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Arab Knowledge Report 2009: Towards Productive

Arab Knowledge Report 2009: Towards Productive

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FIGURE 4-8Availability of e-government services (2006 values)Availability of e-government services(1-7)5.554.543.532.521.51AlgeriaBahrainEgyptJordanKuwaitMauritaniaMoroccoQatarTunisiaU A ELow income countriesLower middle income countriesWorldSource: World Bank database, <strong>Knowledge</strong> Assessment Methodology (KAM). http://info.worldbank.org/etolls/kam2/KAM_page5.asp. on 12 December 2008The advanced nationshave accumulated awealth of knowledgeconnected toe-governmentinitiatives becausemajor consulting firmsin these countriesare planning andimplementinge-governmentinitiatives that revolvearound the prioritiesand requirementsof the citizene-government applications in the years2005 and 2008. 19 The table makes clearthat five GCC countries (the UAE, Bahrain,Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi <strong>Arab</strong>ia) lead intheir readiness to adopt e-governmentapplications. Jordan and Lebanon alsooccupy advanced positions in this regard.Figure 4-8 gives indicator values for agroup of <strong>Arab</strong> countries pertaining toavailability of e-government servicesas used by the World Bank within the<strong>Knowledge</strong> Assessment Methodology(KAM) framework. 20 It also gives theaverage performance for some selectedgroups of countries. On the basis of thefigure, the <strong>Arab</strong> countries can be dividedinto three classes. In the first are those thatenjoy a high level of e-government services(the UAE and Qatar). These are followedby a second group (Mauritania, Egypt, andBahrain) that have been able to secure amedium level of these services. The thirdgroup (Kuwait and Algeria) provide lowerlevels of e-government services than thesetwo groups.Figure 4-8 reveals that the average valuefor the second group of <strong>Arab</strong> countriesapproaches the global average value on theindicator of availability of e-governmentservices. It also makes clear that for the<strong>Arab</strong> countries for which data is availablethe level of e-government services exceedsthat of the countries with average scoreson the HDI and also exceeds the level ofother groups of countries of the world. 21The advanced nations have accumulateda wealth of knowledge connected toe-government initiatives because majorconsulting firms in these countries areplanning and implementing e-governmentinitiatives and are supported by otherinstitutions devoted to research and softwaredevelopment. These initiatives revolvearound the priorities and requirements ofthe citizen. It is essential to build a similarknowledge framework to put governmentservices in the <strong>Arab</strong> countries on the samelevel as those of other countries of theworld. This will require the acquisition ofknowledge on a number of levels as well158 ARAB KNOWLEDGE REPORT <strong>2009</strong>

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