In another e-readiness index published in May 2008 by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), associated with the London-based magazine The Economist, Turkey was listed in the 43rd slot. In both indexes, Turkey was behind Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Malaysia, South Africa, Bermuda, Estonia, Chile and the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, the Prime Ministry has sent a bill on e-government and information society to the relevant organizations and NGOs for their evaluation. The bill reportedly lists as basic components of good governance accountability, transparency, citizens' orientation and citizens' participation in public sector decision-making and service provision stages and stresses the importance of the effective use of e-government approaches and information society and communications technologies in the provision of public services.
Out of 74 steps concerning e-government services listed in the Turkish Information Society Strategy and Action Plan, promulgated in the Official Gazette of Turkey, only four have been implemented. Political analysts note that the majority of the steps listed in the action plan cannot be effectively implemented because e-government coordination is not conducted by a single authority and there are deficiencies in legislation.
In many countries, e-government projects are under the control of the prime minister or president, creating a swift decision-making process. The success of e-government projects is dependent on the existence of a single and high-ranking authority to direct the enforcement and organization of efforts and the creation of policies for transformation into an information society.
Experts note that Turkey has the capability of becoming a model country in the provision of e-government services. However, the e-government project has not been successful so far because information is not sufficiently shared among institutions and the number of services provided through the e-government infrastructure cannot be increased. In addition, no satisfactory transformation in mentality has been attained in society, public institutions and information systems have not been sufficiently utilized in making the lives of citizens easier, e-government projects have not been sufficiently promoted and cooperation among institutions has not been increased sufficiently.
The bill provides for the establishment of an Information Society Agency (BTA) to administer the e-transformation process and conduct e-government services. The BTA will formulate basic policies for e-services provided by local administrations, organize the coordination efforts among institutions and identify measures and actions needed for boosting services at the local level.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Musa Taşpınar
Quelle/Source: Today's Zaman, 13.08.2009
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