Irish e-government schedule suffers setbacks: Nearly 60 percent of IT projects that were prioritised by the Irish government three years ago have not yet been put in place, were not completed on time or have been abandoned, according to a report in the Sunday Business Post. Three years ago, the government published a document giving priority to certain e-government services and detailing the timetable for their implementation. Only 29 of 70 such projects have been implemented on schedule, according to the newspaper's own analysis, and departments and agencies have failed to meet specified targets for 41 of the 70 initiatives. Although many e-government projects were finished after the deadline, as many as 20 are still incomplete or have been deferred. Last week, Irish government leaders agreed to establish a "peer review system" for major public IT projects, in order to prevent waste and the development of systems that cannot be used. The announcement came on the back of the controversy over the Department of Health's payroll and financial management systems, which cost EUR180 million but were subsequently suspended.
UK to crack down on welfare fraud: Welfare applicants in the UK are set to be subjected to lie detector tests under new plans to crack down on benefit fraud, according to reports. New measures to be announced by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) Secretary David Blunkett will include the use of voice recognition software to detect when callers are lying to government agencies and the use of software to track welfare recipients' spending habits. A spokeswoman for the DWP told the newswire Scotsman.com that the government would begin piloting the use of credit reference agencies to help identify fraudsters early next year. She said that this measure would include analysing suspects' credit card bills and subscriptions to satellite television. The move to reform the welfare system comes on the back of a recent government report which revealed that bureaucratic errors and benefit fraudsters cost taxpayers nearly STG3 billion last year.
UK to move from e-government to t-government: The UK government needs to shift its focus from e-government to t-government, with the "t" standing for transformation, according to Ian Watmore, the head of e-government. Watmore made the recommendation at the annual conference of Socitm, an organisation representing local government IT managers. He said that e-government is a means to an end, and that end is the transformation of front-line services, especially at a local government level. Speaking ahead of the forthcoming publication of the government's new strategy for IT, Watmore revealed that it would focus on three core elements: putting citizens at the centre of government services, shared services and professionalism. Putting the citizen first would involve linking up various government services in order to put "the best information [about citizens] in the hands of the frontline public servants." With regard to shared services, Watmore noted that efficiencies could be created through the sharing of resources, data, call centres and websites between the "13,000 parts of government with individual accountability." The third area, professionalism, is essential in order to make IT management at local government level an attractive career option for IT graduates and professionals.
Katrina spending may impact IT budgets: Additional spending on the Hurricane Katrina relief effort in the US promises few IT opportunities for vendors and could mean widespread budget cuts, according to a new report by public sector market analyst firm Input. Emergency funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has increased budget allocations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), but the growth in spending is threatening to impact funding for existing and planned IT programs within DHS, because of concerns about reducing the overall deficit at the department. While technology will continue to play a vital role in the DHS' ability to meet its goals, due to unprecedented financial support for the Hurricane Katrina disaster, budgets for IT may be reduced as part of larger programmatic cuts. "With the war in Iraq, the national deficit has grown exponentially and continues to be a hotly debated political issue," said Payton Smith, director, public sector market analysis for Input. "With the billions of dollars now needed to rebuild the devastated regions caused by Hurricane Katrina, deficit reduction will become even more important in the coming years."
Nigerian state prepares for e-government: The government of Osun State in Nigeria has revealed an ICT infrastructure plan that will pave the way for e-government, according to a report in Nigeria's Daily Sun. The infrastructure includes internet access for all government agencies, along with wireless radio inter-connectivity for remote agencies, and a website capable of streaming live radio and TV broadcasts. The project, which cost around NGN160 million (around EUR1 million), aims to create cost-savings for the government by reducing wasted time and resources. Announcing the initiative, State Governor Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola said the project laid the foundation for the establishment of an ID card scheme for state workers. "Part of the package being commissioned is the identity card scheme designed to combat the problem of the existence of ghost workers on the payroll of government. It has also enabled government to keep track of the records of service of its workers from time to time," he said.
Autor: Sylvia Leatham
Quelle: ElectricNews, 20.10.2005
