Lebanon’s National Social Security Fund (NSSF) is working to launch a new interactive website that facilitates the provision of social security services, the NSSF Public Relations Department announced on Tuesday.
Funded with help from the European Union, the project will increase the effectiveness, speed, and ease of doing NSSF-related paperwork and conducting other operations related to social security.
Read more: Lebanon Will Now Digitize Its Social Security Services
Although digitization in Lebanon generally fares well compared to other countries in the MENA region, this system has not yet been fully embraced by most sectors in the country.
A report released by the Digital Arabia Network Mapping Project showed that Lebanon has 143 digital actors, the highest number of which, 67, belonging to the business and innovation industries.
Read more: Digitilization, Its Impacts and Challenges in Lebanon
Mayors, politicians and entrepreneurs from across the country are working in coordination with the Arab Forum for Smart Cities to digitally and electronically transform Lebanon with a view to creating smart, or “e-,” cities.
Though the term “e-cities” may conjure up futuristic images of self-driving cars and digitized traffic signals, the forum’s aspirations are much more modest. Smart cities simply use information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance services such as energy, transportation and utilities.
The newly appointed Minister of State for Information Technology (IT) Affairs Adel Afiouni said Friday that the priority of his ministry is to create an electronic government in Lebanon, according to Voice of Lebanon radio channel.
"We need to approve new legislations for the creation of electronic government in Lebanon," Afiouni said.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea touted electronic government as an answer to Lebanon’s corruption and bureaucratic red tape Friday, adding that his party’s lawmakers have already prepared a draft law to establish an “e-government.”
Geagea, who spoke from Maarab at a conference entitled “Electronic Government: For a Better Society,” said an electronic government could reduce costs, enhance the productivity of the public sector and facilitate better, faster services for citizens.
Read more: LB: Geagea: E-government would help stamp out corruption