"Although countries in the region have taken strides in implementing e-government, there is still substantial ground to cover. To successfully implement e-government, the nations must take a customer-centric approach, and governments must create comprehensive, sustainable development plans," said Ramez Shehadi, vice-president of IT Strategy Practice at Booz & Company.
"E-government is vital for these countries to be competitive globally, facilitate a conducive environment for foreign investments, and constantly support national sector developments," said Raymond Khoury, a principal at Booz & Company.
He said Gulf countries' initial reluctance to information and communication technology (ICT) has changed recently, with some countries now emerging as global pioneers in e-government.
"Gulf countries have demonstrated their ambition in implementing e-government by the strides taken in recent years. In terms of authority, GCC countries have an advantage in their lack of autonomous bureaucracies. As for their ability, GCC countries are strong in financial capital but are lacking in human capital, and rely on imported talent. GCC leaders are keen to improve and adapt their government modernisation programmes to international best practices, exhibiting agility," Khoury said.
He said some Gulf states' bold leap into e-government has been fuelled by leaders' increasing recognition of the need for ambitious modernisation. GCC countries however still score only moderately on a global scale. Other MENA countries are still lagging behind the rest of the world in the adoption of a more customer-centric style of administration. To become dynamic, customer-centric and efficient they must take a leap - but for these countries, effective e-government is still a long way off.
"The greatest e-government opportunity lies in national development. It will increase technological skills and computer literacy for citizens and will boost private sector initiatives. The widespread adoption of ICT will also bring cost savings to the state, particularly as a result of better productivity and effective decision-making," said Shehadi.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Naushad K. Cherrayil
Quelle/Source: GulfNews, 22.08.2009
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