The country began increasing its Internet access 10 years ago and has witnessed mushrooming development in subscribers and users, who now make up 21 percent of the country’s population.
However, such growth has not led to parallel development in e-government.
James S.L. Yong, director of Public Sector Programs for Cisco Systems, believes that the Vietnamese Government should be encouraging more people to access the Internet, as well as solidifying its basic foundations.
He said at least 30-35 percent of the population needs to be frequently going online, in order to boost e-government in developing countries like Vietnam.
Yong, the author of the book “E-Government in Asia: Enabling Public Service Innovation in the 21st Century,” said developing countries face challenges like weak infrastructure, lower standards of living and education, and ineffective state management which raise barriers to the development of e-government.
E-government is made up of four key areas: Government-to-Citizens (G2C), Government-to-Business (G2B), Government-to-Employees (G2E) and Government-to-Government (G2G).
E-government was initiated five years ago in Vietnam and is still in its infancy.
Yong suggests Vietnam should focus on G2E and G2B first, and then G2C and G2G.
It is attracting foreign investors and should help them to pour capital into the country by creating a faster licensing and public administration environment, he said.
G2E engenders improved links between state agencies, which then promote services to businesses and citizens.
Fluctuating development
Hoang Quoc Lap, head of Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC)’s Information Technology Application Department, said it is difficult to monitor development in e-government in Vietnam.
It had initiated 112 e-government programs but stopped doing so due to bad practice in implementing them.
Whilst praising Vietnam’s progress, Yong says failure in e-government is unavoidable in developing countries, which typically experience up to 50 percent partial failure in implementation initially.
Ho Chi Minh City has led the way introducing e-government practices in local state agencies.
The departments of planning and investment (DPI) and public work and transportation, as well as Binh Thanh District People’s Committee, applied G2E in their services, and have been praised by public and central agencies.
Le Manh Ha, Director of HCMC’s Post and Communications Department, said the city’s public administration was expanding into G2B and G2C after initiating G2E in its state agencies.
He said about 19 state agencies in rural and urban districts have joined the city’s e-one-door in which official reports are sent to each other and to municipal agencies.
About 90 percent of licensing paperwork is now computerized in HCMC’s DPI, trade, culture and information, science and technology, and judiciary services, and Industrial Park and Export Processing Management boards.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Minh Quang
Quelle/Source: Thanh Nien Daily, 16.12.2007
