UK Inland Revenue admits costly IT glitch: Millions of UK workers are facing a shortfall in their state pension due to a glitch in the Inland Revenue's IT systems. The department revealed that it had failed to remind people to top up their National Insurance contributions for five years, on account of problems arising from the implementation of the National Insurance Recording System (Nirs2) in 1998. A backlog of work created at the time of the system's introduction, which was dogged by problems and delays, resulted in the IR ceasing to send out reminder notices. As a result, around 10 million mostly low-income workers will need to pay an extra STG1,500 in contributions in order to qualify for the full weekly pension when they retire. The department issued a statement saying it would start notifying people affected by the shortfall and would give them an extra five years to make voluntary contributions.
Belgian elections hit by e-voting snags: Electronic voting was beset by some difficulties in the recent Belgian general elections. Up to 3.2 million citizens, or 44 percent of the electorate, had access to e-voting facilities, which have been widely used in Belgium since 1999 and are expected to be made available to the entire electorate by 2006. The electronic voting took place at polling stations, where the ballot paper and box were replaced by a magnetic card and computer. Lengthy delays occurred at a number of polling stations, with the result that up to 10 percent of the electorate abstained from voting in some areas -- a high number for a country with a system of mandatory voting, with fines for failing to do so. The delays were a result of a limited number of e-voting booths, a number of computer or power failures, and the complexity of the e-voting system and a lack of information about how to use the system.
Austria to relaunch e-government initiative: The Austrian government is planning to relaunch its e-government program this summer. An "e-government law" is due to be presented to the Council of Ministers before the summer, with the aim of enacting it before 2004. The law will deal with issues ranging from electronic signatures to data protection. There are plans to relaunch the e-government portal, www.help.gv.at, and to set up a joint board to encourage cooperation between the federal government and municipalities, as well as between government departments. In addition, the law will provide for the development of open standards and technical interfaces, along with a common e-government platform, for all elements of the administration. Federal Chancelor Wolfgang Schlussel said he wanted to make Austria one of the top five European countries in terms of e-government during his tenure.
Western Australia plans training portal: The state of Western Australia is to develop an on-line portal that will provide training for small businesses. The State Training Board and the Department of Education and Training, under the auspices of Minister Alan Carpenter, will be responsible for the establishment of the Web site. A recent government report found that small enterprises were much less likely to undertake staff training than medium-sized and large businesses. The report showed that the main reasons why small businesses did not take up training were lack of awareness, lack of time and cost implications. "The on-line portal will make it easier for small businesses to tap into the range of training services already available and will allow some training to actually be delivered on-line," said Carpenter. There are an estimated 126,000 small businesses across all industry sectors in Western Australia, accounting for nearly half of all staff employed in the private sector.
Nigeria builds e-government portal: The federal government of Nigeria has announced that construction of an e-government portal is underway. The establishment of the portal is one part of the government's efforts to implement its Public Service Information Network (PSNET). The three phases of PSNET comprise the linking up of the offices of the president and the federal government, the provision of intranets for the 36 states, and the rollout of IT infrastructure at the local government level. The plan is to then integrate all of the networks, paving the way for e-government. Professor Gabriel Ajayi, director-general of the National Information Technology Development Agency, said the aim of PSNET is to make the various agencies view themselves not as separate entities but as one government that shares information and provides a public service. He added that the ultimate goal of the government's investment in IT was to educate the people, to create wealth and jobs, and to boost the competitiveness of the Nigerian economy.
Quelle: electricnews
