This was highlighted as the ministerial panel convened Monday for a discussion centering on 'How can the Asia-Pacific make the best use of e-governance technology?'
It was chaired by Minister of Communications Pehin Orang Kaya Kerna Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Hj Awg Abu Bakar, who is the chairman of the Brunei Info-Communication Technology (BIT) Council, and moderated by Lim Hup Seng, the Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Singapore.
The panelists identified how best to deliver governmental e-services and how to define the appropriate level of connectivity.
With strong focus on e-services and evolution of the relations between government and citizens, the panel outlined the key challenges and opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region.
The panelists were Temate Ereateiti Kateinnang, Minister for Communication, Transport and Tourism, Government of Kiribati; Taimane Tony Sa'aga, ICT Secretariat Manager, Ministry of Communications and IT, Samoa; Angsumai Sunalai, Deputy Permanent Secretary and Executive Director of E-Government Promotion Development Bureau, Ministry of Information and Communication Technology of Thailand and the Minister from Lao PDR.
Lim Hup Seng summed up during the panel discussion that there were two ends of e-governmental maturities from a 24/7 single sign on system in Thailand to Laos, with approximately 100,000 populations working on UHF radios. All agreed that e-governance is necessary for all of us.
Good governance is about governing the people. In order to regulate e-government, we need e-governance. Transparent processes that are accountable to the people will be freer from corruption and able to work effectively and efficiently he added'
Policies and processes built up over time have to evolve and the idea of 'No Wrong Door Policy' and the concept of 'one government' shall be promoted.
The 3As of modern governance encapsulates good governance for the 21" century.
The regulatory panel, chaired by Hj Alaihuddin, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications and Chairman of AiTi, discussed 'Enabling a Successful Approach to e-governance Through Regulation.'
The speakers comprised Choochart Promphrasid, Chairman of National Telecommunications Commissions of Thailand; Sitiveni Nabuka, Director e-government Program Information, Technology and Computing Services of the Ministry of Finance & National Planning, Fiji; and Amarj it Singh, Senior Director of our Licensing, Economic Regulation and Compliance.
The panel agreed that growth, prosperity and development can be realised better where efficient, healthy and sustained growth can be attained through ICT driven development.
At the same time, regulators must also ascertain that their regulation does not become a trade-off to economic growth. Discussion progressed on 'Why we regulate' rather than 'How we regulate".
In this regard, one of the main objectives for regulating is to benefit the consumers, balance people's interest and satisfaction with long-term interests being the ultimate goal for e-governance regulation.
In the afternoon, Michael RK Mudd, Director of Public Policy, emphasised that the first step to funding e-governance programmes is to look into the programme holistically.
Maniam Kalianan, Senior Lecturer of Universiti Teknologi Mara, Malaysia said that in funding successful e-governance projects, governments should not be concerned about how much money is spent on these projects but how effective it is to achieve specific objectives about e-governance.
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Quelle/Source: Brunei Direct, 19.08.2009
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