Irish e-procurement site enjoys success: The number of companies using the Irish government's eTenders website has increased by 62 percent in the past year. Usage figures from the Department of Finance, which manages the eTenders site, reveal that there are now over 27,000 companies registered on the procurement site, where as much as EUR100 million worth of business is conducted each year. July 2005 was the busiest month for the site, when some 96,000 users visited the site. In addition, there has been an increase of 35 percent in the number of Awarding Authorities (organisations looking for goods or services). The Finance department said this means that almost all State authorities are now registered on the site. Moreover, the number of companies offering goods and services via the site has jumped to 27,035. Read more about this story here.
Irish doctors value IT systems: Technology is becoming increasingly important to Irish doctors, with the vast majority of GPs (General Practitioners) spending as many as six hours per day logged on to their IT systems. So says new research by Medicom, which revealed that 85 percent of computer-enabled GPs around the country spend a large part of their day using their IT systems. Access to the internet and e-mail has also become a key part of GPs' surgeries; 84 percent of respondents to a survey said they have internet access, with 40 percent saying they have a broadband connection. Electronic communication between a GP's practice and hospital information systems has also emerged as an important innovation. Around a third of those surveyed now claim to be receiving and processing lab results into their patient management system electronically. For more on this story read ElectricNews.net.
India to deliver online services to villages: Remote villages in India will soon be able to avail of e-government services, according to a report by newswire Sify.com. As part of a national e-government plan, the Indian authorities plan to set up IT kiosks in 100,000 villages across the country by 2007. Although the details of the services to be made available via the kiosks have yet to be finalised, it is envisaged that they will allow citizens to access a broad range of services online, from procuring land records to getting caste certificates for jobs. "In villages, people have to go all the way to State headquarters to procure community certificates and land records, and then they are asked to come [again] after a few weeks. Such information should be available to people with a click of a mouse," said Minister for IT and Communications Dayanidhi Maran. Under the proposed e-government plan, one out of every six villages in the country will have such a "common service centre".
Kenya prepares for e-payments: Government suppliers in Kenya are set to be paid electronically under a new e-government initiative approved by the Cabinet, according to a report in the Kenya Times newspaper. Payments to suppliers will be processed online and lodged to suppliers' bank accounts over the internet, saving the government billions of shillings in reduced paperwork. The move is part of a broader e-government programme that will see e-mail replacing the letter as the official channel for government communications. All of the main government offices have been equipped with internet access in anticipation of the rollout of e-government. It is hoped that, within a year, citizens will be able to avail of online services such as passport renewal and ID card applications.
Belize to give public servants IT training: The government of Belize is establishing an IT training centre to help the State in its transition to e-government. The centre, set up with the aid of the Taiwanese government, will feature 30 computers and two servers, along with technical assistance from Taiwanese IT experts. The centre's stated aims are to help the public sector adopt ICT and to accelerate the rollout of e-government in Belize. A two-year programme, which will also feature a number of conferences on the subject of IT development, will see more than 300 government employees taking part in IT training sessions up to November 2007. There are also plans to make the facility accessible to the public, with programmes targeted at digitally excluded groups such as senior citizens and students who have failed to complete second-level education.
Autor: Sylvia Leatham
Quelle: ElectricNews, 26.10.2005
