Rapid Internet growth is taking place in Namibia, as more than one out of every 15 people can access a telephone. Some ministries and government agencies, like the National Examination and Assessment, Funds Control, payroll, Inland Revenue, Social Welfare, Border Control and Passport and National Population Registration, already have electronic systems in place.
In a drive to make Dubai a knowledge-based economy and the region's digital hub, Dubai Government is making efforts to ensure that government and citizens are conversant by deploying e-services in all spheres of life. Dubai e-government is a model in the Middle East, and has led the way in developing Dubai's IT infrastructure.
Through the two new certification programmes - 'eCitizen' and 'eEmployee' - the government has set a target of conducting 70 per cent of its services through the Internet by 2005, delivering more than 600 e-services to residents.
A key lesson to learn is that Dubai e-government programme is a partnership with the country's leading private training centres and universities, to ensure the highest standards in the delivery of the two programs.
Sweden has, through an ICT Commission, adopted innovative new policies that will see the entire state interwoven with a fine-meshed fibre optic network.
This will tie together several "broadband islands" in the country, one of which is the capital, Stockholm. The Stockholm network is a municipal fibre optic channel fully owned by the city and the Stockholm Community Council. It has attracted an abundance of high-tech investments, which contribute directly to the infrastructure through leasing fees, local taxes and user fees for traffic on the network.
Last month, Sweden began issuing e-passports, encoded with the personal details normally included in a passport, and a digital photograph of the owner. Citizens applying for a passport only need to visit one of the police stations, where they can complete a passport application and have a photograph taken.
That data is then entered into a centralised government system and used to produce the e-passport. Britain and America are also pursuing similar initiatives.
In the US, more than half of American adults with online access visit a government website. It is no surprise then that citizens find ways to get government information online.
A recent world e-government survey found that Norway had the highest level of e-government usage at 53 per cent!
In Switzerland, the Swiss government was among the earliest to implement an e-government strategy. The Swiss Federal Strategy Unit for IT (FSUIT) delivers the strategies, architecture, and standards for IT and information communication technology (ICT) for the Swiss Federal Administration.
The European Commission has proposed a new programme to deliver pan-European e-government services to public administrations, businesses and citizens.
The new programme, known as IDABC (Interoperable Delivery of pan-European E-government Services to Public Administrations, Businesses and Citizens) follows on from the Commission's already existing programme, which promotes the electronic exchange of information between the governments of EU Member States and the European institutions.
The new programme focuses on the need for governments, enterprise and citizens to interact electronically with public sector bodies across the EU.
The initiative will also develop and deliver infrastructure services based on pan-European interoperability guidelines, to support the exchange of data and services across the region.
Autor: Pauline Wangui
Quelle: AllAfrika, 15.11.2005
