Since I was born and raised in Ghana, I am all too aware that corruption is still a sad reality in the governance of my own and many other countries. My decision to study politics for my bachelor's degree was fired by a hope that I might, eventually, be part of the solution to it. I see innovative ways of formulating and implementing policy decisions and e-governance as providing ways of reducing the opportunities for corrupt interference and for identifying ‘best practices’ and applying them widely among governments at all levels and in many countries. I know that I am not going to solve deep-seated and long-standing problems alone and that they will not be resolved quickly but I feel strongly that the more qualified and committed people who pursue these desirable goals, the more likely and quickly that they will be reached. I seek to be one of those doing so. Thus, I hope very much to continue my education in Political Science by earning the master's degree at XXXX University.
I hold a bachelor's degree in political studies awarded by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. I spent each of my university vacations working as an intern in the P.R. Department of the Municipal Assembly in the town of Tema. This experience provided me with a basic understanding of the procedures and protocols involved in policy and project decision-making and in implementation methods at municipal level. I was also made aware of the disadvantages of unsophisticated IT systems and their underuse because of the lack of expertise which I understand is the case both at local and national levels.
During my undergraduate studies, I also undertook voluntary work providing political education to the market women in Kumasi. We explained their civil rights to them, the importance of using their vote and the ways in which they could challenge government decisions. This was a highly satisfying exercise which increased local awareness that politicians must take the views of ordinary people into account if they want to be successful.
I have been fascinated by the pioneering developments in Estonia and its efforts to apply IT solutions to the work of government in increasingly innovative ways. The results to date have been impressive, especially for a nation that had an extremely basic and narrowly applied IT infrastructure. I see Estonia’s rapid advances as a model for many countries but especially those in Africa. I hope to have an opportunity to visit the country at some point to see their systems in operation. Estonia will, as pioneers, have made errors along the way and these will also provide useful lessons for those countries introducing or extending e-governance at this time.
I look forward to a day when an ordinary citizen can gather, in real-time, all kinds of information about his government’s activities and expenditure and to undertake transactions with government departments from home at the citizen’s convenience rather than that of government employees. I see e-governance as a vehicle for the encouragement of transparency and honesty in government. I especially hope to see robust and honest computerized voting systems that do not require a voter to queue for hours and sometimes be denied the right to vote because of some technicality.
I am aware of the enormous advantages of computer modelling the results of competing policies to judge their relative benefits to assist governments in reaching soundly based decisions and the optimum ways of implementing them. The more such proven models exist, the more widely they can be adjusted to local conditions and applied elsewhere. Governments could also benefit from rapidly and easily gathering public opinion on competing policies and the optimum ways to implement those chosen.
Some ‘vested interests’ will strongly resist e-governance especially in the most corrupt nations because it will by its nature, engender transparency and limit opportunities for abuses of power and corruption. However, I strongly believe that the ever-widening flow of information and opinion and increasingly ‘IT aware’ citizens will eventually create such an appreciation of the advantages of e-governance that there will demand its use.
Politics is my central passion in my life, and I read widely about the subject, naturally I have a special interest in Africa and Europe but also a growing interest in the Middle East because of the complex political situations and current and potential conflicts in the region.
I hold a relevant bachelor degree, I have a genuine passion for the study of politics and government and of the benefits of e-governance, I am a committed and diligent person and can assure the reader that I shall apply himself with exceptional enthusiasm to this course of study for my own benefit and, hopefully, many others in my future career.
Political Science MA Degree Personal Purpose Statement
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