Whether you want to set up a business, pay that overdue parking fine or even book tickets to Mamma Mia, you now only need to remember one website: www.gov.sg. This newly-revamped one-stop portal, which was launched yesterday, is part of the Government's new 3P Integrate paradigm, which aims to provide a "total service delivery" approach to bring the public, private and people sectors closer together.
The paradigm comes under the umbrella of the eGovernment Action Plan II, a three-year, $1.3-billion project introduced last year to put more services online.
"Customers and businesses need more than just Government services. They also need goods and services from the other sectors, without dealing with them separately. We aim to provide one seamless transaction in a single service window," said Acting Second Minister for Finance Raymond Lim.
He was speaking to over 500 delegates at yesterday's e-Government Forum held at the NTUC Centre.
The portal will incorporate the Singov, eCitizen and business.gov.sg websites under one roof, easily accessible via tabs that link users to the various services.
Mr Lim said having a Government that is customer-centric and business-oriented is "a huge national competitive advantage".
In last year's World Economic Forum report, Singapore was ranked second, after the United States, in terms of networked readiness. Singapore's Internet penetration is about 65 per cent of the population.
Also up is the Online Business Licensing Service, which can be found under the portal's "Business" tab. There, an applicant only needs to complete a single form and make one payment for multiple licences, saving both time and money.
Another 3P project in the works is a national electronic payment hub, due by the end of next year. It will allow a person to pay both Government and private-sector bills online more efficiently.
Jointly driven by the Ministry of Finance and Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, customers can consolidate their bills and pay accordingly, using a single payment mode of their choice.
From Nov 30, a central website for people who have unclaimed sums of money from the Government will be available.
These could come from tender deposits or excess levies paid. Users can visit www.unclaimedmonies.com.sg and check if their names are on the list.
For those who are not IT-savvy or without Internet access, they can visit any of 80 locations island-wide, including all community clubs and libraries, for free assistance on how to transact online.
Autor: Lee U-Wen
Quelle: Today online, 29.10.2004
