In November, the cabinet restructured the project's high supervisory committee.
Under the restructuring, responsibility for the project no longer rests solely with the Ministry of Telecommunications and the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, but has become the responsibility of all ministries and government agencies concerned with e-government.
The Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology heads the new supervisory committee, which includes members from the Ministries of Finance, Planning and Development, Public Health and Population, Education, Expatriate Affairs and Civil Service and Insurance. Other government agencies concerned with the information and telecommunication sectors also are represented on the committee.
"The restructuring of the supervisory committee and the inclusion of government agencies that are concerned with the project will create a certain level of integration and contribute to its success," said Abdul Karim Ali al-Rwaishan, acting president of the National Information Centre, member of the Supervisory Committee and vice president of the technical committee.
The technical committee is considering how best to implement the project, he told Al-Shorfa. Policies are being adopted, and the committee is discussing different perspectives.
"The key to the project's success is the establishment of a government body to implement it. Not now, but rather after the [technical] committee concludes its preparatory work, the conduct of studies and development of systems and rules of procedure within the two-year fast-track period, 2013-2015," he said.
E-government a pillar of good governance
Since its first failed attempt to introduce e-government in 2002, the Yemeni government made another attempt to implement the project.
The Council of Ministers formed a committee in 2008 which developed a portal offering government services. But operations were halted during Yemen's political crisis, said Ahmed al-Awjari, director general of the Ministry of Telecommunications' Information Technology Centre and a member of the newly formed technical committee.
"The e-government project needs more preparatory work, including the automation of government services and preparation of the work environment, so as to proceed with the implementation of the project on the ground," al-Awjari said.
The project aims to improve the efficiency of the country's public administration, enhance transparency, fight corruption and eliminate bureaucracy in order to strengthen the trust between the government and citizens, said Ahmed al-Tayyar, a member of the technical committee and networks director at the National Information Centre.
"E-government is one of the pillars of good governance," he told Al-Shorfa.
However, he noted some challenges facing the project, including high levels of illiteracy and computer illiteracy, low per capita income and the country's economic situation, which prevents people from buying computers and subscribing to Internet service, he said.
"[Around] 70% of Yemenis live in rural areas where internet and advanced communication services are not as available as they are in the cities," al-Tayyar said. The cost of communication is high, he added, and the public telecommunications network is weak.
The lack of a unified vision on how the e-government project should proceed was one of the obstacles impeding its implementation, al-Tayyar added. International standards need to be applied going forward, he said, adding that international expertise and lessons from past experiences need to be taken into account.
"This is what the technical committee will be focusing on," he said. "Other needs include a nation-wide study, restructuring of government agencies so e-services could be provided to citizens, and shortening of the lengthy procedures currently in place."
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Faisal Darem
Quelle/Source: Al-Shorfa, 05.02.2013
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