The Challenge of E-Government
The Challenge of E-Government
Analysts say a new e-government programme will set higher standards for transparency and good governance than the authorities in Tajikistan have ever been subjected to.
On January 28, Transport and Communications Minister Abdurahmon Ashurov announced that his department had finalised an e-government programme to allow a rapid information exchange among all official agencies, regional authorities and the public.
The programme was approved by the government as long ago as 2004, and a pilot project involving 20 government agencies began in March last year.
Zafar Saidov, director of the state news agency Khovar, said Ashurov’s announcement indicated that the programme was about to be implemented in practice. He explained that e-government would entail setting up a government internet network, creating a government portal and individual websites for state institutions, and providing more public internet access points.
Saidov estimates it will take 18 months to two years to complete all this work.
Muhammadi Ibodulloev, coordinator of the E-Community Project with the Civil Initiative for Internet Policy group, highlighted some of the practical difficulties that the scheme will come up against. For example, many state institutions have computers but these are not part of an integrated network. There is also a shortage of IT specialists to design websites and create databases.
But he said, “The main problem is whether the government is ready to launch such a project. When we talk about e-government, we mean a government that is constantly online and ready to answer questions put by the public.”
Other commentators say the government itself will have to change before the new system’s potential can be exploited.
Political scientist Shokirjon Hakimov says that even if e-government comes into being, it will not by itself improve the dialogue between society and government. “There won’t be significant changes to the government’s working methods and systems until it stops hiring personnel on the basis of local and regional allegiances, corruption and other negative phenomena, and starts employing new people who suit the needs of a modern society,” he said.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
On January 28, Transport and Communications Minister Abdurahmon Ashurov announced that his department had finalised an e-government programme to allow a rapid information exchange among all official agencies, regional authorities and the public.
The programme was approved by the government as long ago as 2004, and a pilot project involving 20 government agencies began in March last year.
Zafar Saidov, director of the state news agency Khovar, said Ashurov’s announcement indicated that the programme was about to be implemented in practice. He explained that e-government would entail setting up a government internet network, creating a government portal and individual websites for state institutions, and providing more public internet access points.
Saidov estimates it will take 18 months to two years to complete all this work.
Muhammadi Ibodulloev, coordinator of the E-Community Project with the Civil Initiative for Internet Policy group, highlighted some of the practical difficulties that the scheme will come up against. For example, many state institutions have computers but these are not part of an integrated network. There is also a shortage of IT specialists to design websites and create databases.
But he said, “The main problem is whether the government is ready to launch such a project. When we talk about e-government, we mean a government that is constantly online and ready to answer questions put by the public.”
Other commentators say the government itself will have to change before the new system’s potential can be exploited.
Political scientist Shokirjon Hakimov says that even if e-government comes into being, it will not by itself improve the dialogue between society and government. “There won’t be significant changes to the government’s working methods and systems until it stops hiring personnel on the basis of local and regional allegiances, corruption and other negative phenomena, and starts employing new people who suit the needs of a modern society,” he said.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
