Critically discuss the impact of the increasing digital divide on different groups in society, specifically the poorer communities.

Critically discuss the impact of the increasing digital divide on different groups in society, specifically the poorer communities.

ABSTRACT The importance and potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to develop economies has been demonstrated through various studies around the globe. For the Pacific, especially Fiji, where development is hampered by dispersed populations, small sizes and vast ocean distances, ICT can help overcome these restrictive circumstances, of digital divide within society, by empowering the poor. An attempt is made to illustrate that, despite various initiatives and strategies designed by the governments in power, poverty in Fiji is still daunting and has in fact increased by almost 33% over the last 10 years. Therefore, it becomes prudent to look at government policies and e-governance initiatives in Fiji and analyze the reasons as to why results are not being achieved at the grass-roots level. Based on findings from a rapid appraisal among various stakeholders, the article highlights that e-governance initiative thus far could not be largely effective due to lack of participatory processes in e-governance and ICT practices. Community perception of e-governance and understanding of the issue are explored and it is argued that public awareness of e-governance is critical for projects to work. Along with this, some critical constraints facing e-governance in Fiji, with an emphasis on the role of community involvement to reduce poverty at the grass-roots level, are discussed. Solutions of citizencentered e-governance are stressed and a down-to-earth approach to poverty is highlighted. This article asks for paradigm shifts in government’s perception to see society as partners of governance and not merely recipients of state policies and service delivery systems. It raises the issue of community involvement in dialogue and decision making at the public policy and practice levels by making government departments reachable to stakeholders by harnessing the potential of ICT, new technologies and media. It also talks about the need to bridge information-data gaps and lapses which lead to inappropriate planning and decision making divorced from sharable scientific statistical data amongst the government departments and planning agencies. It emphasizes shared visions for strategies both at horizontal and vertical levels of planning and management in e-governance. So far as policy agendas are concerned, poverty remains a major challenge for the government in Fiji. It not only remains a complex and multidimensional problem in this island country in the South Pacific, but is increasing. In spite of various strategies adopted by the State, which include the Strategic Development Plan (Government of Fiji, 2002), Pro-Poor Policies and recent e-governance initiatives, results have not been good enough. Poverty is still daunting due to the magnitude and multidimensional nature it entails. Conceptually speaking, the obvious benefit of involving ordinary citizens and the poor in public policy planning and implementation is increased participation. Through this participatory process citizens and communities can be made more aware of their situation, their problems and opportunities, and can take initiative with creativity, innovation and responsibility. In the case of e-governance, this approach may assist the government and its e-governance partners (e.g. the private sector, non-governmental organisations [NGOs] and others) to understand the specific needs of the community, and ensure that the needs/problems of the poor are properly addressed through their policies. But the flip side of this approach is one-way policy planning, which has largely failed in most parts of the developing world. One of the arguments against the Fiji government’s current anti-poverty approach and egovernance strategy is that they are not producing substantial results due to their top-down planning and implementation mechanism. In fact, in Fiji’s post-independence period (1970 to date), all successive governments have followed a non-participatory delivery approach, perceiving the poor as passive, uncreative and helpless objects requiring assistance. Because the State has been following a rhetorical approach in designing policies without consulting people at grassroots level, a divide exists between the State and citizens. Even in the case of the ongoing e-governance campaign, the divide is visible between the ‘smart’ few (i.e. e-governance policy experts) and the ‘ignorant’ many (i.e. policy beneficiaries). This divide seems to widen the gap between policy intent and policy outcome. It is thus imperative to shed light on community perception and response to e-governance in the context of the complex poverty situation in Fiji Islands, characterized by problems of access and communication and less so by lack of food, nutrition or even income. The main focus of this study is to examine the policy implications of e-governance in combating poverty. The study is based on a literature review for its conceptual understanding of poverty, community and e-governance. For the empirical part, a rapid field appraisal was conducted to solicit people’s mindsets, opinions, discomforts and frustrations experienced with e-governance as an anti-poverty scheme of the government. The study is intended to provide feedback for better policy making processes in the future to narrow the divide that presently exists between the State and society. The computerized segmentation has formed the basis of yet another discrimination among the general public that has fundamentally affected the everyday functions and occupations of the people on a universal basis. The ability to fully access the web is creating the variation and isolation seen in various fields today. The investigation of the use of ICT among nations paints tremendous varieties that will hold water well in different walks of life while thinking about the important function of the web in our daily routine. Contradictions in pay and proficiency are the most important proponents of the computerized divide, although ethnic and racial divergence in access to innovation at home and in the work environment is just one piece. The effects of advanced segregation are felt tremendously in the accompanying areas: education, open positions, correspondence, legislative issues, buyer fulfillment, well-being information, people's group participation, government and crisis data.