(Being a communique issued at the international symposium on digital transformation and public service delivery in Africa held at the University of Ibadan School of Business on Thursday, 30th March, 2023.)
Preamble
1.1 We note that, the uptake of digital technologies has rapidly expanded within the past decade on the African continent, with 64% of the population connected to smartphones, and 621 million registered to mobile money services on the continent, and a hundred percent increase in the number of internet users between 2015 and 2022.
1.2 We further observe that, in spite of the rapid pace of internet penetration and diffusion of digital technologies in the private sector, public services appear to be significantly lagging behind. Covid-19 pandemic exposed the lack of preparedness and capacity for appropriation of digital technologies in the public education and health sectors. Many areas of the public service are well behind the train of digital transformation.
1.3 In response to the challenges, therefore, this symposium brought together scholars, policy makers, senior civil servants, and other public sector practitioners from West Africa (Nigeria and The Gambia), Kenya (East Africa) and South Africa (Southern Africa) to offer contributions and insights on challenges and prospects for applications of digital technologies in various aspects of public service delivery in Africa. This meeting point of stakeholders and melting pot of ideas provided a unique opportunity to explore sub-sectoral peculiarities and cross-country comparisons to inform promising directions for policy and practice in Africa’s public sector.
Resolutions
Following extensive deliberations and discussions led by a thought-provoking keynote address from Ambassador Dr Olatokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu, a panel discussion by four leading experts, 15 paper presentations across four tracks and two parallel sessions, and spirited debates and insightful contributions from more than 100 scholars, practitioners and senior leaders in public sector organisations, the symposium resolves as follows:
2.1 Stakeholders across public sector organisations must ensure that vital lessons of Covid-19 pandemic must not be lost. The pandemic has proven beyond reasonable doubts that digitalisation offers huge opportunities for increased efficiency, transparency and accountability in the public sector, including meetings administration and automation of payments, among others. Senior leaders in government ministries and public institutions are therefore enjoined to be transformative change agents through active commitments to digital transformation processes within their organisations.
2.2 In furtherance of resolution 2.1, we enjoin public sector leaders to embrace the higher imperative of public good over the baser temptations of personal gains. This will help them to be effective enablers of positive change through digital transformation, rather than opposers of much needed digitally powered change for societal progress. Leaders should take initiatives in preparing their organisational members for change, including focused commitment to digital re-skilling of staff.
2.3 Academic scholars should prioritise stakeholder engagement in order to produce knowledge that is oriented in community impact and relevant to societal needs. This is in line with recent global conversations about the critical importance of the Third Mission of universities for economic and social impact, in addition to teaching and research. In line with this, while research must continue to explore the cutting edge of knowledge and explore high-tech innovations, scholars and practitioners must also give adequate attention to low-tech, simpler interventions that deliver better value for money and have far reaching impacts in the community.
2.4 Governments at all levels need to prioritise digital transformation through, among others, active investment in supporting infrastructure for digital inclusion and investment in digital re-skilling of civil servants. These are especially important in order to bridge a widening digital divide between urban and rural dwellers, improve service access for senior citizens, those living with disability and other disadvantaged demographics who may otherwise struggle with adoption of digital technologies.
2.5 Governments should give attention to digital transformation of agricultural food systems in order to achieve food security on the continent. Digitalisation in agriculture offer huge potentials to transform natural resources monitoring and management, production processes and productivity across micro, small and medium scale enterprises in Africa.
2.6 Stakeholders must ensure that digital technologies are user friendly, context-relevant and culturally sensitive in order to better realise social and economic benefits. Public sector leaders should therefore be fully informed in order to fruitfully engage product developers to produce customised, modular solutions relevant to their organisational needs; and digitally enabled services that offer the best outcomes for all sections of society.
2.7 The conversations initiated at the International Symposium on Digital Transformation and Public Service Delivery in Africa should be but a start of a continuous process of knowledge exchange and practical implementations among stakeholders across the continent. Participants expressed interests in future iterations of this symposium, where we expect to share best practices, discuss challenges and explore new opportunities to improve public services across Africa.
Signed
Dr Seun Kolade
Symposium Chair,
On behalf of the Symposium Organising Committee and distinguished delegates
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