With the digitalization of public services, the African government will provide opportunities to strengthen service delivery, promote excellent governance and promote inclusion in underserved communities, a panel of experts focused on digital transformation in the public sector highlighted in Gitex Africa, Morocco.
However, experts highlighted the critical need for robust data protection and privacy protection to secure the continent amid the push for digitalising public services.
According to a new report from cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, there was a 14% surge in detection of spyware attacks against businesses in the African region from 2023 to 2024. Spyware refers to malicious software that is secretly installed on a user's device to monitor actions and harvest personal data.
According to a 2023 Lexology report, 36 out of 54 African countries have enacted data protection laws, with South Africa's Personal Information Protection Act (Popia) and Kenya's data protection laws lined up to global standards such as GDPR. While welcoming the enactment of stronger data protection laws, Emmanuel Manasseh, regional director of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in Africa, argued that effective data protection is far beyond implementing the right policies and regulations.
“It's about building the right infrastructure that starts with more data centers than you live in Africa,” he said. He said that while only 2% of the data generated on the continent is currently stored domestically, 98% is stored overseas, leading to potential security risks.
“To invest in data centres, you need to bill the government and the private sector, otherwise you'll lose your digital sovereignty,” he said.
“This ensures that African countries play an important role in shaping their digital future and be aware.”
A stronger framework is needed
Experts argued that African countries should consider sharing data securely within mutually agreed frameworks to promote scalability and support more effective research and development (R&D) initiatives. They pointed out the African Union's data policy framework as an important tool for harmonizing laws and promoting innovation at scale by cross-border data flow.
James Ayugi, CEO and founder of Webmaster Kenya, who developed the online e-Citizen platform in Kenya, said there is a need to create an urgent need among citizens about data protection and privacy, claiming that the lack of information in the field contributes to vigilators and inaccurate narratives.
“When it comes to data processing in Kenya, it is guided by Data Protection Act. It is compliant and certified in terms of data collection and storage,” he said. “There is control within the government about who has access to data and what kinds of data. On our part, we don't interact directly with the data. We only provide systems and technical support,” he added.
Launched in 2014, the platform offers a single window to access over 5,000 government services, ranging from passport applications to business registration, tax returns and police clearance certificates.
Ayugi said security doesn't need to add an additional layer of user complexity. Anyone with government-issued identification and mobile phones can access important e-book services anywhere in the country, he explained.
“Previously, in order to access critical government services, you had to register with different government departments, maintain multiple accounts and remember different passwords. Now you have access to all services.”
The private sector urged them to help
Hajar el Hadawi, director of the Digital Cooperation Agency, a multilateral agency supporting digitalization initiatives, called on the government and the private sector to work closer together to address the bottlenecks that stand like digital transformation on the continent. Africa is addressing key digital disparities characterized by disparities in technology, connectivity and access to digital literacy, she said.
“To overcome these challenges requires close cooperation between multiple stakeholders. Silos cannot plan digital transformation,” she emphasized. “We need to create an overall ecosystem rather than addressing these challenges in isolation.”
