In many other places, long (and badly managed) queues have been the norm rather than the exception. Lack of proper communications amongst various official departments has meant citizens have to pay multiple unnecessary visits.
A citizen's ID, driving license, official proof of address and official proof of a clean criminal record are very to him or her in Turkey, not least because it has been such a bother to get or renew the documents in the first place. The story gets more complicated for people who have a deeper relationship with the government, for example, those who want to establish a business.
During the past ten years, many structural changes were introduced, greatly alleviating many of the past problems. International travellers out of Istanbul no longer have to queue up at what was the sole central office and wait for days to obtain a Turkish passport. All the local police headquarters are now authorized to issue passports. Still, these passports, in many cases, have to be physically taken to the office of the local district governor, the Kaymakam, for the all-important inspection and signature of government approval.
Officials, industry experts and many citizens would agree that the main underlying problem is one of standard data keeping and communication. There is an e-government project at some stage of development in almost every government department. These projects range from computerised tracking of customs, to e-education. One of the main missing dimensions so far has been how all this is supposed to make the life of the average Turk any easier. This week's official opening of the MERNIS, the Central Census Management System, gave a preview of how technology could improve the relationship between the Turkish state and its citizens.
By assigning and using a unique record locator for every Turkish citizen, MERNIS promises to expedite all processes where a citizen has to use his or her identification details. This means everything from bank transactions to compulsory military service. As a fundamental pillar of MERNIS, government departments will share the same database, saving the citizens the trouble of repetitive filings and problems caused by irregular forms of interdepartmental communication. Equally important, thanks to MERNIS, citizens will not be confined to their homes during the next census, putting an end to an outdated and widely disapproved practice. Prime Minister Abdullah Gül said MERNIS hopes to improve education and health services by providing a health record of every citizen.
Coming in the aftermath of a severe economic downturn, the opening of MERNIS is also good news for the Turkish technology sector, where the government remains the biggest buyer of services and equipment in many categories.
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Quelle: europemedia.net
