E-services available, but hassles remain: CPD

Most e-services still require in-person visits

Despite the expansion of digital services, fully online government services at the local level have yet to become a reality in Bangladesh. Citizens still have to visit government offices to submit documents, provide signatures, make payments or collect certificates after applying online. As a result, many e-services still depend on in-person visits and paperwork.

This was revealed in the preliminary findings of a study by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), titled “Establishing Effective and Accountable E-Governance to Strengthen Local Government Institutions by Meeting the Needs of Youth, Women and Men (Gender), and Marginalised Communities.” The findings up to August 25 were presented yesterday.

The study assessed the effectiveness, accountability, transparency and inclusiveness of local e-governance, particularly from the perspectives of women, youth and marginalised communities. A total of 2,611 people were surveyed, including 1,382 youth, 957 women and members of various marginalised communities, including indigenous people, char and haor residents, slum dwellers and persons with disabilities. Another 297 local government offices were included in the supply-side survey.

Started Online, Completed Offline

Among women, only 31.9 percent completed the entire service process online. Some 38 percent completed most steps online but still needed to submit documents. For 20.8 percent, only form submission was online, while 7.5 percent received services listed as e-services entirely offline.

The most common offline tasks for women were submitting and collecting physical documents and providing signatures in person. Among youth, 43.8 percent completed the entire process online. Some 30.8 percent completed most steps online but still needed to submit documents, while 17.8 percent completed only form submission online.

Lack of Digital Skills a Major Barrier

Lack of digital skills was identified as a problem by 57.6 percent of women. Poor internet connectivity and lack of smartphones or computers were each cited by 47.3 percent, while 26.2 percent reported slow or non-functional websites.

Only 23.7 percent of women had been invited to participate in digital literacy programmes, and 16.8 percent actually participated.

Among youth, 52.9 percent cited lack of digital skills as a barrier, followed by poor internet connectivity at 52.6 percent and lack of smartphones or computers at 43.7 percent.

Many Do Not Know How to Complain

Some 83.3 percent of women had never filed a formal complaint about an e-service, while 8.8 percent wanted to complain but did not know how.

Among youth, 78.9 percent had never filed a formal complaint and 12.7 percent did not know where or how to complain.

The study said effective complaint, redress and tracking mechanisms are necessary for accountable e-governance.

Concerns over Personal Data Security

Some 60.1 percent of women considered providing personal information through government e-services partially safe, while 33.2 percent considered it completely safe. Only 16.6 percent knew what personal information was being collected.

Some 73.2 percent feared their information could be leaked or hacked, while 45.5 percent feared misuse by government officials. Another 61 percent said they had received unauthorised communications after using e-services.

Low Participation in Local Decisions

Some 42.6 percent of women said they had never participated in local government decision-making, while only 11 percent participated regularly.

Among youth, 39.9 percent had never participated and 15.8 percent participated regularly. Lack of information about the time and place of local meetings was a major barrier.

Disparities among Marginalised Communities

Only 55.9 percent of char residents considered local e-services equally accessible to all. The figures were 69.6 percent among haor residents, 81.8 percent among slum dwellers and 97.5 percent among indigenous communities.

The study also found that special facilities for persons with disabilities remain inadequate.

Infrastructure Gaps in Government Offices

Only 27 percent of union agricultural offices have e-databases, compared with 40 percent of union parishads and 20 percent of union social services offices.

Union agricultural offices have an average of 0.27 computers, of which only 0.15 are functional, meaning 44 percent are non-functional.

Some 97 percent of union agricultural offices have no electricity backup and 93 percent have no alternative internet connection. The figures for union social services offices are 83 percent and 87 percent respectively.

Digital readiness also varies by region. At the union level, Mymensingh scored highest at 57.3, while Rangpur scored 8.8. At the upazila level, Rajshahi ranked first with 72.6 and Rangpur last with 12.3.

CPD Makes 20 Recommendations

The CPD recommended increasing digital literacy, particularly in the northern region; creating at least one “digital member” in every family; raising awareness about Union Digital Centres (UDCs); and providing special digital training for women.

It also recommended simple complaint mechanisms, regular social audits to assess the participation of women, youth, persons with disabilities and marginalised communities, and accessibility features including screen readers, audio assistance, plain-language information and, where necessary, information in ethnic minority languages.

The CPD proposed a “no-wrong-door” policy to direct citizens to the appropriate office even if they do not know which government agency provides a particular service.

Other recommendations include prioritising poorly rated services for redesign and full digitisation, connecting government databases and platforms, introducing a single application-status tracking system, publishing service fees and maximum delivery times, and establishing an e-governance performance dashboard.

They have also recommended testing major new e-services with women, youth, persons with disabilities, older people and marginalised communities before launch, along with common accessibility standards and regular digital service audits.

The CPD said increasing the number of online services alone will not make e-governance effective. Digital skills, data security, grievance redress, local infrastructure and participation of women, youth and marginalised communities must also be ensured.