"There is lack of awareness among citizens of the availability of e-government services," Nader Thneibat, secretary general of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, told The Jordan Times on Wednesday.
According to figures issued by the ministry, mobile users in Jordan sent 2.525 million SMSs to inquire about government services during the first four months of this year, while the government sent about 5.815 million SMSs to users informing them about services.
The government currently provides more than 90 electronic services at different public agencies, the ministry said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times on Thursday.
The government also provides about 40 mobile-enabled services at 24 public agencies, the ministry said, adding that 10 new e-services at several public entities will be launched soon.
Current e-government services include allowing people in the Kingdom to obtain security clearances and background check certificates, renew professional and commercial registrations at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, renew business licences and inquire about traffic tickets.
Several citizens, however, said they need "important" government services to be available electronically.
"I never use e-government services because I simply don't know what services are available electronically," Sadeen Elhelo, a civil engineer, said on Thursday.
"We need services to renew passports and civil identification cards electronically to save time, because you sometimes waste a whole day waiting at government offices to do this," Elhelo said.
But Nasser Ali, a retired academic, said he uses e-government services to check on traffic tickets and real estate property.
"These services are good. When I go to renew my car's registration papers every year, I check if I have any traffic tickets before going. There should be more services like this," he noted.
Abu Mustafa, an owner of a real estate development company, said there are no "real" e-services in Jordan.
"At our company, when we sell flats, there are several transactions that need to be completed at the Department of Land and Survey before we can sell them. These transactions sometimes take months due to bureaucracy," Abu Mustafa said.
"If services at the land department are automated, I will be the first to use them and promote them."
Authorities formally inaugurated the e-government programme in 2006 with the intention of streamlining bureaucracy and enhancing access to the Internet in rural areas.
Internet penetration in the Kingdom reached 67 per cent by the end of March, according to recent figures by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission.
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Quelle/Source: Zawya, 01.08.2013
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