The advanced-level target, which is based on the progress of other Southeast Asian nations, was announced by the Deputy Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Mai Liem Truc, during a recent e-government conference in Hanoi. Vietnam is currently 55th on a list of 82 nations in terms of readiness for e-government, according to UNDP figures.
Truc told the gathering of IT industry leaders and officials that Vietnam could learn how to build and execute its e-government strategy from neighbouring countries.
He said that e-government will facilitate government activities in relation to its residents and promote economic development via the usefulness of online services such as business registration, e-commerce and e-payment.
UNDP Vietnam Deputy Resident Representative, Neil Reece-Evans, defined e-government as an approach to poverty reduction, public administration and economic reform. Neil Reece-Evans elaborated, "E-government opens up new internal and external communications channels, simplifies administrative procedures, improves the accessibility of public services, enhances public access to information, provides government with direct feedback, and supplies the government with faster global information."
Initially state officials should be taught how to use electronic applications to offer services and promote effectiveness in business. An official from the MPT's science and technology department said most officials have a low-level of IT skills, making the implementation of the e-government project difficult. Moreover, the IT literacy rate of the general population is low, which will also create problems for the project. The use of the government's WAN for management and operation activities is quite limited.
For the time being the country will move toward to the second phase of implementing e-government by conducting electronic interactions and online transactions between businesses and customers.
Quelle: Voice of Viet Nam
