Management Information Systems and Governance in Africa

The advent of technology has had a positive impact on all spheres of life including communication, transport and automation in industries. The technology has however facilitated the emergency of a fast paced life which is dynamic and more difficult to deal with. As a result, organisations and governments globally have resolved to attaining as much information as possible as a way of dealing with these turbulent times following the idea that the acquisition of knowledge of a certain problem is synonymous to solving that problem. It is under this complex background that the concept of information systems is derived. Information systems as ways of collecting, organising and interpreting big data, comes in different forms such as financial information system, marketing information system, Manufacturing, Transportation and Logistics and the thrust of this paper which is management information system. Due to the multiplicity of positive reviews towards MIS, developed countries have adopted a cutting edge concept of e-governance and the introduction of Management Information Systems to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. Africa on the other hand is the richest continent with 50% of global minerals, favourable climate for agriculture and is one of the major exporters of crude oil and uranium which are the major energy producing raw materials, regardless, Africa is one of the poorest continents with a GDP of $2.39 trillion (Robertson, 2013). Having these corner stones of a vibrant economy but still be rated as one of the poorest continents shows a big discrepancy (pareto inefficiency), that clearly shows that the leadership and governance is found wanting. In this regard, it is imperative that there is need to evaluate and discuss the extent to which African governments stand to benefit from investing in MIS and e-governance in improving the governance and leadership in Africa. Further, there is need to analyse the disadvantages that may arise as a result of these systems.

An information system is an organized combination of people, hardware, and software, communications Networks and data resources that collects, transforms, and disseminates information. The role of MIS in a state can be compared to the role of heart in the body. The information is the blood and MIS is the heart. In the body the heart plays the role of supplying pure blood to all the elements of the body including the brain. The MIS plays exactly the same role in the State. The system ensures that appropriate data is collected from the various sources, processed, and sent further to all the needy destinations. 

Of importance, MIS policy makers with information which they use to manoeuvre around challenges and make better timely decisions. Information is particular important since we are now living in the information age were adaptation and sustainable growth heavily depend on the nature and quality of information that a leader has. Most African leaders have not yet realised the potential of e-governance in speeding up decision making and the overall quality of decisions that come about due to the use of MIS. If adopted, MIS would have a positive impact on government institutions in Africa as there will be enough information to make decisions which will have a positive impact on the well-being of the nation and continent at large. According to Roll (2008), institutions who take advantage of MIS are better able to make decisions that promote sustainable growth. For example, if Zimbabwe adopts the e-governance, they will be able to analyse under-performing parastatals and subsequently rectify the problems affecting that specific sector. 

Sen and Ladvn (2005) are of the view that MIS expedites problem solving that is it speeds up the progress of problems solving. This is particularly important to African governments since most of them are bureaucratic and decision making takes a long time. Timeous decision making means that more time can be spent in implementing rather than formulating a policy hence better results are attained since the focus will be greatly on the practical aspect of a policy rather than on formulation. For example, if an opportunity arises for Zimbabwe to trade its diamonds with the Russians, an MIS allows Zimbabwe to quickly asses the risks and benefits associated with the opportunity in terms of political and economic issues. An accurate decision will therefore be made through information retrieved from the MIS. 

It promotes learning or training in governments which means that the skill set of government agents is enhanced. Human capital development has been cited by Feizi and Mogadasi (2010) as one of the most important advantages associated with the adoption of an MIS. This follows that if a government employs educated technocrats at all levels of the government from the parliament to local government officials, the quality of work and the quality of decisions made will have a positive impact on government’s efficiency and effectiveness. We have seen throughout Africa’s history that uneducated nation leaders like Idi Amini Dada of Uganda ran the country into financial turmoil through his ignorance, corruption and nepotism. MIS is therefore important as it helps in training needs analysis and further provides relevant information upon request such that the ignorance shown by traditional African leaders will not impede on the development of the continent.

E-governance as a facet of MIS increases transparency as far as service provision of the government is concerned. In African countries, the provision of basic services of the government like passports, driver’s license and national Identity cards are saturated with corruption. In Zimbabwe, it is a given problem that for one to have a driver’s license there is need to pay a certain amount to the inspector, given e-governance and MIS, transparency is increased as these services will be offered via online portals such that it is difficult to engage in corruption. Momeni (2010) asserts that MIS brings about transparency in terms of how tax payer money is used and how the government runs its day to day activities. Transparency is very important to African governments as it is one of the principles of good governance.

MIS improves service delivery of African government institutions through timeous decision making, quality decisions and transparency. Service delivery is very important to the sustainable development of a nation as it keeps all the stakeholders interested namely the citizens, suppliers and even foreign investors. Rezaeian (2010) asserts that companies stand to benefit from MIS as it improves service delivery through streamlining administrative processes. This is also true as far as African government institutions is concerned. This is important as it allows the continuation of business that is, poor service delivery means delayed service to the citizens, delayed payment of the suppliers and poor communication with foreign investors. This also Increases revenue.

MIs brings about transparency of through dissemination of Government rules and procedures (rule of law), government performance to a wider audience and the disclosure of public assets, government budget, and procurement information. This is mainly facilitated through the use of e-governance and various social media platforms. According to Fard (2009), the use of MIS in a government setting promotes accountability of governments. Yet again, this shows that good governance can be achieved through the use of MIS. For example, an e-governance website in Zimbabwe would allow the citizens to have the financial performance reports of the government so that they know how the government is using their tax payer money. In this regard, MIS proffers a platform for the strengthening of accountability of African governments.

However, the use of MIS is not void of disadvantages even though emphasis should be made that the disadvantages are not significant enough to discredit the potential positive aspects of adopting these systems. Chief among these disadvantages, Panahi (2011) noted that the cost of implementing an MIS can be hefty since there is need for super computers that can store and analyse big data for example the demography of a country as big as South Africa. However, as technology is advancing, the cost of super computers has fallen by about half the price of the previous decade. In this view, though the initial adoption of MIS may seem to be expensive, the long term benefits of such a system are priceless.

Further, there are threats to national security associated with the use of MIs by governments due to the rise of cybercrime and cyber terrorism of which, cyber security may prove to be expensive for some institutions. The BBC on (30 July 2016) reported that the FBI had realised that there are Russian spies who, at numeral occasions, infiltrated the US government digital information. From this astonishing realisation, it might be difficult for African countries to protect their digital information from cyber terrorism. 

In all countries the leadership role of governments is increasing the promotion, enhancement and proliferation of information technology industries, information services industries, and information systems development. In many developing countries, the government is the only existing option for promoting these vital industries and systems. Failure of government to exercise its leadership mandate could be disastrous for these sectors. It is therefore important for African governments to incorporate the use of MIS in order to achieve sustainable development.