The pilot study for the electronic government project, based on a strategic concept drawn up by Microsoft, is scheduled to start at the beginning of 2001. It will involve introducing electronic documents into the Latvian Company Register and computerizing its work.
Preparations for the pilot study have started on July 21, when a work group was set up by the government to draft the legislation necessary for implementing the use of electronic documents and electronic signatures. The working group is starting from scratch.
Currently in Latvia, unlike Estonia, electronic documents are not recognized to have legal force, and there is no legal framework for the use or recognition of electronic signatures.
The working group has, together with the Finance Ministry, set out to explore the options for getting international assistance on e-document implementation, review the e-document legislation existing in other countries, and draw up a budget for the pilot project. The working group should present the drafts of legislation projects to the Justice Ministry by the end of October, so that the Cabinet of Ministers could present laws to Parliament by the Dec. 31 deadline.
On Aug. 9 the Company Register decided to involve Microsoft in the preparation for electronic documents implementation. Company Register's head public notary Maris Gulbis expressed a hope that Company Register "will play a leading role in the movement towards an information society in Latvia" in cooperation with Microsoft.
Gulbis said the implementation of e-documents is the first important step towards the future provision of public services through the Internet, which he considers the Latvian govern-ment's ultimate goal.
The creation of the government capable of working with businesses and citizen-customers online is important for attracting foreign investors and speeding up overall economic development, as well as for improving the efficiency within the government itself, Gulbis said.
"I believe Latvia can still jump on the e-commerce bandwagon," he added.
Latvian efforts for creating an electronic government will be directed by the strategic initiative worked out by Microsoft. The first stage involves standardizing and streamlining government agencies and departments' procedures and allowing them to start service provision online.
The second stage consists of creating a centralized government portal, from which a citizen can easily access any government service, get information, and make payments. It would also provide information and services for businesses, and can be used for conducting government tenders. Setting up a portal may necessitate an extensive revision of government practices and improving the communication between public agencies and organizations, which would allow them to provide integrated service to a citizen or business.
The last stage is the creation of digital communities, centered around municipal portals and providing local information and services.
Microsoft was chosen as Latvia's strategic partner in the e-government initiative because of its experience with electronic governments and the positive history of working with the Company Register. Microsoft director in the Baltic states and Bulgaria Bo Kruse said his company can provide vision and share its extensive knowledge.
"We have shown historically to be a very good corporate citizen by investing in areas which are important for IT development in the countries where we work," Kruse said. He added that Microsoft was entering the partnership with Latvia with the same responsible attitude, and does not expect to make short-run profits on the project.
The scope of the project in Latvia is yet undefined, and it's too early to speak of the volume of investments Microsoft will make, as well as of the funding the Latvian government will need to provide, Kruse said. He remarked that most of the value Microsoft will create for the Latvian government will not be tangible, at least in the short term, and the main challenge for the government is not funding, but commitment.
While the full extent of the funding challenge cannot be assessed until the scope and timeline of the electronic government project are more sharply defined, commitment has indeed been an important issue in international experience with e-government.
Todd Ramsey, IBM's worldwide head of government services, said in the Economist that "about 85 percent of all public-sector IT projects are deemed to be failures," citing reluctance to introduce and unwillingness to adapt to the necessary changes in working practices as main reasons the projects frequently cost more, take longer, and deliver a lot less than planned.
At this time few countries have gone far with creating an integrated electronic government structure. Among the greatest successes are Singapore - so far the only country with the fully operational central government portal - and the USA, where many individual states are introducing local portals, and several private firms, such as GovWorks and ezgov.com, allow customers to make electronic payments to several local government offices.
In Europe, Austria is working on the central portal, while France and Germany have been successful in setting up electronic communities in certain towns or municipal areas.
According to Nua Internet Surveys, Singapore boasts the second highest Internet penetration ratio in the world (after Norway) - almost half of its residents have Internet access at home. Most can access Internet from work, and every big shopping center has an Internet cafe or a public terminal. The Internet penetration ratio in the United States, third after Singapore, is only marginally lower.
Germany and France are less wired - 19 and 16 percent, respectively, have Internet access from home. Public terminals were set up in the French and German towns which put their local administration on the Net.
A study conducted by Andersen Consulting in late 1999 revealed that fewer than 1 percent of people in the Baltic states owned a personal computer, citing high prices and low incomes as the major factor. Microsoft trade representative in the Baltic states, Sandis Kolomenskis, said the company recognized the need to increase Internet availability in Latvia by creating public terminals, and teach the people to use them, but said there were no agreement with the Latvian government on funding this enterprise.
Microsoft experiences with electronic government initiatives up to date consisted mostly of smaller projects involving setting up internal electronic communication systems and databases within state departments, such as police or fire-fighting units, in the United States. The largest European projects were the electronic community of the town of Parthenay in France, and the town of Hochheim in Germany, where consumer-oriented municipal networks were set up.
Bo Kruse said, however, that "there's hardly a government in the world that has not worked with us at least on some level."
Please enter your username and password.
2024 © The Baltic Times /Cookies Policy
