An Investigation of E-Government Web Accessibility for Visually Impaired Persons in Namibia

Abstract

Web accessibility has become important as more governments leverage technology to provide digital services to their citizens. Making governmental services available online has the potential to improve public service delivery, while at the same time improving processes and thus optimizing public administration. The basic purpose of e-government is to make services easily accessible to citizens and businesses at local and national levels. However, accessibility of e-government remains a challenge for people living with disabilities. As recommended by the United Nations, e-government deployment must not leave anyone behind if it is to ensure sustainability and develop resilience of societies. Most countries worldwide have a national e-government agenda and have implemented web portals for highly visible or priority public services. The 2020 United Nations e-government survey revealed the rapid progress made in the availability of online services worldwide but acknowledged that a great deal still needs to be done for more vulnerable members of society. Accessibility and usability studies of e-government services remain limited, despite the central role that they play in determining actual usage and success. In the African context, studies specifically aimed at online access to public services by vulnerable members of the society are scant. This chapter, therefore, contributes to studies aimed at ensuring that individuals living with visual disabilities/impairments are able to access e-government websites. The chapter reports on a study that used the Google Chrome Lighthouse tool, the W3C HTML and Cascading Style Sheet Validator, the WAVE tool, the ChromeVox Voice synthesizer, and the Alternative Text Tester to identify accessibility issues on selected Namibian governmental websites. The study found that automatic web accessibility testing tools provide varied and inconclusive results. There is, therefore, a need to provide guidelines to web developers to enable inclusive access for the visually impaired. Inclusive access for all will contribute to the development of a more sustainable and resilient society.