IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

CAIT's Bashayer Al-Awwad told KUNA on sideline of a conference on human development that the event, sponsored by the agency, Kuwait's Civil Service Commission (CSC), and Microsoft, would focus on the role of IT in shaping skills of leaders and managers in government institutions.

The Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT) launched Monday the e-government forum entitled, “Recent Trends, Security Risks and Implementation Challenges”, at the Marriott Courtyard. The forum, which will continue until Nov 13, is under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al- Hamad Al-Sabah. It was inaugurated by Communications Minister and CAIT Chairman Issa Ahmed Al-Kandari. Addressing those who attended the inauguration ceremony, Al-Kandari said, “We hope the e-government program will allow government agencies to efficiently provide services to the people of Kuwait. Our goal includes helping the decision-makers to develop their national strategies in various fields.” The forum is aimed at generating modernization opportunities for Kuwait, its organizations and its people, as it focuses on different issues related to the e-government program and challenges like information security hazards.

In a recent announcement, Yousef Kazem, the official spokesman for the unified government application for electronic services (Sahel), revealed that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has introduced a new electronic service for renewing ration cards through the Sahel application.

This initiative, according to Kazem, is a direct response to the directives issued by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Abdullah Al-Joaan, emphasizing the need to streamline procedures and enhance accessibility to ministry services, especially those catering to citizens. The goal is to expedite transactions and simplify processes, making them more accessible via the Sahel application.

In a recent announcement, Yousef Kazem, the official spokesperson for the unified government application for electronic services, known as “Sahel,” revealed the app’s remarkable success. Since its launch on September 15, 2021, until the end of 2023, the application has efficiently processed over 30 million transactions and services.

Kazem shared key statistics highlighting the achievements of the “Sahel” application during this period. The app boasts a comprehensive array of (356) electronic services provided by (35) government agencies. These services cover a wide spectrum, contributing to the diversity of offerings to citizens.

CAIT Deputy Director General of IT Qusai Al-Shatti made the remark while addressing the 2nd Middle East Cloud and Big Data Conference and Exhibition that kicked off here on Wednesday.

Al-Shatti added that CAIT established the Kuwait data network, linking together 56 government bodies, where electronic data and documents are shared at high speed.

Al-Naqeeb made the remark in her opening speech at a national conference on comprehensive technology that kicked off here on Sunday.

Deputy Director General of the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT) Majdah Al-Naqib highlighted the need of developing a legal framework to leverage the applications of e-transactions across the country.

"The e-transactions are based on guaranteeing the rights of dealers to safe and credible services and copyrights away from online crimes," she stressed.

"The number of visitors of the gate topped nine million last year," he told KUNA at the conclusion of the 13th meeting of the executive committee of the GCC e-government.

"The two-day meeting outlined the tasks of the two ad-hoc committees on e-government and information filtering belonging to the ministerial committee of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries," he pointed out.

In alignment with the e-government initiative and the Ministry of Education’s ongoing commitment to digital transformation, the Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Prof. Dr. Adel Al-Adwani, announced the launch of a new electronic platform named “Takamul.” In a recent press statement, Prof. Al-Adwani detailed how Takamul aims to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of project management within the Ministry of Education. The platform will display statistics from various reports and convert them into digital indicators.

Digital transformation has become a necessity for any public or private institution aspiring for survival and success in an increasingly digital world, Deputy Director General of the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT) Eng. Qussai Al-Shatti has said.

Speaking at the 5th E-Government Forum (EGOV5), which is held under the theme of 'Digital Transformation,' Al-Shatti said the theme of the forum reflects the urgently-needed shift towards digitalization at all public and private sector entities.

It is boring, and there are times when you could lose temper thanks to the large number of documents they seek and the wasted time spent waiting to attest a single document. I can understand the frustration that residents experience. Unfortunately most official bodies have formulated rules regulations taking a myriad aspects into consideration, except for people's time, effort and patience.

Al-Bahar told KUNA that the state's official e-gate saw 1,483 visitors in the first half of 2012, compared to 896 visitors of the same period last year; an increase of 65%.

The total amount paid by electronic payment service (tasdeed) through the Kuwait government portal came to about KD 16 million for 2010 and 2011, revealed Director of e-government gate at the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT) Dr Ittihad Al-Bahar on Thursday.

In statements to KUNA, Al-Bahar estimated the number of transactions carried out through (tasdeed) service for the same period at 261,198.

Data showed that the total amounts paid since the beginning of 2012 to the end of April were KD 1.3 million, through 52,403 processes, she said.

The service is put by Ministry of Interior, to offer the voter’s information, regarding the name and place of constituency headquarters, said head of the e-government in Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT), Dr Ittihad Al-Bahar.

The service simplifies the voter’s usage of gathering information through entering their ID number or ministry of interior reference number, she added.

Kuwait continues progressing in its endeavor to improve efficiency and effectiveness of management performance and reducing errors arising from conventional methods in the work of government departments. In this regard, Kuwait established the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT) in 2006 by an Amiri decree, and in 2014, the agency was founded under the Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah.

In global e-government rankings, Kuwait is among the Asian nations in the conceptual framework of the E-Government Development Index (EGDI). The state was ranked 49 in 2014, up from 63 two years earlier, a difference of 14 points in this short period. CAIT created a common network to securely unify public agencies and non-governmental organizations called the Kuwait Information Network (KIN). It is an infrastructure of servers that seeks to better the speed and privacy of messaging between authorities.

At the opening ceremony of an e-government forum, Essa Al-Kandari said that the launch of the country's e-government system coincided with the establishment of the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT), under the directives of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

The egovernment portal has collected KD 38 million from January to June 2017, compared to the KD 51 million collected in 2016.

They said statistics on the portal reveal that the most frequently used services are civil-ID related inquiries and payment of violations, as well as queries on travel ban and filed cases.

Minister of Justice and State Minister for National Assembly Affairs Dr Faleh Al-Azeb affirmed his keenness for the full implementation of e-government project, revealing that there was no e-government when he took up the ministerial position.

He said the egovernment service is almost ready but some final touches are required, indicating that the electronic interfacing is yet to be completed. The minister affirmed that transactions can be completed within few minutes through e-government service, revealed that a number of services of the ministry were recently turned into electronic services with the aim of facilitating procedures for the public.