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eGovernment Forschung seit 2001 | eGovernment Research since 2001
The government will not achieve its target of putting online at least 75 percent of its services by this year.

The government had targeted 2010 as the year when every one of its agencies provide at least 75 percent of all possible public services online, according to a July 2009 updated version of the Bhutan information and communications technology policy and strategies (BIPS).

Only four government to citizen services (G2C) are available online today: the agriculture ministry’s e-forestry service, finance ministry’s online income tax filing service, labour ministry’s labour net system, and the royal audit authority’s audit clearance system.

The home ministry’s security clearance certificate is scheduled to be launched in a few months, and works and human settlement ministry’s land transfer, the e-sakor, will be available at year’s end.

With over a hundred public services available, a major government information communications technology (ICT) vision to make its public services transparent, faster, and closer to citizens will be delayed.

“It’s the mindset, it takes time to adopt new methods,” said communications minister, Lyonpo Nandalal Rai, on the delay by government agencies to offer e-services. “They still want people to come to them,” said the minister, referring to the lengthy manual processes involved in obtaining government services today.

The ministry’s information and technology department had in July 2009 launched an electronic platform, or a base system with features that can be used by any organisation to create public service e-applications. So far, only three of the four e-services use the platform.

The department of information and technology’s (DIT) officiating director, Karma Wangdi, said the “most critical aspect” to e-governance had been achieved with the completion of the e-platform. But that a “mix” of factors, especially a lack of IT expertise in the country, is leading to the deficit of e-services on the e-platform.

Recognising that a more consolidated approach was required, the government formed the G2C project to spearhead the effort. But more than a year after its formation, G2C is still in the planning process.

The project’s recently appointed director, Jigme Thinley, said that G2C is currently studying how to “lean” or simplify government services into a one day affair. He pointed out that, for the past two years, not much progress had been achieved. “There’s a lot of ground work to be done,” he said.

Lyonpo Nandalal Rai, did not provide a timeframe when every agency will meet the 75 percent target. “We’ll target as much as possible,” said the minister, adding that, with the number of public services increasing, providing another figure to be reached is incorrect. The minister also pointed out that the fibre optical broadband network, scheduled to be completed in June 2011, should be in place before all public services are offered online.

G2C’s project director, Jigme Thinley, said over 120 public services are currently being studied and that, by June next year, at least 60 should be online.

But, with the lack of IT expertise in the country to develop these 60 applications, Kuensel asked DIT how such a goal will be achieved. DIT officiating director Karma Wangdi said that outsourcing the work to the private sector, including foreign companies is being considered.

“It looks a bit tight,” he said on the schedule.

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Autor(en)/Author(s): Gyalsten K Dorji

Quelle/Source: Kuensel, Buhutan's National Newspaper, 08.05.2010

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