadband Internet service penetration in a particular area, employment would increase 2 to 3 percentage points per year.18 (1) Total telephone subscriptions (billions) (2) Subscription to mobile telephones 3.0 70 (% of population) High income 60 2.5 Low and middle income Middle income 50 2.0 Low income 40 1.5 30 1.0 20 0.5 10 0.0 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 ICT in the Urban System The extensive prevalence of ICT can be leveraged to extend the reach and quality of public services. Already, the widespread mobile phone platform is being used to provide basic financial services in countries as diverse as Kenya, the Philippines, and Afghanistan. These services can target subsidies or cash payments from local governments to citizens better and more efficiently. Healthcare professionals are also using ICT—the Internet and the telephone—to manage their resources and patients better. Simple applications such as appointment or immunization reminders or services that are more complex, for instance, drug-inventory control is possible.19 Connected citizens can also provide feedback or register their grievances quicker, leading to improved accountability mechanisms and enhanced service quality. In view of the profusion of mobile services, a salient aspect to note is that these can be harnessed effectively by local governments as well. For instance, Mobile telephone-based payment systems (m- payment) have helped cash transfer programs overcome obstacles to distribution. Without a working 17 Source: Asheeta Bhavnani, Rowena Won-Wai Chiu, et all, The role of mobile phones in sustainable rural poverty reduction, World Bank Global ICT Department, June 15, 2008 18 Source: Robert Crandall, William Lehr and Robert Litan, The Effects of Broadband Deployment on Output and Employment, Benton Foundation, June 2007 19 Voxiva, mHealth: http://www.voxiva.com/solutionspage.php?catname=mHealth 8 banking or insurable fund transfer system, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has turned to m- payments to distribute allowances as part of its program to demobilize and reintegrate ex-combatants. Since 2006, the Government has made m-payments of US$50 million to 100,000 ex-combatants.20 Interestingly, the ICT sector itself can have a significant economic impact on urban communities. Cities in the Silicon Valley in California, or Bangalore or Hyderabad in India are testament to the surge in investments, job creation, and tax revenues following the clustering of IT companies given a positive business environment. Improved connectivity with global markets, and the use of ICT (using GPS devices) to improve the efficiency of transportation, for instance, can also result in great cost savings and economic growth. Indeed, investments in ICT infrastructure (telephone, cellular and radio services, and electronic communication), and related services, such as financial, banking, insurance, and other various forms of trade, were the primary boosters of growth in 39 of the 245 fastest growing cities in the developing world.21 The various ICT strategies that can assist in the direction of improving urban public services are shown in Figure 1 below. Figure 1: ICT for Public Services 20 World Bank Operations Policy and Country Services (2008), Cash transfer programs in emergency situations: A good practice and guidance note 21 UN Habitat, State of the World’s Cities 2008/2009: Harmonious cities, 2008 9 Section II: Role of ICT for City Growth, Improved Governance, and Service Delivery As observed in Section 1.1, the processes of urbanization, decentralization and the emergence of cities as drivers of growth are placing stress on the resources and capabilities of local governments. In the urban context of many developing countries, access to public-sector services in basic sectors such as water and sanitation services, public safety, housing, and roads is often limited and increasingly constrained. But a number of innovative applications that harness ICT are helping developing countries improve the daily lives of citizenry by transforming the delivery of services and reforming operations in most sectors of the economy. Cities - long the ICT hubs and focal points in their countries - can utilize these new technologies and applications to amplify the benefits of urban agglomeration, thereby serving their citizens and businesses better. In context of urban development in Africa, the World Bank currently focuses on Local Governance & Economic Development; Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations & Municipal Finance; Urban Poverty & Slum Upgrading; Urban Planning, Land & Housing; Urban Environment & Climate Change; and Water & Sanitation Service Delivery. With the help of various examples, this section illustrates how mainstreaming ICT into sub-national government functions can assist development organizations to design programs within key thematic arenas to support African cities in fulfilling their service obligations effectively (Figure 2). Figure 2: ICT & Transformation across urban concerns in Africa 10 2.1. Local Governance and Economic Development Outline of Issues Decentralization provides an opportunity to assess how local governments can adopt ICT for bridging deficiencies in resource capabilities to achieve good urban governance and city management. As a result, there is growing recognition that good governance requires tools to enable the inclusion and representation of urban stakeholders, as well as ensure accountability and integrity of local government actions.22 For instance, cities need tools/solutions to transparently smoothen tax revenue mobilization, enhance data collection, achieve monitoring at the city level, and consequently obtain market-based financing. In addition, efficient and accountable service delivery platforms are needed to improve productivity as well as build trust, confidence and respect amongst citizens towards local administrations. Simultaneously, local government agencies are facing increasing pressures of youth unemployment, crime and poverty, due to a rapidly growing urban population. Thus, in view of the strong linkages between economic growth, job creation and enhanced governability,23 creating ICT strategies for improved urban governance will also entail formulation of wealth-creation measures by fostering economic development in cities. To build economic competitiveness, the city should be able to respond to market opportunities efficiently through its factor markets (i.e., labor, capital, etc.) and infrastructure provision. It should also be able to attract investments and industrial development that relates to its specific competitive advantages.24 Further, the local administration and regulatory environment should be business-friendly and responsive to market needs.25 In context of Local Governance and Economic Development, the various issues observed along the linkages connecting urban actors are illustrated schematically below: 22 Source: The World Bank, Partnerships for Development 23 Source: IFC, Corporate Governance: A Powerful tool in the Battle against Poverty 24 Source: The Grey Chronicles (2009), Competitiveness According to WEF 25 Ibid 11 What can ICT do? As shown in Table 2A.1, ICT can play a significant role in improving city governance as it supports public participation, simplifies information flows & increased transparency while reducing discretion. Also, a modern ICT infrastructure contributes to enhancing economic competitiveness. Table 2A.1 – ICT for Urban Governance & Economic Development Reform 26 ICT Uses, Impact ICT Examples Objectives 1] The city of Tartu in Estonia has begun an “m-Tartu� program allowing citizens to simplify and accelerate their interactions with government. For instance, the program enables people to pay for parking using their mobile phones. Already, over 50 percent of parking payments in 1] Widespread access to ICT allows citizens Tartu are made over the mobile phone, while a “City phone to be closer to government by improving 1789� service allows citizens to report issues such as non- citizen engagement and institutional working street lamps, broken park benches, pot-holes, etc. responsiveness. Enable SMS alerts are distributed from the police to neighbor- 2] 'Connected' citizens provide feedback, Participatory watch teams, bus and taxi drivers. register their grievances quicker, Governance Tools applied: Mobile Phones, e-Municipality improving accountability of government officials as well as service quality. 2] A new mobile application in Caracas, Venezuela allows 3] By maintaining anonymity of users, ICT people to report crimes to the police through SMS text eliminate entry barriers for all citizens. messages. The messages go to a central server, which plots them on a map, allowing police officials to devise strategies and tactics to solve problems in their assigned area. Tools applied: Mobile Phones, Online Mapping (using GIS) 26 Please refer to Section III for in-depth explanation of Social Accountability, E-Government, GIS tool categories 12 1] Access to global talent, technology, capital, and knowledge facilitates partnerships between businesses, citizens 1] A web-based service provided in London, UK offers city and municipalities. residents a way to receive concise and relevant 2] High quality, affordable ICT access advertisements for IT, sales and marketing jobs. After a allows cities to attract and support prospective employer enters relevant information at the businesses website, the service broadcasts the advertisement via SMS Foster 3] ICT (Broadband connectivity, SME directly to the mobile phones of subscribers who fit the Economic Clustering, industry Partnerships, etc) helps required profile. Tools applied: Internet, Mobile Development cities improve competitiveness by Phones, e-Participation increasing overall productivity, supporting trade, and making factor markets more 2] The ‘Smart City’ ICT initiative of Cape Town, South Africa efficient. has allowed the city to manage its resources more 4] Municipality e-services such as e- efficiently and help create a citizen-focused environment. Registration, e-Permit, etc enhance See Case Study in Box 2A.1 for an in-depth description. convenience of establishing businesses in cities. 1] Real-time monitoring of systems and resources makes it easier to expose Through the 'BRIS' ICT application implemented in wrongdoings. Increase Rajshahi, Bangladesh, the process of granting Birth 2] Simplifies government to citizen and Transparen- Certificates to citizens has been simplified, vastly reducing business transactions by eliminating cy, Reduce the scope for corruption and inefficiencies. Also, ICT- intermediaries. Corruption enabled incentives motivate citizens to avail of this service. 3] Budget monitoring by citizens is critical See Case Study in Box 2A.2 for an in-depth description. for enabling citizens hold local governments accountable. BOX 2A.1– Cape Town’s ‘Smart City’ Strategy Despite the City of Cape Town being one of the most productive city in South Africa, it recognized that its output per capita is less than one-sixth that of industrialized countries and large sections of the community live in poverty, unemployment and ill health. Thus the city administration of Cape Town launched in 2002 its award-winning ‘Smart City’ strategy, the objectives of which were to achieve: • A city where 80% of residents, businesses and institutions are connected to each other and the world through well-developed ICT skills; • A city where 80% of the population will be able to interact with the city administration through the use of ICT, allowing citizens to deal with local government services in an integrated manner, via "one-stop-shops"; • More customer-friendly and citizen-oriented local government via easy, timely access to relevant, accurate Council information. As components of the ‘Smart City’ strategy, a number of initiatives were implemented: ‘Externally’ focused projects included ‘Smart Cape Access’ (which made computers with free internet access available to any citizen in six public libraries); ‘Library Business Corners’ (providing accessible information and support networks for starting and running SMEs); ‘Digital Business Centers’ (providing telephones, faxes, scanners, etc and business services such as accounting, legal, tourism, etc); ‘Training Learnerships in ICT’ (ICT training opportunities to unemployed, disadvantaged individuals). 13 Through the ‘Internally’ focused projects, the City administration initiated standardized IT services within the organization, as well as enabled internal electronic communications (intranet, emails,); developed the City government Web Site and provided training on ICT to city administrators. In addition, a comprehensive IT solution for managing financial, revenue, HR, operations and other municipality services on a single system was implemented. Results: The complexity of municipal processes is now vastly reduced. Duplication has been minimized, manual processes have been automated and location and distance are no longer limiting factors. This project has enabled the city to facilitate the merger and transformation of the ICT systems of seven previous autonomous local authorities. These factors have helped increase productivity of the local government. This ICT initiative has allowed the city to manage its resources more efficiently and help create a citizen-focused environment. Access to the city's new system is available from more than 500 sites across the city, where all citizens have access to a consistent level of service. Improved visibility and transparency of information, the possibility for citizens to pay their accounts at any municipal pay point and the implementation of a call centre to address billing queries has reduced the possibility of corruption and has reduced ‘trust deficit’ amongst citizens. Further, ICT capacity-building focus for both city administrators and underprivileged citizens highlights the importance attached to ICT towards spurring economic competitiveness of the city. BOX 2A.2– BRIS (Birth Registration Information System) – Rajshahi City Corp, Bangladesh E-Governance has spurred reform in Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC), a municipality in Bangladesh via the implementation of an electronic birth registration procedure. Birth registration, or provision of Birth certificates is an essential document for obtaining admission in schools, health facilities and other welfare services. Prior to this ICT application, all data pertaining to new-borns had to be entered by hand at the municipality. This manual process led to a number of problems: • Inefficient: A simple query -such as the number of girls registered- took a very long time to answer, since all register books had to be personally searched & separate tally sheets prepared. • Lacked Accuracy: The manual process was subject to delays and, in transferring data, errors, duplications and inconsistencies arose. • Poor Coordination: Local government agencies for immigration, elections, education, statistics, and health services all undertook separate registration activities and processes, leading to unnecessary redundancies and duplication. Moreover, poor citizens were unmotivated to perform birth registration, as the manual registration process was time-consuming (which meant sacrificing valuable labor days), and also involved transport costs and bribes. The E-Governance tool developed to tackle this situation -the Birth Registration Information System (BRIS) - is a good example of how the municipality and health department can cooperate to provide incentives to citizens for performing birth registration, as well as providing them a means for doing so efficiently. 14 Through this tool, the process of awarding birth certificates is computerized. Here, citizens can visit designated centers located within the city to get birth certificates via computers. Particulars of the child, such as his name, address, Date of birth, etc get stored in the municipality’s database and automatically transferred to the city’s health and education departments. Simultaneously, the Health Dept processes new entries from RCC’s e-Registration database on a daily basis. An important incentive for poor parents to obtain birth certificates for their children is the automatic generation of electronic immunization schedule which helps parents and municipal health workers keep track of the new-born’s vaccination program. The electronic immunization schedule is provided to parents along with the birth certificates. With every visit to the health center, health records for the child can be updated by means of the barcode. A target list of children whose immunization is due or overdue for a particular center is printed. City health workers use the list for house visits, knowing the child, address, vaccination required. Significantly, the system also supports vaccine usage and supply. Uses of ICT for resolving issues affecting urban actors in the domain of Urban Governance & Economic Growth can be illustrated graphically as follows: 15 Potential for Africa: ICT is increasingly being integrated into the development programs of Africa Region sub-national agencies, as highlighted by their prominent position in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) agenda.27 In this regard, to bridge the digital divide in the context of local governance, steps are being taken to gradually institutionalize ICT tools in the administration mechanism of African municipalities to establish more efficient, effective and transparent systems. Cognizant of the challenges which exist for this transition to be successful, Table 2A.2 discusses salient arenas for electronic tools to spur local governance services and economic competitiveness within the urban sector framework of the Africa Region. 27 Source: IDRC, From e-Government to e-Governance: a paradigmatic shift 16 Table 2A.2 – ICT Potential in Africa for Urban Governance & Economic Development Issue Description ICT Potential Poor ICT infrastructure, low ICT In view of high installation costs and penetration levels, diverse demographic expenses associated with the use of Limited & geographic conditions lead to broadband, satellite dishes, etc., more technology unequal/inadequate access to affordable affordable alternative technologies (e.g., resources telephones, computers, Internet, etc mobile technology, Social Accountability discourage public required to enable citizen participation on cell-phones, etc) could be considered to participation in in governance. Also, imported ICT ensure public access to urban governance. urban solutions often result in local To bridge language, culture and governance. requirement mismatches or technology-divides, locally-based incompatibility with technical systems development of ICT contents and already in place. applications can play a big role. Despite a number of agencies in Africa To facilitate appropriate ‘hand-off’ and co- having embarked upon the process of ordination mechanisms required for the Prerequisites for decentralization, clear legislative and decentralization process, ICT can portray decentralization regulatory environments, which are key readiness of cities to assume greater are still to be for decentralization, are still being responsibility from the State by ensuring achieved in many framed in many African countries - basic transparency, accountability and African cities. especially within those emerging or just operational efficiency at the municipality- emerged from conflict or crisis. level. Adoption of information management systems can induce better responsiveness of sub-national agencies as well as build regulatory environments in cities through Economic growth To stimulate economic development in enhanced monitoring and streamlined is hindered by African cities, a proper/robust regulatory business transactions. An example of the weak governance framework is required for enabling efficient use of ICT to fight corruption is capability, fraud, secure, trustworthy business the launching of the Electronic Graft and corruption transactions and information exchanges Management (EGM) project in Kenya. The within local between governments, citizens and EGM project offered a corruption agencies. businesses. reporting facility in six towns with existing Internet infrastructure. Anonymity of users was ensured and reports were transmitted to EGM centers for analysis and follow-up with relevant authorities. ICT such as e-procurement can help Many post- The absence of effective frameworks for overcome inefficient procurement systems conflict and in- regulating public work contracts, such as and supply chain management by opening transition streamlined award processes, fair and up a diverse range of service needs to countries have transparent bidding processes, clear contractors. Processes such as bid inadequate establishment of obligations, etc hinder tendering, evaluation of bids, etc can be procurement efficient and economical use of public streamlined and made transparent. systems resources. Through this system, transaction costs on government contracts can also be reduced. 17 2.2. Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations and Municipal Finance Outline of Issues Decentralization has led to sub-national governments assuming greater fiscal responsibility in many developing and in-transition countries. Cities also depend on grants and intergovernmental transfers to sustain operations. In both cases, transparent and sound fiscal management involving effective revenue mobilization at the local level is required to ensure that cities have adequate financial resources and are able to spend these resources judiciously. Municipal bodies often aim at incorporating fiscal and financial discipline to avoid reduction in essential services or increase taxation levels to citizens and businesses in order to reduce financial gaps. Also, for municipalities with access to commercial banking, lower credit ratings assigned to financially unsustainable municipalities can squeeze essential services on account of increased borrowing costs, adversely affecting urban life- quality and economic growth in the city. 28 For instance, consultancy firm Booz Allen Hamilton estimates that by 2030, cities will raise up to $40 trillion worldwide for investment in urban development, so lower borrowing costs will indeed have a major impact on the ability of cities to compete globally. This is especially important for developing countries, whose cities will need about $25 trillion of this amount to fund their urban infrastructure development.29 In context of Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations and Municipal Finance, the various issues observed along the linkages connecting urban actors are illustrated schematically below: 28 See: http://www.suntimes.com/news/2570066,city-bond-rating-downgraded-080510.article 29 Viren Doshi, Gary Schulman, and Daniel Gabaldon, Lights! Water! Motion! strategy+business, Issue 46, Spring 2007 18 What can ICT do? By facilitating information exchange among agencies, within and outside cities, ICT can improve the management of urban agencies’ financial resources via improved internal efficiencies, data security and cost control. This is discussed further in Table 2B.1 below: Table 2B.1 – ICT for Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations & Municipal Finance 30 Reform Objectives ICT Uses, Impact ICT Examples Using a Financial Management Information Using IT-enabled financial management System (FMIS) as a component of its e- systems, cities can: government services, the city of Tallinn, 1] Track their spending and improve Estonia is able to track its public spending, policy-oriented budgeting devise policy-oriented budgeting, and put Better Financial 2] Put financial data online to improve financial data online to improve Management transparency transparency. The system also makes 3] Engage citizens in budget available e-procurement tools to maximize development and resource allocation use of public funds by reducing corruption 4] Improve credit worthiness for and accessing prices that are more enhanced municipal bond ratings competitive. Tools applied: IFMIS 30 Please refer to Section III for in-depth explanation of Social Accountability, E-Government, GIS tool categories 19 1] Improve and streamline tax 1] The administration of Chandigarh, India collection. Already, Internet-based tax launched project ‘Sampark’ to establish filing systems for both businesses and electronic-service providers at various citizens are widespread. locations. As there are no jurisdiction Effective Revenue 2] Automation makes monitoring of limitations, the system provided different Collection revenue collections easier, improving municipality billing services such as Mechanisms overall compliance and regulation. Payment of Taxes, Payment of Water, 3] Registering local businesses and Sewerage, and Electricity Bills, Issue of Bus compiling land records using ICT boosts Passes, etc under a single roof thereby tax/revenue collections, by avoiding reducing transaction costs, reducing avenues for corruption. possibilities for corruption, and saving customer time. Tools applied: e- 1] Integrated Financial Management Billing Information Systems (IFMIS) enable Transparent and prompt and efficient access to financial 2] The Contribution Network Project (CNP) efficient and non-financial data and help in Mauritius facilitates electronic payment monitoring of strengthen local government financial of tax to municipalities for all large and expenditures, controls. medium employers in the country. See revenues, and 2] Selling surplus assets and services Case Study in Box 2B for an in-depth assets. online can bring new revenue streams to description. municipalities. In Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia, an e-financials solution connects the Central Treasury with the Central Bank, commercial banks, the capital city treasury and 9 distrICT. A 1] Structured data transmission Treasury Single Account (TSA) was created between organizations by electronic using the system to capture all means can reduce turnaround times expenditures and revenues. The Chart of Efficient from bid to allocation whilst improving Accounts (COA) was configured to manage Intergovernmental transparency and accountability. 4787 budget entities and 69 multi-funds. Transfers 2] Intergovernmental transfers done This IT solution provides strong budgetary through electronic fund transfer controls at several levels - (1) the budget mechanisms improve efficiency and approved by Parliament and allocated to transparency. local governments, (2) Summary level, (3) Item level, (4) Check controls. As a result of improved expenditure control, a USD 50 million surplus was recorded in 2005. Tools Applied: IFMIS BOX 2B– The ‘Contribution Network Project’ of Mauritius The Contribution Network Project (CNP) in Mauritius is a Government-to-Business (G2B) initiative of the Ministry of Finance that allows electronic payment of tax to municipalities for all large and medium employers in the country. Through a public-private partnership, the project has set up secured networks and ICT applications allowing a fully electronic tax collection in Mauritius. General objectives Contributions and taxes constitute an important revenue stream for the local governments of Mauritius. Income Taxes and VAT account for around 34% of the government annual revenue. Tax collections are handled by 3 different government departments (Income Tax Department, the VAT Department and the 20 Ministry of Social Security, National Solidarity & Senior Citizen Welfare and Reform Institutions). Despite the computerization of these various departments since 1993, tax collection remained a paper based, time consuming and cumbersome process. Hence, the overall objective of the Contributions Network Project (CNP) is to increase the efficiency of the revenue collection process through the use of ICT to allow electronic submission of returns and corporate information as well as payment of taxes and fees. The CNP has implemented two alternate methods of electronic submission of returns: 1] For large employers i.e. companies contributing over 12 million Rs (400,000 USD) as monthly VAT payment, an ‘Electronic Data Interchange’ (EDI) software (available for download through the website) is used to input all the data, which is then translated into special messages, processed and routed to the relevant government departments and commercial banks. 2] For smaller employers, instead of EDI software, a simpler web-based tool allows them to submit their returns securely through common Internet browsers. Upon receipt of a return, automatic acknowledgment is sent to both the employer and the relevant government department. The employer’s bank is notified and instructed to execute the necessary fund transfer to the government’s account. Credit and debit notification messages are then relayed to both parties including all the details of the transaction. Special provisions have been put in place to ensure that duplicate contributions are annulled. Benefits:  Redeployment of government staff to more productive tasks.  Faster electronic processes of tax collection.  Unified Tax Id number and filing process (as opposed to the different paper-based processes in each tax agency).  Eliminate paper returns and paper payments.  Guaranteed confidentiality and security of confidential information.  Convenience of doing the submission directly from home/office, hence avoiding the time- consuming physical movements to the various government departments. Uses of ICT for resolving issues affecting urban actors in the domain of Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations and Municipal Finance can be illustrated graphically as follows: 21 Potential for Africa: The task of efficient revenue mobilization for local governments is more complex and urgent in low capacity/post-conflict environments as there are immediate financing needs for provision of basic essential urban services (such as sanitation, electricity, and roads). But in the face of political and cultural factors, disorganization of public structures, human resource deficiencies, conflict scars, etc., many countries in Africa face problems with regards to arrears in payments to municipality workers, lack of an effective internal control system, and are unable to confirm the quality of sub-national level fiscal data by reconciling bank accounts with accounting records. Implementation of effective decentralized financial management in Africa requires tools and related capacity-building to overcome the above hindrances. In this regard, ICT such as IFMIS can help municipalities build credibility by enabling public monitoring of funds and placing effective record management controls (For instance, Processing only those transactions that are truly relevant to municipality mandate; recording only authorized transactions; and once recorded, ensuring the assets that they represent actually exist). Further, it can help municipalities effectively allocate funds/resources to balance budgets, and show compliance with budget execution guidelines. 22 2.3. Urban Poverty and Slum Upgrading Outline of Issues Numerous studies have documented the potential of slums as incubators for upward social and economic mobility. 31 But as informal settlements with poor quality housing, limited access to services, and insecure land tenure, the urban poor remain at constant risk of eviction which prevents them from fully participating in income-generating activities. It is estimated that today around one-third of the urban population in developing countries - or nearly one billion people - live in urban slums in developing countries. By 2030 this number will swell to almost 5 billion, with urban growth mainly concentrated in Africa and Asia. 32 While Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7 stipulates the objective for urban poverty alleviation by improving the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers,33 countries farthest from reaching this target are mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where an estimated 72 % of the urban population lives in slums due to rapid urbanization, migration, and incapacity of local governments to accommodate new residents.34 Effective land management, social safety nets, improved economic conditions, reliable public services provision, and sanitation are some of the key issues where local governments require urgent solutions to enable slums become vibrant, productive and well integrated parts of a city. In context of Urban Poverty and Slum Upgrading, the various issues observed along the linkages connecting urban actors are illustrated schematically below: 31 UN HABITAT, Twenty First Session of the Governing Council, April 2007 32 See http://www.unfpa.org/pds/urbanization.htm 33 See Systems of Cities, The World Bank Urban and Local Government Strategy Report, Pp 13 34 UN HABITAT (2006) 23 What can ICT do? ICT can contribute towards helping cities improve the lives of the urban poor and socially vulnerable in slums by playing a key role in extending service delivery, strengthening social safety nets, and creating new opportunities for economic activity and slum improvement. This is explained further in Table 2C.1: Table 2C.1 – ICT for Urban Poverty and Slum Upgrading Reform 35 ICT Uses, Impact ICT Examples Objectives 1] In remote Ginnack, Gambia, nurses in municipal 1] Use of mobile phone clinics for the poor use a digital camera to record based health applications patient’s symptoms and then send pictures can improve the access of electronically for diagnosis in a nearby town by more the urban poor to municipal qualified doctors, or send them abroad to get a medical services. specialist’s view. 2] Access to online/mobile Tools applied: Mobile phones, e-Health Extend phone banking, registration, Public & municipality permits, etc 2] In Vancouver, Canada, ‘CompStat’ (COMPuter Social can help reduce transport STATistics) ensures the accountability of police Services costs for the poor. departments towards the urban poor. CompStat sources 3] The information information from lower-income neighborhoods via collection, management, mobile phones or online, and employs GIS to map crime and sharing functions of ICT and identify problem areas. This allows police officials can help cities respond to to reduce crime, and ultimately improve quality of life crime and other emergency in their assigned area. situations efficiently. Tools applied: Mobile phones, Online Mapping/GIS 35 Please refer to Section III for in-depth explanation of Social Accountability, E-Government, GIS tool categories 24 1] Conditional cash transfer In urban slums of Rio De Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil, programs that are triggered an NGO created 110 Computer Science and Citizenship by (for instance) Schools using very limited resources. The schools train vaccinations or school Improve more than 25,000 young students per year in ICT skills attendance can be Socio- that give them better opportunities for jobs, education, effectively implemented Economic and life change. Social education on human rights, non- through mobile phones. Conditions violence, environmental issues, and health is also 2] ICT can provide of the provided through ICT. As a result, many participants improved access to Urban Poor developed renewed interest in formal schooling, information about resisted lure to join drug gangs, and greatly increased employment opportunities, their self-esteem. health facilities, schools, Tools applied: e-Employment, e-Health, e- laws, etc Education, (Category: E-Government) In 2010, an outbreak of cholera in Haiti triggered fears Enhance 1] Empowering slum that the disease will spread to the 1,300 refugee camps Governme- dwellers and other local in the capital, Port-Au-Prince, where sanitation is poor. nt and communities through To tackle spread of the epidemic, aid agencies joined Service- information on government forces with mobile-telecom providers to disseminate provider and NGO services, facilities. awareness on clean water and sanitation via text- response/fo 2] Enabling slum-dwellers messaging relevant information/precautionary cus towards to provide grassroots level measures to camp residents. Disadvanta information and feedback Tools applied: Mobile phones, Citizen outreach ged Groups on slum upgrading schemes. (Social Accountability) 1] Empowering slum To reclaim land for vitally needed urban infrastructure dwellers and other local improvement in Sangli, India, , 29 slums were communities through prioritized for relocation. With a view to avoid information on government disruption of employment, health, education, etc access and NGO services, facilities. of slum residents, mapping tools recorded current Slum 2] Computerized land location of slums, analyzed city layout and assigned Improvem- records can control further relocation sites such that new colonies were located ent & mushrooming of slums by only 2-3 Kms from major places of work, hospitals, etc. Governance classifying city zones. Tools applied: Online Mapping/GIS 3] ICT can help bring to municipality attention location of leaking pipes, garbage accumulation, etc in slums. Uses of ICT for resolving issues affecting urban actors in the domain of urban poverty & slums can be illustrated schematically as follows: 25 Potential for Africa: The growing use of information technology in sub-Saharan Africa Region points to the availability of ICT for improving slums, reducing poverty and increasing the number of opportunities available to the urban poor. A study in Nairobi’s slums found that many city dwellers are already using mobile phones to operate small businesses and obtain information on housing availability & other basic services.36 Further, studies indicate that lack of capital-building information – rather than discrimination per se – is a primary reason why poor communities remain poor.37 In this light, as discussed below, there exists immense potential in Africa towards utilizing ICT for developing the urban poor: 36 Rasna Warah, Divided City: Information Poverty in Nairobi's Slums, UN Chronicle, June-August, 2004 37 Ibid 26 Table 2C.2 – ICT Potential in Africa for Urban Poverty Alleviation and Slum Upgrading Issue Description ICT Potential Very low availability Urban SMEs pay proportionately of credit access more for business services and As demonstrated by M-PESA schemes in hinders SME transactions, such as legal, Nairobi, ICT can improve access to credit development (for administrative and communication and reduce the costs of doing business urban poverty costs and require more responsive for urban SMEs. reduction) in Africa credit schemes, such as micro-credit. ICT can play a key role towards Women suffer Economic empowerment for women economic and political empowerment of disproportionately requires integrated approaches women by disseminating vital skill from urban poverty, including education, training, development tools, as well as as they also provide entrepreneurship and leadership information on health, domestic violence for children and development and access to redress mechanisms, etc. ICT can also manage households. resources including micro-credit. increase access to micro-credit for women entrepreneurs. Ensuring urban food Urban agriculture, which is security remains a increasingly being practiced in SSA ICT (such as land-mapping/GIS tools) vital, yet cities, can be an important source of can enable local governments unaddressed food for the urban poor, as well as an incorporate urban agriculture in land- component of urban effective and cost-efficient end-use use planning poverty reduction of urban waste. It may thus vastly strategies in Africa contribute to urban sustainability. Lax zone planning Without security of tenure, access to ICT (such as land-mapping/GIS tools) deprives urban poor credit is almost impossible as is the can enable local governments to of secure tenures and willingness of public authorities, the effectively chart separate low-income encourages private sector and the urban poor housing zones for the urban poor and unauthorized themselves to invest in housing better regulate land zones. construction. construction and improvement. 27 2.4. Urban Planning, Land and Housing Outline of Issues The extension of cities beyond ‘core’ zones occurs usually in advance of urban planning work and provision of public facilities. However, the costs of not dealing now with the rapid expansion of cities in the Africa Region will be excessive and difficult to reverse in the future. To illustrate, more than 50% of the city streets in the Sub-Saharan Africa region have no names or addresses, especially in the poorest neighborhoods.38 In 2009, poor urban planning (drainage and unenforced zoning laws) has been blamed for flooding in West Africa, affecting nearly 600,000 people.39 So, as urbanization continues to put increasing pressure on already limited access to land, cities require new strategies to update their urban planning regulations for enabling density, and preventing demand pressures for scarce housing and land to bid up prices excessively. 40 Uses of ICT for resolving issues affecting urban actors in the domain of Urban Planning, Land and Housing can be illustrated graphically as follows: 38 See Catherine, Farvacque Urban Planning in Africa: Addressing, Mapping and their Applications 39 See Voice of America (VOA), Poor Urban Planning Partly to Blame for Flooding in Africa, 16 Sept 2009. 40 See Catherine, Farvacque The Future of Africa Cities: Challenges and Priorities for Urban Development 28 What can ICT do? Table 2D.1 shows how ICT can potentially enable policy makers, planning agencies and communities conduct and formulate urban planning measures: Table 2D.1 – ICT for Urban Planning, Land and Housing Reform ICT Uses, Impact ICT Examples Objectives 1] ICT can provide, in real-time, detailed property information on urban housing projects. This includes information on existing stock, upcoming projects, time series such as price and rental indices, and Better City officials of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia utilized a GIS land transaction details. monitoring, solution to facilitate the collection of vital information 2] By conducting regular surveys data for efficiently creating urban planning proposals, and monitoring using ICT tools, it is collection, managing services, and collecting tax revenues. See possible to cross-check and validate and Case Study in Box 2D for an in-depth description. (for example) new encroachments, processing authorized/illegal constructions, etc 3] Faster, transparent approval process encourages residential and commercial construction, a major contributor to economic development. 1] In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, the Louisiana Recovery Authority launched a ‘Louisiana Speaks’ interactive blog site for reaching out to the public and conducting surveys to chart the rebuilding and planning process of New Orleans. The outreach resulted in over 27000 responses to a survey and 1] In-depth, instant understanding thousands of participants in meetings and workshops. of infrastructure and social service Improve needs, creating opportunities for 2] ‘Planetizen’, an urban planning –related news participatory cities to deploy resources to fill website, launched a debate on the future development planning. these gaps effectively of Mumbai slum Dharavi. This brought the topic of 2] Citizen’s feedback can influence ‘slum clearance versus upgrading’ to local and global city administration decision-making. attention amongst urban planners, enhancing their knowledge of urban planning best practices pertaining to slum redevelopment. Tools applied: e-Participation, online discussion forums, online surveys, etc (Category: Social Accountability) 29 Singapore’s Integrated Planning and Land Use System (iPLAN) is populated by citizens using mobile phones 1] Computerized land records , or the internet. The objective is to convey vital Avoid urban zoning, etc can control land information for enabling municipalities effectively plan speculation grabbing, property tax rates and and survey spatial information such as parcels, zoning, and proliferation of illegal construction. land use, addresses, transportation networks, etc. The unnatural 2] Cooperation and concerted action system can then process several map layers and land price by local authorities and communities produce intelligent reports (which can be shared with increases can avoid “pricing� of the urban poor citizens over the web) to facilitate well-informed urban out of the formal housing market. land planning. Tools applied: Mobile phones, Online Mapping/GIS BOX 2D– The ‘Information for City Development’ project of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia In 2005, city officials of the City of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, decided to take advantage of the potential of GIS technology. Up to this point, the City had been severely lacking vital information, thus hampering its ability to create urban planning proposals, efficiently manage services, and collect tax revenues. City administrators began their project by developing a ‘geodatabase’ that would include various socioeconomic and housing status data on the City’s nearly 3 million residents and about 400,000 housing units. As the majority of the City was built in an unplanned manner with slum areas and illegal housing in every part of the City, the task was indeed massive. Nearly 4,000 data collectors were deployed over a period of 10 months, visiting each household in the City and filling out the questionnaires designed to collect the various types of data that the City needed. These surveyors also took measurements of buildings and parcels, and based on these measurements, sketches were drawn. Once the completed questionnaires began coming to the project office, about 240 data encoders began encoding the data into the computer using database software. Once the database began yielding outputs on land maps (using GIS tools), the demand for outputs by the various departments of the City Administration became very high. Based upon analysis of these land maps, the Urban Works and Development Bureau (BWUD) has now started issuing title deeds and title books for property owners in the City. GIS provides accurate property transaction information; therefore, in just the first year, it has been able to increase the revenue generated for the City Administration from Ethiopian birr 5 million to 36 million per year. Using this data set, the Finance Bureau evaluates all taxes related to land and, again, has been able to increase the City Administration income. With the watchdog GIS in place, property owners can no longer misrepresent their actual holdings. This benefit alone significantly adds to the return on investment for GIS. 30 Capabilities of ICT towards enhancing Urban Planning, Land & Housing are illustrated as follows: Potential for Africa: In keeping with the recommendations of the ‘NEPAD cities’ program, which aims to address rapid urbanization and its consequences in order to make African cities more attractive for economic investment, the Governments of Botswana, Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya, and Nigeria have shown a strong willingness to improve policies and legislation geared towards sustainable urban planning.41 Their commitments include making flexible town planning laws to suit the needs of the low income; evolve achievable development standards; relax development control; provide serviced plots and provide funds and materials for house construction.42 To meet these goals in Africa, there is immense scope for ICT to play a very valuable role: 41 UN-HABITAT, Reassessment of Urban Planning and Development Regulations in African Cities 42 Ibid 31 Table 2D.2 – ICT Potential in Africa for Urban Planning, Land and Housing Issue Description ICT Potential In many growing cities of the Africa Region, majority of the inhabitants ICT-enabled participatory urban Need for more are often unemployed and the governance can play a vital role in devising flexible town informal sector economy dominates. local city-planning solutions, where planning concepts This means that work, recreation and leadership of neighborhoods as well as that relate with housing usually occur in one place. occupational groups, chambers of local on-the- Hence, the western concept for urban Commerce, youth, NGOs, etc are closely ground realities planning based on labor-based involved in general consultations and and conditions. employment might not be suitable as recommendations. a town-planning ‘blueprint’. City-mapping using GIS systems and Expansion of cities More than 50% of the city streets in monitoring can check illegal construction often takes place the SSA region have no names or and also assist authorities in charting out in advance of addresses, especially in the poorest zones which require necessary municipal town neighborhoods. In such areas, infrastructure. Also, ICT can enable planning or neighborhoods largely lack access to creation of urban information databases for authorization. basic infrastructure services. planning and naming city streets, neighborhoods, etc. Many areas in African cities lack proper demarcation for commercial and residential purposes, leading to GIS tools can enhance urban planning Poor town heavy vehicular traffic in residential officials by not only helping demarcate planning worsens areas. In addition, many markets lack residential and commercial areas, but also vehicular traffic proper parking space or parking by contributing to better layout of these management. facilities are designed in such a way areas. This can lead to improved traffic that visitors departing the premises flow in urban areas. have to back out onto busy streets to leave, often blocking traffic. At the urban level, corruption and Corruption lack of transparency abets land E-Government tools can promote combined with grabbing, land speculation and poor efficiency and accountability of poor town delivery of urban services which municipalities, public works departments, planning hinders mostly affect the urban poor. During and public-sector housing agencies. Social poverty reduction, the 2005 flooding in West Africa, Accountability renders a mechanism for quality-of-life unfinished drainage projects and citizens to provide their feedback, real-time parameters of unenforced zoning laws constricted monitoring and complaints to relevant residents. rain water and sewage flow, affecting departments. nearly 600,000 urban residents. 32 2.5. Urban Environment and Climate Change Outline of Issues With energy use in urban electricity, transport, and industry contributing up to 77 percent of Global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, cities constitute a major source of GHG emissions.43 But not only are cities significant contributors to climate change, they are also most likely to disproportionately suffer its consequences on account of their proximity to coastlines or water bodies and are thus susceptible to flooding and drought.44 Climate-change induced floods are already having very large impacts on urban centers in many African nations. (For instance, heavy floods affected Maputo, Mozambique in 2000, floods and mudslides brought heavy damage to urban East Africa in 2002, and the very serious floods in Port Harcourt, Nigeria and in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2006 forced tens of thousands to leave their homes.) Secondly, being dependent on a range of resources such as food, water, energy, and land, whose availability and prices vary in response to climatic changes, as their largest and most dense consumers, cities will be affected. Finally, climate change will have unpredictable impacts on urban health and civil systems, as global warming-induced changes in disease vectors or evolving pathogens can have devastating impacts on dense urban clusters.45 A schematic representation of Urban Environment, Climate Change and Hazard Management issues is shown below: 43 World Resource Institute, World Greenhouse Gas Emissions Flow Chart, available at http://www.wri.org/chart/world- greenhouse-gas-emissions-flow-chart; David Satterthwaite, Cities' contribution to global warming: notes on the allocation of greenhouse gas emissions, Environment and Urbanization 2008 20: 539-549 44 Nicholls, R.J., Hanson, S., Herweijer, C., Patmore, N., Hallegatte, S., Jan Corfee-Morlot Jean Chateau, and Muir-Wood, R., Ranking of the world's cities most exposed to coastal flooding today and in the future, OECD Environment Working Paper No. 1, 2007 45 Vora N., Impact of anthropogenic environmental alterations on vector-borne diseases, Medscape J Med. 2008. Vol 10:238. October 2008 33 What can ICT do? While the relationship between ICT and the urban environment seems distant, Table 2E.1 shows how ICT can be a powerful tool for urban society to protect environment, enhance response to climate- change induced disasters and other natural calamities: Table 2E.1 – ICT for Urban Environment and Climate Change Reform ICT Uses, Impact ICT Examples Objectives 1] By providing more useful metrics/ information and enabling population decentralization, ICT can play 1] Large-scale telecommuting enabled by broadband an important role in the fight infrastructure can help reduce vehicular emissions. Reduce against pollution. pollution 2] ICT play a role in 2] E-Mail, Electronic document flows, etc leading to preventing deforestation by reduced paper usage. reducing paper consumption through paperless government, paperless office operations. 34 ICT help reduce the consumption of energy, water Efficient and other essential natural Tools applied: resource resources through monitoring ‘SmartGrid’, ‘Smart Logistics’ systems utilization and enabling more efficient household and industrial procedures. 1] ‘Flood Hazard’ maps generated by GIS tools can identify a community’s flood risk. The city of Honolulu launched in 2007 the ‘Flood Hazard Assessment Tool’ (FHAT) which involved community participation in the survey of river flows, storm tides, rainfall and other topographical features. On a map, the compiled data helped delineate flood zone classifications ranging from low to high risk. Residents were able to assess their property’s vulnerability to flooding online by one of three Environm- Through constant mapping of ways: location, street address, or zip code. ental natural resources, ICT can be Tools applied: Online Mapping/GIS disaster deployed extensively to manage- monitor, predict and respond 2] In the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, NGO ment to environmental disaster. ‘Ushahidi’ launched a Social Accountability-based disaster response system to assist fire, police, medical personnel coordinate relief efforts. This online tool aggregated information collected from local witnesses, citizens and on-the-spot relief agencies using SMS messages and pinpointed relevant data on interactive maps, saving over 100 lives. Tools applied: Online forums + Mobile phones, Online Mapping/GIS 1] Since 2009, Social Networking tool ‘Urban EcoMap’ provides urban communities with relevant data regarding the primary GHG contributors—transportation, waste, and energy. The objective is to build awareness, foster a sense of community connection and responsibility, and provide actions for citizens to take to enable the reduction of GHG. In addition, it supports decision- making for policymakers and business organizations, as Communities can harness ICT well as for urban design, development and operations, Enhance to communicate and the research of urban, earth, and social scientists. Environm- environmental knowledge, Tools applied: e-Participation, online discussion ental facilitate citizen monitoring of forums, online surveys, etc capacity- environmental issues, and building encourage environmental 2] Environment-friendly businesses have been incubated activism. in recent years through ICT-enabled incubation facilities. One such incubated facility in Kenya helps reduce GHG emissions and energy consumption. By gaining access to high-speed internet, online networking & training opportunities with experienced engineers and venture capitalists, Kenyan entrepreneurs established an indigenous wind-turbine production facility for delivering clean power to Nairobi. Tools applied: Online forums 35 The uses of ICT towards Urban Environment, Climate Change & Disaster Management are represented in the schematic below: Potential for Africa: Urban environmental problems in Africa are highly correlated with the processes of urban development in the region, namely rapid urbanization, motorization and poverty of a large proportion of urban dwellers. For instance, up to 80 % of the urban population in Nigeria is denied decent urban life due to the high rate of environmental deterioration in the cities.46 But as Africa’s various regions expand in urban and industrial growth, as discussed in Table 2E.2, ICT can offer vast scope for local agencies and citizens to devise patterns and processes of development that are suitable for resource conservation and urban environment management. 46 See Adedeji Daramola & Eziyi Ibem, Urban Environmental Problems in Nigeria: Implications for Sustainable Development, Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa (Vol. 12, No. 1, 2010) 36 Table 2E.2 – ICT Potential in Africa for Urban Environment and Climate Change Issue Description ICT Potential To address urban environmental issues, a large amount of geographical data collection, environmental information, and monitoring pertaining to local Municipalities and citizens can use ICT Local topographical features is required. For example, tools such as Mobile phones and digital data, vitally needed Zambia’s Ministry of Environment cameras to help construct up-to-date to tackle urban and Natural Resources has been databases and city maps depicting all kinds environment assigned the task of formulating of geographic features. Agencies can then issues, is often policies for environmental employ GIS tools on these maps to conduct lacking or outdated intervention and management. But it useful analysis for environmental lacks necessary data pertaining to management. urban landforms, drainage, parks and green spaces, etc to conduct meaningful analysis. GIS tools can help users through various techniques that can be used for forecasting There is lack of awareness amongst and what-if scenarios. Examples may analysts, citizens and decision include drought repercussions on wildlife, makers regarding the relationships dam influences on urban economies, burn Lack of disaster between resource use and ecological clearing strategies on flora and fauna, and cause-and-effect impact, hindering their ability to even the spread of communicable diseases knowledge and plan for future catastrophes.47 Also, in cities. planning capacity most local agencies do not fully comprehend the underlying GIS tools can also be used by agencies for processes of urbanization, disaster, researching the impact of population disease, and poverty. growth on a township’s economic develop- ment, increase in pollution levels, vulnerability to natural calamities, etc Awareness of Widespread illiteracy and poverty in environmental Africa has meant that poor families sustainability and local agencies are more issues is Social Accountability tools can strengthen concerned about daily survival considered very environmental activism in the region by than keeping an eye on low in SSA enhancing capacity building amongst environmental issues. There is also compared to other environment practitioners, policy makers weakness in regulatory frameworks social phenomenon and urban residents in Africa. and policies regarding such as environmental management. conflict, corruption in Africa. and food security. 47 See Emanuel Ekpenyong, Envirnmnt. Awareness as a Panacea for Sustainable Environment Management in Africa 37 2.6. Water and Sanitation Service Delivery Outline of Issues In many cities, demand for water greatly outstrips supply resulting in water delivery to households only for a few hours each day or for certain days of the week. It is estimated that as many as 500 million urban residents have inappropriate access to water services or experience water scarcity, and at least 50% of African urban population remains unconnected to official utility networks, relying on alternative sources for water supply instead. Reliable access to clean and affordable water is often unavailable to the urban poor, who may be spending long hours waiting in line to get water (often of questionable quality) that they may be forced to store in unsanitary conditions. Further, up to 40% or more of all water that enters the distribution system can be unaccounted for through theft, illegal hook ups or leakage. Pollution of urban water resources is also now a growing concern, as many cities dump untreated human wastes, along with industrial and agricultural wastes, into the same rivers or lakes, from which other cities (or other neighborhoods of the same city) extract their water supply. In context of Water and Sanitation Services (WSS), the various issues observed along the linkages connecting urban actors are illustrated schematically below: 38 What can ICT do? Ensuring that good quality water is distributed equitably, reliably and efficiently is the objective of the regulator. In this regard, Table 2F.1 highlights the potential of ICT solutions in assisting relevant local agencies towards improving their water supply and sanitation services: Table 2F.1 – ICT for Water and Sanitation Service Delivery Reform ICT Uses, Impact ICT Examples Objectives Using an Online Report Center (‘The Seoul Environment ICT can enable Pollution Information Center’), citizens can report and file cases public participation of environmental pollution including water pipeline leakage, in making water sanitation/sewage problems and water pollution along with Encourage supply decisions, or corresponding location. To manage water supply facilities, a GIS citizen providing system monitors these reports on a real-time basis and plots participation monitoring problem areas on relevant maps. Administrative support is in attaining assistance to being handled by e-Cyber Customer Center, which deals with water achieve reductions online payment of water rate and meter-reading. The quality in leakage, municipality has incorporated e-services to provide standards unaccounted-for environmental information to citizens in the form of an online water, and identify newsletter and other digital modes of public broadcasting. Tools location of polluting applied: Online Mapping/GIS + e-Municipality, e-Billing, e- sources. services 1] ICT can achieve 1] In Allahabad, India, the various problems and gaps plaguing transparent billing the existing water-supply system were assessed in a GIS and collection framework through municipality collaboration with a number of procedures that are water-governing boards. Through this initiative, various accurate and thus features pertaining to existing state of the water supply and better accepted by topography of water bodies were recorded and plotted on maps. the community. This Consequent GIS modeling (in 3D) led to the formulation of can also lead to solutions for addressing water supply problems. Tools focused cost- applied: Online Mapping/GIS recovery strategies Better for investment 2] Madagascar’s Safe Water Project, Care Madagascar, provides management purposes. analysis of water quality problems and urban community of water- 2] Improved water constraints by employing GIS tools to plot bacteriological services, system reliability analysis results (indicating water quality in each location) and drainage through ICT- the distance between households and sources on a map. Tools enabled monitoring applied: Online Mapping/GIS of safe water supply, illegal connections, 3] GIS tools can help plan for urban waste collection and enforcement of disposal. For instance, In Westminster, U.K., sensors were watershed installed to monitor sewage flows, with corresponding data protection relayed to GIS mapping tools in real-time. The pin-pointing of measures, etc, can accurate bottleneck locations using this technique vastly help cities meet the improved the city’s ability to deal with escalating sewage water demands of problems in densely populated sectors. Tools applied: Online urban residents. Mapping/GIS with telemetry 39 1] To enable urban communities choose among different combinations of municipal tariff and service level, ICT can provide community members Formulate transparency in the citizen- costs of supplying In Hyderabad, India, the ‘e-SEVA’ application enables digital centric and distributing monitoring/metering of water consumption for each individual solutions water via accurate household in a transparent manner. See Case Study in Box 2F representation in for an in-depth description. user tariffs. 2] ICT-enabled WSS call centers can provide reliable customer-oriented service to urban communities. ICT-enabled programs aimed at changing sanitary and hygiene In 2010, an outbreak of cholera – a water-borne disease - in Haiti behaviors, such as triggered fears that the disease will spread to the 1,300 refugee hand-washing and Raise camps in the capital, Port-Au-Prince, where sanitation is poor. proper disposal of awareness To tackle spread of this epidemic, aid agencies joined forces with waste, can greatly level of mobile-telecom providers to disseminate awareness on clean reduce morbidity public water and sanitation via text-messaging relevant and mortality rates hygiene information/precautionary measures to camp residents. from hygiene- Tools applied: Mobile phones, Citizen outreach (Social related diseases, Accountability) achieving immediate, cost- effective public health impacts. BOX 2F– ‘e-SEVA’ Online Water & Sewage Billing, Hyderabad Metro Water Works, India Then: The Hyderabad municipality had to keep track of thousands upon thousands of customer billing accounts manually. The system was so inefficient, that the Corporation struggled to make ends meet and invest further in infrastructure development due to poor revenue collection and monitoring mechanisms. Citizens themselves were unmotivated to pay bills on time as it involved physical transportation to the billing dept, waiting in long queues, etc. Besides, the repercussions of not paying bills on time or not paying at all were seldom severe as middlemen could be bought out using bribes. In addition, people in slum clusters enjoyed political patronage for free water. Importantly, since the system was not based on digital metering, it was almost impossible to assess water consumption on a per household basis. Water charges per community were divided up by the number of households, leading to scarce financial incentives to conserve water for households per se. 40 Now: But by virtue of e-SEVA, all the above problems are resolved. By digitally monitoring (as shown in the figure below) who has paid bills, it is now possible to impose repercussion measures on defaulters. As a result, the Corporation is able to recover its revenues and invest in new projects. Salient Aspects of e-SEVA: 1: For those without internet access or credit cards, payments can be made at any one of 46 e-SEVA centers located throughout the city. 2: A transaction number and receipt is awarded after each payment. 3: Citizens are not charged for using this service. Instead, utility companies charged Rs 5/transaction. 4: 66 municipality services are offered by e-SEVA. 5: Every interaction is made completely transparent. Uses of ICT for resolving issues affecting urban actors in the domain of Water & Sanitation Services Delivery can be illustrated graphically as follows: 41 Potential for Africa: MDG Target 7c calls on countries to "Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking-water and basic sanitation." But yet, in Nigeria, for example, out of the 85 million people living in urban and semi-urban areas, less than half have reasonable access to reliable water supply.48 Data and project experience in SSA suggests clear linkages between poor Water Supply & Services (WSS) standards and low scores in health, education and productivity indicators due to impacts of disease, higher infant mortality, and high absenteeism in schools and at work.49 Most often, these problems arise in the region as WSS is unreliable, of low quality, and unsustainable due to difficulties in management, operation and pricing and failure to recover costs. To this end, and in view of achieving the objectives specified in MDG 7, Table 2F.2, discusses the scope for ICT to strengthen WSS in Africa by improving maintenance of systems, generating revenues for operation and increasing utilization of existing capacities. 48 Ibid 49 World Bank Report (2000): Federal Republic of Nigeria-Water Supply & Sanitation Interim Strategy Note 42 Table 2F.2 – ICT Potential in Africa for Water and Sanitation Services Delivery Issue Description ICT Potential Due to rapid urbanization, each year, the GIS tools can help decision makers plan share of the urban population in Africa that Decreasing development of water supply gets its water through wells and boreholes piped-water infrastructure by surveying rises by 1.5 percent, compared to a mere 0.1 coverage in availability/quality of water resources, percent for piped water Alarmingly, an urban areas. location of underserved communities, additional 0.6 percent of the urban population possible routing of pipelines, etc. turns each year to surface water.50 Due to recent decentralization, nascent local Regulatory activities and decisions could WSS regulators in SSA face the challenge of be reached through transparent Weak gaining stature, establishing a track record of processes using ICT (such as E- regulatory sound decision-making, and acquiring Government) that would be publicly roles in the competent staff. In this regard, there is a need available and defensible. Social urban water to make progress in improving transparency Accountability tools can enable sector of regulatory decisions based on the adoption consumer participation in the regulatory of well defined technical tools for regulation, process. while also achieving accountability. Monitoring consumer/community water Scientific methodologies to reliably estimate usage through e-Billing mechanisms can water requirements and arrive at meaningful Lack of play a big role towards effective demand pricing are lacking in the region. An Demand management and pricing. These systems assessment of demand management among Management also provide an adequate cost signal to water utilities and meaningful pricing can only Capacity customers by ensuring the applicability be reliably performed for those with high of metering towards calculating metering coverage. volumetric charging and tariffs. To service growing unserved areas, municipalities need to make investments in new water-supply networks funded from Continuous enforcement of automated Low Financial internally generated revenues of service cost-recovery services (using e-Billing) Sustainability providers. But the low financial sustainability and water-monitoring processes of water and consequent low investment and poor enabled by ICT can help ensure financial utilities service quality of these utilities adversely sustainability. affect optimal resource allocation in the sector. ICT can serve as an effective platform for launching community Millions of poor residents are afflicted each hygiene/sanitation awareness Inadequate year by preventable diseases caused by low programs. Sanitation campaign hygiene sanitation awareness. Women and children broadcasting on Mobile phones, education are often the main victims. Internet, and Social Accountability tools can reach millions of people on account of the Region’s increased ICT access. 50 Source: Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD), Ebbing Water, Surging Deficits: Urban Water Supply in sub- Saharan Africa, Background paper 12 (phase I) 43 Section III: ICT Tools/Applications for Urban & Water Management To ensure that cities strengthen key parameters of sustainable development, notably those related to livability, competitiveness, good governance, management, and bankability, many public-sector entities and municipalities across the world have adopted ICT to trigger ‘Smart City’ development for their respective constituencies. Recognizing that such technology can transform the way cities benefit from agglomeration while minimizing adjustment (‘grime, crime & time’) costs, introducing ICT in the governance system of cities can transform urban & water services development. To aid WBG’s initiatives on sustainable urban and water development in the Africa Region, this section discusses the three fundamental ICT methodologies employed internationally towards urban governance and water management, namely, E-Governance, Social Accountability, and GIS51. The objective is to identify and discuss cost-effective tools employed within these ICT methodologies to enable replication initiatives in urban Africa. 3.1. E-Governance Tools By eliminating intermediaries and simplifying government to citizen and business transactions -making them more accessible to a wider audience - E-Governance seeks to reduce opportunities for corruption through supporting transparency and accountability measures. The ability of any citizen to efficiently and securely access municipality services/information around-the-clock and from any location reduces the potential for bribery—that could harm the poor—or discrimination—that could dissuade minorities from using the service. Along with PCs, widely diffused mobile telephones now also allow more citizens to deepen interactions with public-sector urban agencies. As a result, mainstreaming ICT-based E-Government systems into functions of sub-national level entities can transform municipalities by supporting officials in providing better governance and management capabilities. The different tools and systems that facilitate achievement of desired objectives through E- Governance are well established and widely used. These are detailed in the following sub-sections, and include 1] e-Revenue, 2] e-Authorization, 3] e-Procurement, 4] Financial Management Systems/IFMIS, 5] e-Citizen Development, and 6] e-Municipality. 51 Synthesized from http://www.urbaninsight.com/articles/egov0902.html 44 3.1.1. Tool 1: e-Revenue (e-Billing, e-Taxes) Description e-Revenue systems attempt to offer citizens and businesses an assurance that calculation of municipality charges/fees/Tax Returns/etc is arithmetically correct and these payments can be processed efficiently. In association with IFMIS (see Tool 4), these systems are also designed to provide necessary tools for the comprehensive administration of working capital finance mechanisms for municipalities and service providers. They encompass software for: automated generation of invoices regarding utility service charges, fees; municipal tax appraisals for citizens and businesses; and digital revenue collection mechanism for local governments. This technology can also assist in demand assessment and management of essential utilities (electricity, water, etc.). For instance, monitoring electronically-generated water bills (based on volume of water consumed) for a particular household or community (over a period of time) helps service providers accurately predict seasonal water requirements. Potential 1] e-Billing leads to efficient, streamlined collection of service charges and fees from merit citizens as well as transparency in collection processes. 2] Through effective utility demand assessment and management, service providers can plan for adequate resource allocation to meet consumption requirements. 3] Through online tax filing systems, governments can aim to reduce corruption in tax processing and build public trust. 4] An organization can save 1-2% of turnover by replacing paper invoices and optimizing the related processes with web-based services. Electronic and automated invoice processes can result in savings of 60-80% compared to traditional paper based processing. Thus the payback time on investments in E-Invoicing projects can be as short as six months.52 Success 1] Ensuring data security for financial transactions. factors 2] Performing financial transactions online requires the presence of sufficiently developed banking infrastructure (digital accounts, credit cards, etc). 3] Appropriate regulatory approvals from respective central banks, finance ministry, etc., need to be in place before web-based financial transactions can take place. 4] Utilities require a certain maturity and capacity before they can produce dependable performance data (for demand assessment purposes). FRIENDS – online payments to the Government in Kerala, India References (http://www.egov4dev.org/success/case/friends.shtml SMS eGov for Report, Database, and Transaction (http://news.smsegov.info/2010/07/20/sms-egov-for-report-database-transaction- india/) 52 Source: http://isistimes.wordpress.com/2009/08/ 45 3.1.2. Tool 2: e-Authorization (e-Registration, e-Permit, e-Contract) Description e-Registration, e-Permit and e-Contract are online channels that enable citizens and businesses to seamlessly engage into various forms of certification and deeds with the local government in a transparent and cost-effective manner. Such online mechanisms are widely applied with the objective of improving economic competitiveness of cities /enhancing productivity through automation of time- consuming regulatory processes (for instance, computerized approvals for establishing enterprises, obtaining birth certificates, registering vehicles, land titling, etc). These services include automation and interconnectivity of local registrars, ability to register over the web, and electronic distribution of registry information. Potential 1] Automation reduces the barriers to starting a business, as measured by the Doing merit Business indicators. In countries with electronic registration, starting a business takes less time, requires fewer procedures, and costs less – leading to greater entrepreneurship.53 2] These services often provide authentication support, ensuring safe and secure transactions by protecting integrity of data. 3] By streamlining processes and enabling transparency, scope for corruption is vastly reduced. Success 1] Ensuring necessary data security for financial transactions may be challenging in a factors lax legal environment. 2] Building in-house capacity for information management (document classification and archiving) 3] Appropriate regulatory approvals from respective central banks, finance ministry, etc., need to be in place before web-based financial transactions can take place. 4] Significant investments are often required for the purchase, implementation and upkeep of necessary hardware and software. 5] Successful e-Authorization processes typically require integration of all municipality informational and outreach centers/offices into computer network e-Birth Registration at Rajshahi City Corporation, Bangladesh References (http://www.egov4dev.org/success/case/rajshahi.shtml 53 Source: 2007 World Bank Entrepreneurship survey 46 3.1.3. Tool 3: e-Procurement Description With the objectives of reducing the time and cost of doing business for both municipalities and vendors (goods and services providers), E-Procurement systems digitally link local government departments, agencies and local bodies with their vendors to create a single-stop shop for all procurements. This facilitates online tendering to provide ‘any where any time’ access to the vendors/bidders for participating in tendering, thereby eliminating the non value-adding activities like: manual sale of tender documents, manual opening and reading of bids, preparation of comparative statements (as they are automatically available), audit/cross check of comparative statements, time spent in movement of files from one person to another, manual creation of purchase order and delivery schedule etc. Often, to aid municipalities adhere with budget cuts and reduce scope for corruption e-procurement tools have in-built mechanisms to levy various controls on government purchases and expenditure. They may also provide or process information concerning various aspects of procurement, such as government suppliers, procurement prices, and acquired items. Potential 1] By doing away with paper forms, e-procurement not only helps eliminate errors, merit but also reduces postage costs and the expenses and space considerations surrounding paper-based record storage. 2] By closely tying actual demand with in-house handling/storage capacity, the amount of inventory and services municipalities must purchase is reduced - allowing for efficient supply chain management. 3] Through E-procurement systems, municipalities can consolidate orders for similar items with one supplier, resulting in deeper volume discounts and cost savings. 4] Better value for money spent can be realized through increased vendor competition and the prevention of cartel formation. Success 1] To achieve full efficiency, suppliers and service providers to municipalities need factors also possess the capacity to perform electronic transactions. 2] Ensuring necessary data security for financial transactions may be challenging in a lax legal environment. 3] Standardizing the procurement processes across government departments/agencies may be a challenging task. ‘CompraNet’ – Local Government procurement system in Mexico References (http://www.hidalgo.compranet.gob.mx:8008/html42/ingles.html) 47 3.1.4. Tool 4: Financial Management Systems Description With the objective of forecasting the total liquid cash resource available to the government at a point in time, IFMIS provide an integrated financial package for public resource management by computerizing the budget management and accounting systems. It consists of several core sub-systems which plan, process and report on the use of public resources. IFMIS sub-systems normally include accounting, budgeting, cash management, debt management and related core treasury systems. In addition, some governments also include non-core sub-systems such as tax administration, procurement management, asset management, human resource and pay roll systems, pension and social security systems.54 Potential If set-up and used well, IFMIS facilitates improvement of - merit 1] More realistic and standardized budget formulation and execution 2] Historic information on expenditures 3] Improved resource allocation, revenue and expenditure control 4] Asset, liability and cash management 5] Financial Risk management and control systems 6] Access to reliable and timely information to support decision making 7] Customer service 8] Auditable financial statements Success 1] Vested interests might perceive municipal finance reform as a threat to financial factors55 control and authority: can be reduced through communication, training, participation, identification of win-win scenarios, etc. 2] A comprehensive budget management law for management of public funds and property needs to be in place. 3] IFMIS systems require extensive staff training. However, most staff need to know only specific features of the system. IFMIS implementation in Kosovo, Tanzania, Slovak Republic, Tanzania, Ethiopia: References (http://www.u4.no/helpdesk/helpdesk/query.cfm?id=196) 54 The Implementation of Integrated Financial Management Information Systems, Transparency International 55 Source: http://www.slideshare.net/icgfmconference/ifmis-planning 48 3.1.5. Tool 5: e-Citizen Development: e-Employment, e-Health, e-Education, etc Description By harnessing the reach and resources of local governments, e-governance applications can be leveraged to deliver customized socio-economic services to citizens (such as targeted employment opportunities, Health information, Skill development opportunities, etc). As greater number of urban residents in developing countries gain technology accessibility through rising ICT penetration levels, e- Government systems providing Web-enabled or mobile-phone based government services can now address a wider audience including disadvantaged groups. e-Citizen Development programs can involve public broadcasting mechanisms (over mobile phones, internet) for disseminating vital information (for instance, recommended sanitation measures, location of ongoing recruitment campaigns, etc). Public computer centers/Training labs have been launched to impart Educational/skill development programs for specific target groups such as women, disabled citizens, etc. Also, by incorporating (for instance) specific search parameters in local government websites, on-demand/customized opportunities can be provided to citizens (for instance, relevant employment opportunities, etc). Potential 1] In view of the strong linkages between socio-economic conditions and merit governability, improved economic conditions of citizens can, for instance, reduce dependence on law enforcement and hazard management agencies for public safety. 2] Greater awareness of citizens on health measures through e-governance can reduce future spending on disease prevention measures and treatment. 3] Targeted citizen-centric solutions can vastly help reduce ‘trust deficit’ between citizens and local governments. Success 1] Sustainability issues: Should citizens be charged for availing such services? If not, factors make the economic case for investment in building, maintaining these applications. 2] Literacy levels, citizen awareness levels need to be assessed prior to devising appropriate solutions. 3] Constantly updating databases might require extensive staff training or further automation. Electronic Immunization Registry and Tracking System in Bangladesh References (http://www.egov4dev.org/health/case/banglaimmune.shtml) Mobile-phone based Urban Resource Center of Ahmedabad Municipal Corp, India (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/SMS-a-carpenter- soon/articleshow/5942747.cms) 49 3.1.6. Tool 6: e-Municipality Description By integrating the overall activity of the municipality (administrative service delivery as well as financial activities) into a unified system, this tool aims to incorporate all essential features for introduction and operation of e-Government. e-Municipality refers to the virtual integration of all municipal departments/functions within a city to create a seamless 'one-stop-shop' access point for citizens. Such systems handle interactions for every kind of activity between citizens, businesses, public employees and government departments on the electronic platform. For instance, through e- Municipality systems, users can fill out digital forms only once and the data gets automatically transferred to all relevant departments immediately - avoiding the scope for needless duplications, redundancies and confusion. Typical modules incorporated within e-Municipality integrated systems include: Registration of municipal property (issuance of deeds of municipal ownership and maintenance), Rental of the municipal property, Real Estate Appraisal (automation of appraisal procedures related to municipal land and buildings), Cashier’s office (automation of cash and bank transfer payments on municipal charges – housing, land, administrative services, etc), punitive ordinances (Issuance, registration and printing of punitive ordinances for offenders), etc Potential 1] Ensuring effectiveness and efficiency in public administration merit 2] Equal access for everyone 3] Integrated network 4] High quality and rich information 5] Improved ease of service 6] Cost saving 7] More transparency and ease of access to government units Success 1] Government employees (initially used to working only in manual mode) need to factors adapt to automated way of functioning. 2] Appropriate policy choices in favor of computerization (but making sure that idle manpower and lay-offs do not affect morale of local government workers). 3] Resolved technical incompatibilities between various municipal departments (to hasten the establishment of a one-stop-shop for citizens). 4] Availability of significant amount of resources for the purchase, implementation and upkeep of necessary hardware and software. References e-Municipality in Kadikoy (http://www.kadikoy.bel.tr), Project Sampark (http://www.spicindia.com/sampark.aspx) 50 General Methodology for Successful E-Governance Implementation As shown in Figure 3:  To achieve well-designed, successful E-Governance applications using internet or mobile phones, a secure-transaction environment (to protect data security) must be created for making municipalities more accountable and transparent.  Typically, streamlining of business processes for enhancing municipal capability towards servicing citizen/stakeholder needs and concerns may be required.  The underlying Information Technology (IT) structure should have the flexibility for alterations and modifications over time to suit evolving citizen/customer requirements and yet ensure intended accountability of municipalities.  To ensure continuous high-level support for E-Governance from local governments, these applications must be devised based solely on policies and objectives stipulated by official authorities. Figure 3: Configuration of E-Government systems 51 3.2. Social Accountability Tools Social Accountability tools (such as online blogs, forums, discussions) render a platform for large-scale citizen review/feedback/dialogue on public-sector policies and services via up-to-the second news, meeting notes, postings, data, images, etc. These multiple-format mechanisms offer new barrier-free models of public participation in which real-time collaboration, experience-sharing and participation amongst citizens are becoming the norm. This enables authorities to constantly remain in touch with people in order to make governance more effective and representative. In view of the growing accessibility of ICT in most African cities, citizens and stakeholders are in an increasingly powerful position to leverage mechanisms for Social Accountability. The various tools that support ICT-based Social Accountability mechanisms in the framework of Urban/water services are discussed in the ensuing sub-sections, and include: 1] Surveys (Forecast/Retrospective), 2] Citizen Outreach, 3] Digital Publication, and 4] e-Participation. 52 3.2.1. Tool 1: Surveys (Forecast/Retrospective) Description Citizen surveys are investigations of the behavior, preferences, attitudes or opinions of a target group sample, collected through online questionnaires. Ex ante (or forecast surveys) can help government & utilities to shape future plans, such as investment/infrastructure plans to expand services, institutional changes and tariff changes. Post ante surveys (or retrospective surveys) can constitute effective mechanisms for conveying citizen’s viewpoints and review of public projects and services to authorities. Surveys may cover particular sub-groups or geographical communities within the service area or the whole service area. Ex ante/forecast surveys may measure willingness to pay or preferences (for example) service levels and tariff structures. Post ante surveys can be used to evaluate and monitor performance of urban projects and services from the citizen’s point of view. A wide variety of online applications exist for conducting surveys using the Internet. Through mobile phones, respondents can submit their choices using SMS messages, touch-tone number punching, interacting with voice messaging systems, etc. Potential 1] Targeted forecast surveys are a useful tool for consultations on service merit development and improvement. Retrospective surveys can give agencies insights into problems being faced by citizens and bring pressure to bear for their resolution. 2] Within the targeted population group, there exists equal access for everyone. 3] Although surveys can be expensive to conduct, those high costs may be warranted for large planned activities – results are often used to create change. 4] Surveys can be institutionalized into normal utility or municipality operations Success 1] Design and execution determine the integrity of the results. factors 2] Options considered must be within actionable range of utility. 3] Transparent publication of methodology and data. 4] To achieve impartial evaluation/feedback, target groups must be carefully selected to reflect balanced socio-economic conditions of citizenry. 5] Surveys require considerable financial and human resources as well as experience with statistical techniques. References Electronic Water Use Survey, Texas Water Development Board (http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/wrpi/wus/form.asp) Mobile phone based surveys in Palestine (‘AidLink’ Alerts) (http://www.chfinternational.org/node/33830) 53 3.2.2. Tool 2: Citizen Outreach Description Outreach can be a first step to two-way dialogue and consultation – although it is mostly a one-way process, with information flowing from utility companies/municipality to the public through SMS messages & alerts or e-mail notifications. Citizen outreach pertains to efforts by agencies to connect directly with the public for purposes of disseminating vital information/messages pertaining to (for example) necessary health precautions, location of skill development workshops, change in tariff levels, tax payment information, etc. Outreach can also be used to provide information on the utility, including works and service disruptions, and on how to use complaint and consultation mechanisms. Potential 1] Community outreach can establish a basis for accountability by building trust and merit making utility/municipality staff more accessible. 2] It can be customized to reach specific/targeted communities or groups. 3] Cash costs are modest; costs for consumers are low; can be organized in parallel to other activities of urban and water-sector agencies. 4] Outreach activities can be easily made routine Success 1] Should be well targeted and tailored to the groups and individuals who are meant factors to be reached. 2] Ad hoc utilization, misuse or exploitation of this tool by agencies (for instance, as a marketing/product promotion medium) needs to be avoided to maintain accountability. References SMS alerts to citizens, Surat Municipal Corporation (India) (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/Now-get-SMS-alerts-on-tax- dues/articleshow/6502234.cms) 54 3.2.3. Tool 3: Digital Publication of Performance data Description An effective way of ensuring accountability of local governments and service companies is by making performance data of these entities available through online publishing of annual reports/metrics or disseminating relevant information using SMS messages. Such reports provide a mechanism for public overview of agency activities and a tool to monitor performance. It can be a powerful tool for citizen and consumer advocates demanding change as well as for community representatives monitoring utility performances, particularly if it provides data on service performance as well as finances. As utilities already send e-bills to consumers, this provides a valuable channel through which additional data can be provided. Potential 1] This tool offers high sustainability once a performance management system is merit place. Setting-up these systems can be strongly encouraged by formalization through enforced laws or guidelines. 2] Effectiveness of publishing data can be easily enhanced based upon the relevance, quality, timeliness, and format of the information provided. 3] Publication of service and performance data provides the basis for accountability. Success 1] For the public-at-large, which would not normally read formal reports, factors summarized plain-language data and visual presentation can make data more accessible. 2] Developing reliable data collection mechanisms, quality-control systems, and user- friendly materials can be expensive. 3] Utilities require a certain maturity and capacity before they can produce dependable performance data. References City of Ottawa - The Municipal Performance Measurement Program (http://www.ottawa.ca/city_hall/ottawa_performance/mpmp/index_en.html#P15_2 363) 55 3.2.4. Tool 4: e-Participation mechanisms (blogs, discussion groups, social networking, etc) Description E-Participation mediums such as blogs, citizen forums, on-demand information channels (for instance, YouTube, Facebook), online chat rooms, etc., render a virtual feedback, review, critique and complaint loop between citizens and concerned authorities/service providers. The goal of such mechanisms in governance is to enable greater citizen participation in managing and monitoring city administration. Through e-participation, people can interact with local officials and make their voices heard. It allows citizens to immediately see how and why their representation is functioning the way they are, and enables citizens to share their comments and views on the functioning/performance of local agencies. Public officials/agencies can judge the prevailing mood of citizens and take corresponding course of action based on popular sentiment. This helps voters better decide who to vote for in the future or how to help the public servants become more productive. Potential 1] It is possible for users to remain anonymous while providing feedback to local merit administrators. 2] The extension of Social networking tools to Mobile communications can vastly enhance the participation levels of ordinary citizens in governance 3] Access to Social Networking tools is by-and-large cost-free to citizens, enabling even the urban poor to participate in governance. Success 1] Inaccessibility to ICT equipment and infrastructure, especially amongst the urban factors poor, can lead to unfair/undemocratic planning initiatives. 2] Lack of awareness amongst individuals regarding the capability of Social Networks towards enhancing governance diminishes its transformational power. 3] This technique only works effectively in the presence of citizen-centric or responsive sub-national urban agencies - open and tolerant to feedback and criticism from citizens. 4] Dedicated staff for monitoring e-Participation mediums and relaying feedback to officials is required. References New Mobile-phone Based Social Networking Applications in Kenya (http://www.moseskemibaro.com/2010/07/29/1304/) 56 General Methodology for Successful Social Accountability Implementation Figure 4 below 56 shows how ICT-based Social Accountability constitutes a mechanism towards inculcating more citizen-centric governments by providing residents the opportunity to conduct open dialogue, feedback, situation monitoring and idea-exchange with local governments and municipalities. As illustrated, ICT applications for Social Accountability helps develop well-informed, aware citizens by fostering collaboration, participation, and idea-exchange (or ‘storytelling’) and puts them in real-time contact with elected officials or their offices. This allows voters to have a direct impact and influence on their local government, as officials are urged to take appropriate action based on prevailing views of constituencies. Figure 4: Configuration of Social Networking systems 56 Adapted from Social Networking for Urban Planning. Available online at: http://www.slideshare.net/placevision/social- networking-for-urban-planning-1532502 57 3.3. GIS Solutions Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are ICT applications that capture, store, analyze, manage, and present data linked to location on a map. As a result, GIS allow viewing, understanding, interpreting, and visualizing of data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, reports, and charts. Simple internet or mobile phone-based consultations with citizens can help cities procure data/information pertaining to urban & water infrastructure and service needs for plotting on a map, leading to improved and participatory planning. Such local governance induced by a wide range of contributing stakeholders facilitates a greater understanding of administrative needs in the city, thereby creating opportunities for municipalities to deploy resources to fill these gaps effectively. Since GIS applications can also process different kinds of information, its use is becoming increasingly crucial in enabling integrated land and water management / planning activities within local governments. Description Geographic information systems (GIS) is a set of tools and data that can help researchers, policy-makers, and community members visualize, explore, and interpret information across space to understand spatial relationships, patterns, and trends. GIS in its most simple form, can be thought of as a map with a database of information behind it. Click on a place in the map and text information will appear about that place. The map is constructed in layers - for example, a layer each for parks, transit, demography, schools, community gardens, fast food restaurants, property parcels, buildings, and major employers. A GIS integrates layers of geographic information in such a way that much more interesting questions can then be asked. For example, one can estimate how many children live more than a short walk away from a park, or what the median income is of neighborhoods with and without easy access to public transit. GIS is most often combined with other research tools and methods - for example, a research project might study the relationship between student health and the presence and number of fast food restaurants near schools. The GIS-based part of the research would consist of building a geographic database of schools and fast food places, and calculating proximity measures, while health researchers would enroll students in the project to for interviews, surveys, and health testing. 58 Potential 1] Besides the usual mapping functions, GIS tools often possess considerable merit additional capabilities for conducting data analysis and scientific modeling. 2] By providing a visual framework for understanding, conceptualizing and prescribing action, greater efficiency may be realized from better decision-making models. 3] By enabling access to information on land use, recreation areas, hazard-prone locations, etc., GIS can engage community participation in data gathering and analyzing for urban planning. Success 1] More advanced mapping tools (such as 3D modeling) can involve expensive factors licensing. 2] GIS applications require availability of adequate computing power and extensive staff training. 3] Digital baseline maps, topographical data, etc., may not be readily available for all urban regions. GIS Solutions for Urban Communities and Water Management in Africa References (http://www.esri.com/library/brochures/pdfs/gis-for-africa.pdf) Mobile phone –based Urban Crime Mapping using GIS in Caracas, Venezuela (http://crimereportblog.wordpress.com/tag/crime-map/page/5/) 59 General Methodology for Successful GIS Implementation GIS methodologies can be easily replicated using limited resources. Given that mobile telephones are not only ubiquitous but also increasingly multi-media (with SMS/ video/ still-camera, etc. capabilities), they can become tools to visually record and transmit information (requests for services, incident location, topographical features, etc.) to local administrations. Similarly, such information may also be transmitted via sensors (telemetry), PCs (using e-mail) or can be manually inserted from questionnaires, surveys, etc. A wide range of readily available GIS tools can process this data to accurately place information on appropriate maps for easy analysis to enable corresponding quick action by concerned sub-national level authorities. This methodology is illustrated in Figure 5 below. Figure 5: Configuration of GIS 60 Section IV: Possible WBG Role and Next Steps As seen in this report, a number of innovative applications that deliver and harness ICT are helping developing countries improve the daily lives of urban citizenry by transforming the delivery of governance and services. However, many municipalities and service providers in the Africa Region do not possess the requisite know-how, financial or risk-taking capacity to apply ICT for improving urban governance and water services. In other words, the ’ecosystem’ for pursuing urban reform objectives through ICT in many cities may be under-developed. To this end, as shown in Fig. 6, the World Bank Group (WBG) could have a role to play in strengthening possibly nascent or broken ecosystems where some of the key linkages are weak or lacking altogether. Figure 6: ICT-Urban Governance ‘Ecosystem’ 61 Promising ICT - Urban governance strategies sometimes remain immaterialized because, at the points of intersection between various nodes of the ecosystem, the interplay is often insufficient or counterproductive. This is where promising solutions are often lost and the need for new approaches becomes essential. 4.1. Menu of Options for the WBG: Suggestions from World Bank Practitioners Helping the WBG strengthen fragile ICT- Urban Governance ecosystems presents vast scope as well as challenge for concerned World Bank staff to apply their expertise. In view of its existing capabilities and comparative advantages within this domain, where should the WBG focus its resources and expertise in order to scale up ICT in Bank Interventions/Lending-activities for urban development in Africa? To address this question, through interviews with various urban development experts at the World Bank57, a framework of options is developed to guide the proposed prioritization, both within current and future operational work. Avenues to be explored are as follows: A] UNIT LEVEL STRATEGIES  Development of Business Case(s): To trigger greater responsiveness & initiative-taking across the platform of key stakeholders (city-councils, service providers, ICT solution providers, etc.), a business case detailing the economic virtues of adopting ICT solutions within the Africa Region urban context is required. This would entail investment in research activities to conduct in-depth case studies/analysis of urban ICT initiatives to develop a solid business case highlighting: 1] The economic benefits of ICT adoption for Africa Region municipalities/utilities (such as cost savings, efficiency, revenue enhancements, citizen convenience, etc). 2] Lessons learned from African cities successful in ICT adoption, including identifying conditions necessary for success, pitfalls to be avoided, etc.  Dissemination of ICT Awareness: Often, the bottleneck for incorporating ICT as a component of International Development Assistance (IDA) activities in Africa Region cities involves the lack of knowledge regarding ICT tools and their potential. Therefore, raising ICT awareness amongst the World Bank’s Task Team Leaders (TTLs), and clients is vital. 57 Consultations with: Ali Alwahti, Franck Bousquet, Madio Fall, Rumana Huque, Alex McPhail, Zara I. Sarzin, Elisabeth Sherwood, Luiz C. M. Tavares 62 A] To enhance focus on the ICT-Urban Governance dimension within the World Bank, seminars and presentations geared towards: 1] Showcasing specific examples of ICT usage towards addressing project-level issues (e.g. exploring the use/implementation of ICT for replacing manual paper-based Citizen Scorecards with digital means); and 2] Exploring the use of ICT in commonly used methodologies within projects (e.g. carrying out manually-based baseline surveys using digital technology), can play a major role towards internal knowledge enhancement. B] For external clients (such as mayors, city-level staff, utility managers, private providers, etc), capacity-building activities related to ICT could be organized through workshops/training. In this regard, trust funds such as the Public Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) and South-South Experience Exchange Trust Fund (SEETF) could be approached to conduct workshops/training sessions.  Inter-Departmental Collaboration on ICT: Conceptualizing/implementing ICT solutions for urban development does not have to involve ‘re-inventing the wheel’. Various WBG agencies, such as InfoDev, Water and Sanitation Project, etc., have already garnered experience devising innovative ICT strategies. For instance, as part of a larger program on assisting clients in building sector information systems (SIMS), WSP has developed two complementary products/services for WSS purposes: 1] The ‘WatSan’ platform for mapping + information dissemination, and 2] mobile- based Performance monitoring of basic service delivery indicators, accounting and billing applications. These agencies remain open to collaboration with other departments and TTLs can benefit immensely through these linkages. B] PROJECT LEVEL STRATEGIES A paradigm shift towards achieving ‘Realistic’ ICT inclusiveness within current and future WBG project execution is a need of the hour. To this end:  The identification of immediate project requirements for incorporating ICT will help the Bank pluck most visible low-hanging fruits (For instance, with respect to the Kampala Institutional Infrastructure Development Project (KIIDP), public relations campaigns for tax collection, citizen complaint mechanisms, etc are currently paper-based. Hence, there intuitively exists an immediate scope for ICT to digitize this process). 63  While designing ICT activities for their projects, TTLs should: 1] Try to focus on appropriate practical solutions for ‘Informatization’ of utilities/municipalities in the country-context (For instance, in Angola, the wide-spread utilization of very rudimentary cell-phones renders SMS use a huge challenge. So Automated teleprompt-enabled billing, rather than a text-based solution might be a more viable solution here). 2] While creating a digital approach, select appropriate ICT strategies that can eliminate scope for user-error, thereby increasing the ‘appetite’ of municipalities and service providers for ICT solutions. (For example, in many regions, people are highly prone to commit typos/errors while paying bills through digital means. So, in a recent World Bank -sponsored WSS project implemented in Phnom Penh, city-level water utilization/metering details were automatically transmitted from the meters via a computer chip to the utility company, instead of relying on user’s ability to pay bills via typo-prone SMS messages).  TTLs are urged to approach Trust Funds to carry out feasibility studies for including ICT in projects under implementation. To justify TF proposals, it would be useful to refer to ICT in context of the Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for the target country. A listing of prominent TFs that could be tapped to finance feasibility studies is presented below: Trust Fund Relevant Objectives of TF Contact Points Foster cross-cutting issues linkages (capacity Bank Netherlands Helena Nkole building, good governance, and gender), Partnership Program (hnkole@worldbank.org) development of partnerships with (BNPP) government/private sector/civil society. Test innovative methods that are new or Japan Social Development Roberto Tarrallo alternative approaches at the project, Fund (JSDF) (rtarallo@worldbank.org) country, or regional level Policy & Human Resources Water, Sanitation, Flood Protection/Disaster Roberto Tarrallo Development (PHRD) preparedness (for example, in urban areas) (rtarallo@worldbank.org) Bonizella Biagini Assess needs of LDCs whose economic (bbiagini@thegef.org) Least Developed Countries /geophysical characteristics make them Jonathan Caldicott Fund for Climate Change especially vulnerable to the impact of global (jcaldicott@worldbank.org) (LDCF) warming and climate change Steve Gorman (sgorman@worldbank.org) Support activities that promote improved Korean Trust Fund (KTF) access to ICT and mainstreaming of ICT to Catherine Burtonboy enhance development programs (cburtonboy@worldbank.org) 64 4.2. Menu of Options for the WBG: Suggestions from Readers (Readers: Your suggestions, feedback, and comments will be posted here! Convey your inputs using the feedback form or via the various Social media channels through which this report is available)