Jordan Times
Thursday, October 4, 2001
Officials learn ins and outs of e-government
By Jumana Heresh
AMMAN — Senior state officials spent three hours on Wednesday being introduced to e-government applications at a symposium held at the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications.“Our goal today was to introduce the e-government programme, and the role of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, in addition to how the various ministries and departments will implement the programme,” said Mahmoud Khasawneh, chief information officer at the ministry.
Khasawneh said the implementation of the five-year e-government strategy involves improving government services through information technology (IT).
“By using the relevant e-solution tools for decision making, institutions will be able to increase productivity and improve human resource management,” said Khasawneh.
Citizens will be the ultimate beneficiaries of this joint effort, he continued.
“With a global direction towards e-government, e-commerce and data services, it is very important for us to build a foundation of trust between users and e-technology,” he added.
Endorsed by His Majesty King Abdullah last September, the e-government strategy envisaged nine fast-track projects.
“Two fast-track projects, to be completed by the first quarter of next year, will involve the Lands and Survey Department and the Drivers and Vehicles Licensing Department,” said Tania Sawabini, public relations advisor at the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications.
Last month, the government awarded a tender for these first two e-government projects to OneWorld, a Jordanian software development firm with offices in Beijing and Boston.
Although Internet penetration currently stands at a disappointing three per cent, officials hope that Jordanians will be encouraged to access the net and own personal computers once e-services become available to them.
“For any institution to be successful, customer related management (CRM) is a primary feature, and e-government is no exception. E-services encourage calling over the phone and this makes the service more personal,” Khasawneh told the symposium.
He added that Internet transactions would be another benefit and main feature of e-government, but warned that online payments could remain rare, as Jordani is primarily a “cash society.”
The e-government policy comes as an integral part of Jordan's drive to develop the information technology sector and place itself on the cyberspace map.