Development Strategy of E-Government in Village Governance in Banda Sub-District

Abstract

Background: E-government is intended to improve transparency, accountability, efficiency, and public participation using information technology. However, its implementation in village governance in Banda Sub-district, Central Maluku Regency, remains uneven because of limitations in institutional readiness, human resources, infrastructure, and policy support. Objective: This study aims to examine the importance of e-government in Banda Sub-district and identify its benefits, barriers, implementation conditions, and development strategies in village governance. Methods: This study employed a qualitative descriptive approach with a Most Different Systems (MDS) design. The research covered 18 villages in Banda Sub-district, with informants selected purposively from village governments and relevant agencies. Data were collected through observation, interviews, and documentation and then analyzed using data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing, with triangulation used to ensure data validity. Results: The findings show that only 6 of the 18 villages had active village websites, 5 had inactive websites, and 7 had no village websites. The main barriers were policy and regulatory limitations, planning and budget constraints, inadequate human resources, and information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure problems. The study formulated four development stages: preparation, maturation, consolidation, and utilization. Conclusion: E-government implementation in Banda Sub-district remains limited and requires stronger regulation, sustainable budgeting, ICT capacity building, infrastructure development, and coordinated long-term implementation.