IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea revealed Friday that his party's lawmakers have prepared a draft law to establish an "e-government."

Geagea, who was speaking from Maarab during a conference under the slogan "For a Better Society," said that an electronic government scraps the heavy load of fees that the state is burdened with by giving better services and enhancing the productivity of the public sector.

"The purpose behind today's seminar is to establish a breaking point until legislation is back on track."

“This change is necessary in light of continuing passport fraud around the world,” Col. Hasan Ali Ahmad, head of the IT department at the Directorate General of General Security   in Lebanon told the Daily Start in an interview.

The newly appointed Minister of State for Information Technology (IT) Affairs Adel Afiouni said Friday that the priority of his ministry is to create an electronic government in Lebanon, according to Voice of Lebanon radio channel.

"We need to approve new legislations for the creation of electronic government in Lebanon," Afiouni said.

Although digitization in Lebanon generally fares well compared to other countries in the MENA region, this system has not yet been fully embraced by most sectors in the country.

A report released by the Digital Arabia Network Mapping Project showed that Lebanon has 143 digital actors, the highest number of which, 67, belonging to the business and innovation industries.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea touted electronic government as an answer to Lebanon’s corruption and bureaucratic red tape Friday, adding that his party’s lawmakers have already prepared a draft law to establish an “e-government.”

Geagea, who spoke from Maarab at a conference entitled “Electronic Government: For a Better Society,” said an electronic government could reduce costs, enhance the productivity of the public sector and facilitate better, faster services for citizens.

ESCWA used four maturity levels for each aspect of the information society, whereby level 1 indicates the lowest level of maturity and level 4 shows the highest level of maturity.

The index provides a quantitative appraisal of the use of e-government as a tool in the delivery of services to the public at large. It is a composite index based on website assessment, telecommunications infrastructure and human resources.

Lebanon came in 28th place globally and in second place regionally in the previous 2008 survey. Also, Lebanon ranked 8th among 36 upper-middle income countries (UMICs) included in the 2010 survey and 5th in the previous survey.

The index provides a quantitative appraisal of the use of e-government as a tool in the delivery of services to the public at large. It is a composite index based on website assessment, telecommunications infrastructure and human resources.

Mayors, politicians and entrepreneurs from across the country are working in coordination with the Arab Forum for Smart Cities to digitally and electronically transform Lebanon with a view to creating smart, or “e-,” cities.

Though the term “e-cities” may conjure up futuristic images of self-driving cars and digitized traffic signals, the forum’s aspirations are much more modest. Smart cities simply use information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance services such as energy, transportation and utilities.

But while welcoming the step, experts say Lebanon has been lagging behind many countries in this area for years, urging investments and updating required regulations to deliver a full transition into e-governance. The transition, they say, is vital to cut waste and corruption across public offices.

Lebanese who require new passports before the biometric documents are issued would be advised to apply for short-term alternatives until the “e-passport” goes into use in 2015, thereby avoiding spending large sums on passports that will become obsolete.

Lebanon’s National Social Security Fund (NSSF) is working to launch a new interactive website that facilitates the provision of social security services, the NSSF Public Relations Department announced on Tuesday.

Funded with help from the European Union, the project will increase the effectiveness, speed, and ease of doing NSSF-related paperwork and conducting other operations related to social security.

Move aims to utilize information and communications technology to improve services and accessibility.

Administrative Development Minister Karim Pakradouni said Tuesday that the many IT projects in the public sector, financed by various funds and grants, illustrate the government’s desire to close the digital divide and move quickly toward e-government. “Cooperation and coordination are essential to harmonize and unite the projects into a single coherent system,” said Pakradouni during the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines forum at UNESCO Palace in Beirut. A dossier on e-government strategy will be sent to the government next month for approval, he said.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri launched on Thursday the Cabinet’s initiative to “Modernize Public Administrations and Fight Corruption,” after Lebanon scored poorly in studies on transparent governance.

He called for stepping away from political bickering and fighting, and for taking steps toward providing the Lebanese with better services.

The nationwide initiative was part of the Cabinet’s policy statement and was launched during a convention held at the Grand Serail in Beirut, in the presence of Hariri, Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar, and several MPs and local figures.

The Minister, Tarek Mitri said the challenge of modernising the public sector was great, and there was a lot to learn from the private sector and academia.

“We have to be able to take advantage of the experience of people in the academic community,” Mr Mitri said.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora also viewed Malaysia as a model country which had successfully managed people of different races and religions.

Information Minister Tarek Mitri said Thursday that Lebanon is still lagging behind when it comes to the modernization of the public sector.

“The challenge of modernizing our public sector is great and we won’t be able to meet this challenge unless a partnership between the private and public sectors as well as the academic world was created,” he said.