Three digital one-stop platforms -- Eksheba, Ekpay and Ekshop -- to enable people to get different government services and pay utility bills and fees were launched yesterday.
Prime Minister’s ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy launched the platforms in a ceremony organised by the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) division at the ICT Tower in Dhaka.
The platforms were developed by the Access to Information (a2i) programme under the ICT division.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Bangladesh Section, is going to organise “Smart City Initiatives- Bangladesh” in capital’s Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) on Sept 24-25.
IEEE is the world's largest association of technical professionals with more than 4,23,000 members in over 160 countries around the world. IEB, the support partner of the “Smart City Initiatives- Bangladesh”, is the most prestigious National Professional Organization of the country.
Read more: Smart City Initiatives-Bangladesh starts on Sept 24
More than 80 countries have introduced one-stop shops—one-door or single-window service delivery outlets, community or citizen information and service centres, e-government web portals—to reduce corruption by simplifying public service delivery processes and making them citizen-friendly.
Around the world, these are reducing corruption and introducing greater service delivery efficiency. For example, as a result of service centres in India, citizens reported 50 percent less chance of encountering a demand for bribe. In Georgia, citizen satisfaction with regard to public services shot up to 92 percent from 10 percent.
Read more: BD: Union Digital Centre: Prioritising government’s one-stop rural shop
Transparency, fair competition and accountability are three defining features of an efficient public procurement system. Until 2011, the Bangladesh procurement process was paper-based and plagued by corruption and malpractices. Short bidding periods, nondisclosure of the selection criteria, pre-tender negotiation with bidders were some of the defining features of guiding Bangladesh’s public procurement activities.
Although the World Bank recommended introducing e-Government Procurement (e-GP) system in 2002, it was not until the current government’s Digital Bangladesh agenda that gave fresh impetus for the use and adoption of technology in public procurement. The e-GP system, implemented in 2011, has largely eliminated corruption and malpractices previously attributed to the traditional paper-based procurement system.
Read more: BD: Prioritising e-government procurement for vision 2021 and beyond
Things have changed a lot in Bangladesh in the last two decades. Bangladesh is now experiencing high-speed ICT development and the changes in the ICT sector are remarkable.
Here we are having a number of digital inclusions like picking a ride within a minute just by tapping our phone. We can buy gadgets, lifestyle products or even order pizza online while sitting on our cozy couch in between watching movies.
Read more: BD: Better digital connectivity to ensure better life