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Networks & Infrastructure
e-Government takes center-stage at Inaugural iGov Global Exchange
Success hinges not on technology but on governance and changing mindsets
by Ek Heng, Asia-Pacific Correspondent
Some 600 delegates from 27 countries attended the inaugural iGov Global Exchange forum today in Singapore which is held one day ahead of the opening of CommunicAsia 2009 exhibition and conference.
The overseas delegates to the event, which takes on the theme “Integrating Public Services, Engaging Citizens”, were on hand to gain insights as well as to discuss opportunities and challenges with experts on the development of successful e-Government programs.
Speakers from the industry and various government agencies shared their experience on implementing e-Government initiatives in respective countries including United States, Canada, Dubai, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. In addition, the programme for delegates includes visiting the iGov exhibition at CommunicAsia and site visits to some of the government infocomm projects in Singapore.
Three features of good governance
In a keynote address, Singapore’s senior minister, Goh Chok Tong highlighted the benefits of e-Government and reiterated that its successful application depends on good governance. Rather than thinking in terms of hardware and software, he told the audience that Singapore’s experience shows that "good governance is the foundation for successful e-Government" of which there are three features, namely transparency, regulatory review and working as one government.
“Despite the obvious advantages of e-Government, many bureaucracies resist them,” he said. Attributing the reasons as being more than fear of being made redundant, he ascribed other factors that include bureaucrats looking for personal gains from the lack of transparency in issuing government licenses and permits. Therefore, he added the first feature of good governance is ‘transparency, accountability and incorruptibility’.
Touching on the second feature of good governance, he highlighted the importance of continuous regulatory review as e-government practices can be rendered obsolete over time. Citing examples like advancements in technology to globalization and increasing sophistication of citizens, he said that changing conditions require appropriate response from governments.
Chok Tong said that regular review helps the Singapore government from making the mistake of importing inefficiencies into an electronic system. Further, a mindset shift from being a regulator to that of facilitator paved the way for Singapore to do away with factory registration requirement for some 14,000 lower risk factories, saving the industry close to S$3.5 million (US$2.5 million) in annual fees. Instead, they need only make an online declaration that they have proper risk controls in their factories before commencing work, while they remain within safety oversight through existing inspection regimes.
The third feature of good governance is about the total government machinery acting as one, he said. He added that citizens, taxpayers, entrepreneurs and businesses do not want to deal with many different public agencies. He cited the practice of “no wrong door” policy in Singapore, where if a public feedback received is not relevant to the agency; its staff will use their initiative to refer the matter to the appropriate agency.
First globally for ‘Ease of doing business’
Singapore’s e-government efforts to integrate public services and seeing things from the customer’s perspective is a reason for the World Bank to rank the country first for “Ease of Doing Business”, among 178 countries surveyed for three consecutive years, the senior minister said.
Looking ahead, e-initiatives should not just stem from government efforts. The senior minister outlined that the Singapore government’s aim is to provide an eco-system that lends itself to allow private initiatives to add value to the e-government system. In the case of TradeXchange in Singapore, which is portal used for declarations in import, export and transhipment of goods, the senior minister said that a private sector company, GridNote has developed an additional service. It builds on existing transactions with the government and allows companies to use the portal to exchange documents electronically with their suppliers which are otherwise done manually.
“It is in this spirit of sharing that I hope all delegates could take away some best practices to sharpen their governance and e-Government, and thus contribute to the stability, prosperity and growth of our countries,” said Singapore’s senior minister.
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