Designing e-Government for the Poor - Tanzania Development ...

document (ID) cards, the reengineering of the back office, a central
electronic document management system in operation. Currently, work is
well underway to break down the data silos of the government agencies
and build a truly integrated government information system. By the end of
2004, a nationwide data network will enable agencies to have their own
virtual private networks. TOT Corporation, a recently privatized former
state-agency, has launched a Certificate Authority (CA) business unit and
all senior officials will have their own legally binding digital certificate by
which to enable secure, trusted e-mail, and e-transactions. Digital signatures
will be expanded to all government agents by 2007.
The National Statistical Bureau and the Ministry of Information and
Communication Technology with financing from international donor agencies
have conducted research through surveys and focus groups to assess
the information needs of the Thai citizens. In 2004, a single stop portal
was launched and intends to serve as a gateway to all government services.
A total of 21 government forms have been digitized and currently offered
through the e-citizen portal. In February 2004, 769 information kiosks were
established throughout the country. It has been decided that a framework
for further development in G2C, G2B and G2G projects be developed.
“Government for Tomorrow” (G4T) will be the next step to be taken and
will involve reengineering government with a citizen-centric view.
N. Uzbekistan
Summary of Country Reports
The Government of Uzbekistan has taken initiatives towards making
government more efficient and accountable. E-government was seen as a
major tool in rendering government more transparent and in enhancing
relations with civil society. In 2002, the President of the Republic of
Uzbekistan declared ICT a priority to further the country’s development.
The government drafted a “Programme of Introduction of Electronic Technologies
into Governance for the Period of 2003-2010”. This aims to
introduce electronic document circulation in governance, improvement of
services provided to individuals, and openness of government decisionmaking.
All public administration and government bodies have been instructed
to design their own active web sites, set up local computer
networks, and train their senior staff to work on modern ICT means.
However, as of May 2003, the development of the e-government was in its
initial phase. State agencies are only beginning to publish information on
their activities in their web sites. Only 15 per cent of all web sites of state
agencies are updated periodically, and 23 per cent of web sites have access
problems. On the average, there are 300 state servants per one computer.
Approximately 2.5 out of 100 staff members have access to the Internet
from their PC, 2.8 with access to the Internet from some other computers,
and 3.2 with an e-mail address. There are approximately 9 to 10 state
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