Darwish, who refuses to say how much the huge project will cost, recalls that it actually started in 2001 when the MCIT signed a four-year cooperation agreement with Microsoft.
By virtue of this agreement, Microsoft provided consultation services to connect government entities - that will provide services - through the main bawwaba (gateway), the government portal, the governmental sector manager at Microsoft, Sherif Bayoumi, told this paper.
We created and developed this portal in cooperation with our local partners and it is ready to be launched whenever the government wants, Bayoumi explained. A similar agreement was signed last Tuesday with Oracle Corporation, adds Darwish, indicating that both Microsoft and Oracle will make the necessary information infrastructure available for governmental entities. He also hopes that the project will be completed by 2007 as part of the government's current five-year development plan, while the executive development plan for the e-government project consists of five main axes that will be implemented simultaneously to make the national projects as efficient as possible.
According to Darwish, the first axis involves creating the necessary infrastructure, comprising laws, regulations, technological specifications and a governmental Web site with appropriate rules and specifications.
This axis also includes creating the government portal where citizens, companies and investors can get the-services they want. The second axis involves services such as electronic payment of telephone and electricity bills, Darwish explains, adding that the third and fourth axes focus on the automation of ministries and their affiliated authorities. Contracts have been concluded to implement applications in the fields of planning for resources and management, including inventories, governmental purchases, budgets, accounts and personnel affairs, Darwish says of the fifth axis.
It is a project for the sake of citizens who should know how to use this new technology in order to benefit from the services it offers, Darwish adds. However, users without access to the Internet don't have to go to the 'alhokoma' Web site for information. All the site's information will also be available through a proposed automated telephone service. (Dial 131). Though we still have a long way to go before we can start boasting about a full e-government service, other institution specific sites can help. There are now about 500 Egyptian government-related sites on the Internet, which users can access to get the information they need, although they still need to pay a visit to the Mogamma (the huge governmental complex in Midan el-Tahrir) or various ministries, in order to purchase and fill in the relevant documents. Once this giant program is fully operational, Egypt will continue to foster local competitiveness in the era of globalization and implement various international agreements successfully.
Most importantly, the project seeks to involve the private sector, Darwish concludes adding that the authorities intend to reform the relevant legislation, with the issuing of a new E-signature Law and other concerned laws. In conclusion, the e-government project is one of the MCIT's major development projects that will eventually involve all ministries and governmental bodies.
Quelle: Arabic News
