| Over the past decade,there has been growing interest in understanding the underlying factors that influence the adoption of e-government(eGov)services through various technology acceptance models.One such model is the Unified model for e-government adoption(UMEGA),which has been validated as outperforming other models.The model was developed in the context of eGov after the originally constructed technology adoption models were found to be highly dependent on the application of information systems/information technology(IS/IT)adoption theory and therefore inadequate to explain the eGov context.During the COVID-19 pandemic,e-government has aroused interest in digital public services while increasing demand for those already available.Government developers,as well as private companies,were mobilized to help address the COVID-19 crisis by developing new software and programs to deliver services to people through digital means.Artificial intelligence equipment,e-learning systems,and other important services are among the new services in high demand during this period,especially in developing countries where technology is still limited.In the case of East Africa,during the COVID-19 pandemic,the Tanzanian government worked to maintain and ensure the availability of e-government services on its national portal,mobile apps,and social media platforms to reach many citizens while learning from other countries on how to combat the pandemic.Prior to the COVID-19 crisis,Tanzania experienced increased growth and use of egovernment services compared to 2019 and 2020,According to the current UN e-government report for 2020,Tanzania’s e-government services are still low and limited compared to the global average,but in terms of e-services,Tanzania is one of the few countries in Africa to provide above-average e-services,despite being a Least Developed Country(LDC)with poorly developed infrastructure.This study found that e-government service adoption during this COVID crisis is still low and limited;the challenge is exacerbated by the diversity of egovernment adoption between rural and urban populations;a large portion of Tanzanian society,mainly rural,does not have access to e-government services.The objective of this study is to examine the factors influencing e-government adoption during the Coronavirus(COVID 19)pandemic based on the United Nations e-government 2020 report.Facilitating conditions were found as the main challenges to adoption,people have little knowledge about e-government services,and the government has not sufficiently communicated the availability and importance of e-government services to users so they can access them easily.This study proposed and validated an extension of the unified e-government adoption model(UMEGA),a total of 497 responses were collected by purposive sampling and the responses were evaluated with the structural equation modeling(SEM)technique.According to the results,effort expectancy,performance expectancy,facilitating conditions,and perceived risk have a positive impact on attitudes toward using e-government services.In addition,trust in the Internet and government also positively impacts intention to use e-government services,a relationship that,to our knowledge,has not been previously tested in the e-government context.Social influence and computer self-efficacy did not significantly influence attitude.In light of promoting the use of e-government,this research paper will guide professionals and policy makers in improving,telecommunications services,regulatory frameworks,and poverty alleviation by effectively operating to increase the adoption of e-government services in Tanzania.E-government is about reinventing the way governments interact with citizens,government agencies,businesses,employees and other stakeholders.It is about improving the democratic process and using new ideas to make citizens’ lives easier.Potential users sometimes reject new technologies because of lack of participation,lack of understanding,technical difficulties,lack of training,or because the technologies are not compatible with people’s values,beliefs,past experiences or social systems.The Tanzanian government should strive to facilitate conditions that encourage user adoption of e-government services. |
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