6 - 12 July 2000

e-government set to reduce red tape, increase efficiency

by David Kelleher

Interest in e-government, the government's plans to bring the country's public service on-line has been very good, with over 200 queries made through a new Customer Service system.

The system, which can be accessed by the public at the government's pavilion at the Trade Fair, is still on a test basis but has already attracted a lot of interest, the Minister for Justice and Local Councils, Dr Austin Gatt, told The Malta Business Weekly.

"Feedback has been very positive and we have had over 200 people using the customer service system to file queries or complaints. These are being actively investigated and we hope to give an answer to everyone by the end of the month," Dr Gatt said.

Explaining the procedure, Dr Gatt said that each person using the systems was given an acknowledgement and a file was opened. This was then passed on to the local council, which then re-routed the case to the government department in question.

"Every 10 days or so the client will be informed at what stage his case has arrived," Dr Gatt said.

The brainchild of Dr Gatt, e-government is more than just bringing all government departments on-line and allowing more interactivity between the public and the government.

"We have to develop a vision that will integrate even more the use of IT and the work carried out by the government. There has to be a change of focus on the government's operations. Instead of seeing what can be done to improve a department's operations, we must now find ways to deliver a better service to the client by asking 'what does the client need'. This is our vision," Dr Gatt told The Malta Business Weekly.

There are a number of projects in the pipeline that are expected to be implemented by the end of the year. These include paying government rent, the customer care system and the issuing of licences.

The latter will be of particular benefit to local business who will only have to go to the local council to obtain or renew their commercial licence.

"Some licences require the input of four or more departments. The new system will certainly reduce bureaucratic red tape and bottle necks while the licence is being processed. This will save both the client and the government time. We are still waiting for legislation that will allow local councils to take over responsibility from the police for the issuing of the licences," Dr Gatt said."

A full interview with Dr Gatt on e-government will be published in The Malta Independent on Sunday.