Abstract
The advent of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and Internet connectivity triggered a communication revolution within the context of the public sphere, but whether these developments deepen practices of democratic governance or not has depended on a host of contextual variables in a given territory. This paper began from the understanding that, generally, transparency is a key element of democracy whose observance globally has been enhanced by the establishment of functional websites that not only dispense important information of public interest conveniently but also allow online interactions with members of the public in real time. It examined the extent of Internet-enabled transparency practice in Zimbabwean urban local authorities, focusing on the sharing of relevant data by local authorities on their institutional websites and social media platforms. Four broad thematic areas relating to Internet-enabled transparency were examined, using 20 corresponding indicators. Each website in the sample was visited to assess the extent of transparency, using the selected indicators. Analysis of the website content of urban local authorities revealed that the websites of many of the entities are still too underdeveloped to support a full-fledged practice of Internet-enabled transparency. This has resultantly hampered the full functionality of websites as tools for enabling online public access and public scrutiny over municipal information, activities, processes, and operations. The study concluded that the state of affairs concerning web-based transparency in Zimbabwean urban local governments reflects a case of incomplete migration from traditional paper-based systems to fully digitalised systems of public governance.