IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Brunei Darussalam is reviewing priorities for action to develop an e-government programme. Minister' of Communications, Pehin Orang Kaya Setia Kerna Dato Seri Setia Abu Bakar Apong said his ministry has deliberated issues of Brunei's e-government programme known as E-Government Strategic Framework for Action 2001-2005.

In a speech at the opening of the E-Government Brunei Congress, read by Acting Permanent Secretary Ibrahim Mohd Ali, the minister said the government and a team of consultants from the Brunei Shell Petroleum examined issues which drove the current e-government programme and identified actions forward to improve the program implementation for 2006-2010. One key action determined in the review report was the recommended appointment of an e-government leader.

His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office, delivered a reminder that the commitment to ensure the effective implementation of government programmes and policies is now more challenging than ever, especially in terms of the higher standards of public services that are expected and demanded by our increasingly sophisticated society.

In his sabda while officiating an international Eastern Regional Organisation for Public Administration (EROPA) seminar yesterday, organised by Public Service Department and EROPA, His Royal Highness said the performance of our public services is now regularly benchmarked against some of the better, if not the best public services in both the regional and international spectrum.

The government of His Majesty is conducting manpower planning exercise to ensure an adequate supply of ICT-trained manpower to develop and maintain the e-Government initiatives. There is insufficient IT human resource capability to support successful delivery of the programme. For example, there are less than 300 IT staff working with the government while another 500 IT positions have yet to be filled. The in-country talent pipeline for IT professionals is insufficient to meet the forecast demand for the next five years.

"There are cases where the public is not satisfied with some public services.

There is an indication of a bureaucratic machinery with loads of red tape. But in Brunei, there is a movement for review with respect to decision-making and policy, and a committee has been formed called Public Service Committee to improve public service."