Scotland launches e-procurement Web site: The Scottish Executive has announced the launch of a new Web site to support its eProcurement Scotl@nd service. The service enables local government, the Scottish NHS and the Scottish central government to conduct business electronically with suppliers. It is estimated that procurement spending in the Scottish public sector reaches STG5 billion per annum. Industry benchmarks suggest that savings of between 1 percent and 5 percent can be achieved through the use of the e-procurement service. Eight public sector buying organisations already use the service, and over 300 suppliers have signed up, ranging from multinationals to SMEs. There are plans to roll out the service to other agencies in early 2004. Cap Gemini Ernst and Young was chosen to administer the service in November 2001.
California wants paper trail for e-voting: California is set to become the first US state to require electronic voting machines to produce paper receipts. By 2006, existing e-voting machines and all new machines will need to be fitted with printers to enable the creation of so-called "voter verifiable" receipts. Voters will be able to use the paper receipt to verify that their ballots have been cast correctly, but they will not be allowed to keep the receipts, which will be stored at polling stations in case of the need for a recount. Meanwhile, in the US state of Washington, Secretary of State Sam Reed has said that he intends to ask the 2004 state legislature to require all electronic voting machines to produce paper receipts.
US launches senior-friendly health Web site: The US government has launched a specially designed Web site that provides health information for older people. NIHSeniorHealth.gov is an initiative of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that aims to encourage senior citizens to use the Internet as a resource for health-related information. The site was designed using techniques developed by the National Institute on Aging and the National Library of Medicine to create a site that is easy for older adults to read, understand and navigate. The site features large print and short segments of information in a variety of formats, including video and audio, as well as consistent page layouts and navigational prompts. The health topics featured were chosen for their interest to older people and include subjects such as Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, hearing loss and exercise for older adults. The Web site also complies with government regulations for accessibility for people with disabilities.
Filipino government to allocate e-gov funding: The government of the Philippines is set to approve nine projects to receive support from its e-government fund. The Information Technology and E-Commerce Council (ITECC), which sets policy for ICT, has recommended the projects to the Department of Budget and Management, which controls the e-government fund. The nine projects will between them be given a total of PHP2 billion (EUR28.5 million), half the total e-government funding budget for the year. The largest portion of the funding is earmarked to go toward the modernisation of Bureau of Internal Revenue. Among the other projects are the Department of Science and Technology's e-library initiative and the National Computer Centre's e-government portal and e-LGU project, which aims to e-enable local government units. Other agencies that have applied for e-government funding are the Bureau of Customs, the Anti-Money Laundering Council, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, and the Bureau of Food and Drugs.
E-government gains ground in Malaysia: The use of e-government services by the public is growing in Malaysia, according to a recent survey. Analyst firm Taylor Nelson Sofres' Government Online (GO) 2003 report shows that around 15 percent of Malaysian citizens have accessed on-line government services in the last 12 months, up from 12 percent the year before. The majority of those who accessed e-government services were young people, according to TNS Malaysia: 25 percent were under 25, 19 percent were between 25 and 34, while 13 percent were aged between 35 and 44. Usage of government e-services was more popular in households with higher incomes and higher levels of education, although middle-income households upped their usage by 6 percent from the year earlier. Interestingly, the percentage of Malaysians who considered it safe to provide personal information to the government over the Internet decreased, from 35 percent in 2002 to 32 percent in 2003.
Quelle: Electric News, 07.01.2004
