Administrative Development Minister Karim Pakradouni said Tuesday that the many IT projects in the public sector, financed by various funds and grants, illustrate the government’s desire to close the digital divide and move quickly toward e-government. “Cooperation and coordination are essential to harmonize and unite the projects into a single coherent system,” said Pakradouni during the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines forum at UNESCO Palace in Beirut. A dossier on e-government strategy will be sent to the government next month for approval, he said. “Our mission is to propel post-war public administration into the 21st century,” said Raymond Khoury, head of the ministry’s technical cooperation unit.
Khoury said the program will bring institutional reform and ICT technology to the government, with the end result being a more streamlined, transparent and traceable government process.
Khoury proposed carrying out the process in a phased, coordinated manner under an integrated coordination plan supported by new national policies and standards.
“Our concern is the variation in the adoption of ICT in the public sector,” said Tania Zaroubi, the ICT project manager. “A common practice of quality standards will guarantee uniformity and consistency in the public administration.”
According to Zaroubi, implementing standards will require constant and monitoring. Major issues to be addressed include noncompliance with existing procedures and bureaucratic interference.
Cost reduction, the elimination of data duplication, increased operational performance and transparency are some of the project’s benefits, said Zaroubi. Others include streamlined interaction between agencies and an improved relationship with the private sector.
Quelle: The Daily Star
