Across Africa, governments are racing to digitize public services — tax systems, health records, identity platforms — yet the institutions meant to govern these systems are struggling to keep pace. A systematic review of 40 sources spanning 2010 to 2025 finds that the continent rarely lacks formal frameworks; what it lacks is the stable leadership, political insulation, and cross-departmental trust needed to make those frameworks real. The gap between adopting a governance structure and actually institutionalizing one is where digital ambition quietly unravels — not through absence of policy,