Jordan Times
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
e-Government to include
18 more departments
By Rami Abdelrahman
AMMAN — The Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MoICT)
yesterday announced that 18 governmental departments would be connected in a
network by the end of this year.
Khaldoun Naffaa, head of the e-Government
Programme Management Office, told The Jordan Times the step is designed to
provide the adequate infrastructure for implementing e-Government services.
Currently there are six departments already connected, including the Prime
Ministry, the Ministry of Planning and International Co-operation, the Ministry
of Finance, and the MoICT, Naffaa said.
The total number of this network's users amounts to 650 government workers, but
Naffaa said the new plan will add around 12,000 to 15,000 government employees
to the network.
According to the ministry, the new wide band network will operate under a high
level of information security standards. Naffaa explained that technical,
organisational, procedural and national security measures are being taken to
ensure the safe transmission of information. He said the network would be
managed through the e-Government Operations Centre at the National Information
Technology Centre, based at the Royal Scientific Society.
Naffaa added that the government is already providing electronic services in
certain departments including the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission and
the Social Security Corporation. He noted that the Income and Sales Tax
Department and the Land and Survey Department would start providing full
e-services within the coming weeks.
“Shared departmental services, authentication, social security services,
electronic payments and Internet services will be introduced in these
departments,” Naffaa said.
“If you want to apply for a residency permit for a worker in your company, you
will no longer have to go to the Ministry of Health to get a health certificate,
then get it stamped by the Ministry of Labour and other departments, you will
only have to go to one department, or go online, and complete the process
there,” he explained.
However, Naffaa said introducing e-Government requires changing laws that would
allow e-services, in addition, it also requires training all government workers
on using the network and a public awareness campaign to explain the benefits to
citizens.
He added that a call centre will be giving technical support for users all-day
long. The centre will guide both workers and beneficiaries on how to use
e-services, and report any problems or defects in the system to the Operations
Centre so it can be fixed immediately from Amman.
His Majesty King Abdullah initiated the e-Government Programme with a view to
enhance the performance of government in terms of service provision, efficiency,
accuracy, time and cost effectiveness, transparency, customer satisfaction and
cross-governmental integration.
The new network will include the ministries of foreign affairs, interior, labour
and tourism, as well as the Civil Status and Passport Department, Land and
Survey Department, Borders and Residency Department, General Intelligence
Department, Drivers and Vehicles Licensing Department, and Income and Sales Tax
Department and Civil Service Bureau.