Obstacles of e-government development in Yemen

OBSTACLES OF E-GOVERNMENT DEVELOPMENT IN YEMEN The vast growth in technologies in general and ICT, in particular, encourages governments to develop and implement e-government. An e-government initiative could be an indispensable part of the country's sustainable development, and it contributes to improving public sector efficiency through enhancing services offered to citizens, businesses, and the government. During the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries imposed a curfew to limit the spread of the epidemic. Therefore, countries all around the world recognize the value of e-government initiatives to reduce direct contact between citizens by offering diverse e-government services. However, e-government projects, especially in developing countries, face many barriers that hinder the development of these initiatives. The Yemeni e-government project, as an example of developing countries, does not make real progress in the way it delivers e-services. Although the e-government was launched in 2003, the project still faces a variety of challenges that affect its development. This study aims primarily to explore the challenges that hinder the Yemeni e-government project's development. A qualitative research methodology was used to achieve the aim of this study. To collect the required data and reach the sample size of this study, a snowball technique was employed, and interviews were conducted with twelve participants. The interviewees are public employees from four different ministries who have contributed to the Yemeni e-government initiative. Face-to-face and online semi-structured interviews were conducted. All interviews were held between April and September of 2021. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the qualitative data using QDA miner software. The study findings revealed that the Yemeni e-government project faces various obstacles, which could be categorized into eight themes. Organizational, social, political, financial, human resources, technological, policy and legal, and development environment challenges are the main obstacles that stand in the way of the e-government project development in Yemen. The study also includes recommendations for addressing the mentioned obstacles. In addition, suggestions were presented for further research. Keywords: E-government, E-government Development, E-services, E-government Barriers and Challenges, Yemen.