IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

Taxpayers who send their PT/SSC Form by the 21st December will avoid paying 1% interest and/or 1% additional contribution per month.

Internet users can browse through all catalogues and reserve their preferred books. One can also choose any available book and then pick it up from any public library. This is the latest service being offered by Government as part of the e-government scheme.

Minister for Home Affairs and Environment Dr. Tonio Borg on Thursday launched an online application which will allow the public to order Public Registry Certificates over the Internet. The service which is available at certifikati.gov.mt is another in a series of government services which have become accessible online over the last months.

Applications for the subsidised service, which will be provided at just 3 euros per month for a year, will be received on Saturday morning at a fair in Merchants’ Street.

At the end of 2003, there were 30 per cent of internet users enjoying broadband. This means that 5.4% of the Maltese population uses broadband, in contrast with the EU average of 6.02%.

The survey, carried out during the first quarter this year, shows that 96 per cent of 10+ enterprises and 65 per cent of micro-enterprises made use of a computer during the period under review.

He was speaking during the European Group for Public Administration (EGPA) annual conference, which is being held in Malta.

The launch was made yesterday at the IT and Investment Ministry, where after being questioned by this newspaper, Minister Austin Gatt said that while Malta had placed second in EU rankings (behind Austria) for the past two years in the field of e-Government services, the benchmarking system was about to change.

They are the recently revamped customer care system and the highly used vehicle registration and licensing system, Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA) said.

The services, which were launched during a press conference by Minister for Investments, Industry and IT Austin Gatt and Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity Dolores Cristina, can be accessed at www.beneficcjisocjali.gov.mt.

Last week, the Ministry for IT and Investment launched an all inclusive digital personal data, that is, the e-ID. The e-ID is the electronic version of the current National identity card that allows all Maltese citizens to securely access and use eGovernment services from the comfort of their homes or offices.

Malta was categorised as being among the ‘fastest growing’ European digital economies by the European Digital and Society Index (DESI). This index summarises the European Union’s digital performance and tracks the evolution of EU Member States in digital competitiveness. This index is categorised into five main elements: connectivity, human capital, use of internet, integration of digital technology and digital public services.

Malta’s scores are above EU average and Malta’s growth rate is faster than that of the EU as a whole. Malta performs best in the first category, connectivity. It ranks 9th among EU countries and well above EU average. Malta is particularly strong in broadband deployment and take up. All Maltese households have access to fixed broadband and local networks provide at least 30Mbps. However, Malta has room for improvement in provision of 4G mobile services. Although 4G is available for 75% of the population, participation in mobile broadband services is below EU average.

Austria’s egovernment services are top of the league, followed by Malta, Slovenia and Portugal and the United Kingdom.

A marketing initiative in India was met with scepticism once potential investors realised Malta was part of the eurozone, Smart City Malta CEO Fareed Abdulrahman tells The Sunday Times in an interview today.

“We obviously tell them that Malta is different from other Mediterranean members of the euro, we tell them to look at the country’s rating and its economic stability but their concern is Greece, Spain, Italy and the rest of Europe. The perception is there,” he said.

The eProcurement solution will enable actual tender bids to be submitted securely on line as well as new possibilities such as ‘reverse auctions’ where bidders compete to offer the lowest price. These solutions have been proven to result in better value for Government.

According to Malta Information Technology Agency Chairman (MITA), Claudio Grech, MITA will soon be rolling-out a next generation eGovernment platform which will bring about a complete paradigm shift in electronic services.

Malta was highlighted as a leading Digital Government case study at the Commonwealth Local Government Conference taking place this week at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta.

Addressing the delegates in his keynote speech, David Burrows, managing director International Organisations, WorldWide Industry at Microsoft referred to Microsoft CityNext, a global initiative that puts the power of Microsoft's Partner Network, its technology, its safe and secure cloud computing, the successful educational and entrepreneurial programmes and its 30 years of experience in empowering regions, cities and municipalities worldwide at the service of governments and regions across the world. Microsoft is the sponsoring Technology Partner for the bi-annual Commonwealth Local Government Conference.