© Kamla-Raj 2016 J Communication, 7(2): 241-245 (2016) Analyzing the Electronic Governance Policies and Legislative Frameworks on Public Service Delivery in South Africa Tafadzwa Clementine Maramura 1 and D. R. Thakhathi 2 University of Fort Hare, Department of Public Administration, Private Bag, X1314, Alice, 5700, Republic of South Africa E-mail: 1 <tmaramura@gmail.com>, 2 <rthakhathi@ufh.ac.za> KEYWORDS Innovation. Policy Framework. Public Management Public Sector. Technology ABSTRACT This paper uses a descriptive analysis approach to analyze the policies and legislative frameworks governing electronic governance on an effective and effective service delivery. The primary objective of the paper was to understand the e-governance policies and legislative frameworks on service delivery in South Africa. The paper revealed that the post-1994 era has witnessed the formulation of various legislative requirements, which were designed to direct governmental reforms on improving public service delivery in South Africa. The paper also reveals that the Constitution of South Africa 1996 is structured as the cornerstone whose foundation ties all the governmental reforms on improving public service delivery in South Africa. The paper concluded that the successful implementation of the e-governance initiatives is solely dependent upon legislative frameworks that support and not hamper e-governance in the public service. INTRODUCTION The aim of the paper was to draw insights from the relevant policies and legislative frame- work and to understand how they are support- ing or impeding the implementation of e-gover- nance tools and initiatives in the public service. It is logical to note that the policies and legisla- tive frameworks in South Africa are strongly harnessed and flowing in the same direction with the needs of the people to ensure that service delivery standards are efficiently and effective- ly achieved. Upon independence in 1994, the democratic South African government was man- dated to afford the citizens, access to public ser- vices that were not built on racial segregation as witnessed by the pre-1994 era (Ijeoma and Nwaodu 2013). The White Paper on the Trans- formation of the Public Service of 1997 had to radically transform the pre-1994 systems, proce- dures and attitudes. This promise is clearly em- bedded in the South African Constitution of 1996, which notes that the public service must be governed by the democratic values and prin- ciples (Cloete 2012). The vision of e-governance is to ascertain the optimization of public services so that the government can achieve its goals (Pardo et al. 2016). However, what is hampering service de- livery is the failure of supporting the legislative frameworks and policies that govern electronic- governance (Public Service Commission Report (c) 2013). Failure to address the implementation of policies and legislative frameworks govern- ing e-governance on public service delivery negatively reflects on public financial resourc- es, structural resources as well as the human resources and this derails the execution of e- governance (Public Service Commission Report (c) 2013). The implementation of e-governance has been extensively commended in that it pro- vides innovative momentum to deliver services quickly and efficiently (Evans and Yen 2006). A number of significant strategies have resultant- ly been implemented to address the service de- livery challenges through e-governance. OBSERVATIONS AND DISCUSSION Dynamics of the E-governance Policies and Legislative Frameworks on Public Service Delivery Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) Chapter 10 (195) (1) (a-i) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) notes that Public Administration must be governed by the democratic values and principles enshrined in the Constitution. The basic principles of Public Administration as embedded in the Constitu- tion of 1996 reveal that the aim of service deliv- ery is to always meet the needs of the public by