In light of the forthcoming survey, at www.egovcitizensurvey2009.gov.bn, of what the people of Brunei think the government should offer in the way of "e-services", top priority has been given "citizen's engagement" as it is recognised as a critical success factor for e-government initiatives, said the expert, who asked to remain anonymous.
"Grassroots leadership comprising representatives of citizens can be effective in receiving feedback from citizens. Otherwise, citizens may possibly feel distanced from e-government initiatives," said the expert.
"Meanwhile, ministries may be able to promote citizen committees to contribute to e-government initiatives," he added.
Looking at the challenges Brunei faces in rolling out e-government initiatives, the expert identified "public key infrastructure" (PKI) at the top of the list.
"Most countries are employing PKI for citizens and businesses to achieve electronic transactions for e-business and e-government in a secure, safe and reliable way
"Currently, the government PKI has been completed by the E-Government National Centre, but citizen and business PKIs have yet to be implemented," he said.
The expert added, "To make sure that nationwide PKI services will be put in place, Brunei will establish Certification Authority and thereby issue digital certificate services to citizen and business as soon as possible."
He also identified the lack of experienced ICT manpower as a major challenge for Brunei's e-government initiative. "Brunei should take on this challenge through building ICT human capability, with particular emphasis on hands-on knowledge and experience," he said.
There is also a need to promote the local ICT industry, he said, adding, "E-government projects should be implemented align with promoting local ICT industry."
Directing his comments to serious local ICT players, he said, "Standard criteria are needed for calculating software development cost and standard labour cost. These criteria need to be suggested to the local ICT industry to come up with remunerations applicable to the skill level of ICT engineers: to enable them to accumulate their ICT skills, to quell job-hopping and reduce reliance on foreign ICT vendors.
"To move together with rapid ICT development, we need to continuously upgrade our government (government reformation). E-government Initiatives should be implemented in line with public sector reformation," he added.
Another factor is financing the projects. "So far only government is responsible for supplying all finances needed for e-government initiatives. In the context of e-government finance, this will require a new model to address and facilitate engagement of private sector," he said.
"Given the likely constraints on government budget, Public Private Partnership (PPP) model will be effective to rollout e-government services in appropriate areas, though it will not apply to all cases," he added.
The expert also stressed that budget consumption on e-government projects cannot be justified by purchasing hard ware and software. "Software development should be highlighted to ensure sustainability of ICT business. Otherwise, government budget on e-government may not contribute to building ICT capability. We need to set standard criteria for calculation of software development costs, especially standard software engineer's remunerations," he said.
The Brunei government's current stage of ICT development also poses its own inherent challenges. "Brunei has stuck to small scale segmented e-government projects needed for department and ministry rather than government-wide level," said the expert.
"This results in a lot of silo systems implemented that are not connected in the perspective of whole-of-government," he said, adding that advanced countries are pursuing integrated information system, which has been recognised as an ultimate goal and purpose in implementing ICT projects.
The good news is that this challenge has been identified, and hence can now be tackled effectively.
The expert added that in conquering the challenges ahead, Brunei is looking to use best practices already employed by successful e-government initiatives from around the world.
"To make use of the best practices from these countries, Brunei is inquired to take the following actions: identify flagship projects through bench-marking of successful cases, exchange ICT human resources through strong partnerships in the public sectors in terms of hands-on experience, encourage local companies to be equipped with appropriate ICT skills," he said.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Rasidah H.A.B
Quelle/Source: Brunei Direct, 03.12.2009
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