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The future of e-government
in Malta
Since the introduction of the internet in Malta just over five
years ago, the country has experienced a marked change in the
way it does business, corresponds and socialises. The substantial,
albeit still on the low side, number of internet users will
today tell you they cannot do without the technology. Businesses
will admit that email has made their life all that easier.
This is what technology does. It enables people and companies
to do the same work but more efficiently and at a lower cost.
And the government of Malta is also seeing the benefits of using
this technology not only on a departmental basis but across
the whole spectrum of government services. This has been slowly
developed into a project known as e-government.
The brainchild of Justice and Local Councils Minister, Dr Austin
Gatt, the concept has been received quite positively but as
the Minister said last week, there is still so much to be done
and the people’s mentality has to change.
Rightly so. The Maltese have an innate sense of mistrust when
something new is introduced. Instead of looking positively at
new ideas that can only improve their efficiency and possibly
reduce their workload allowing them to do a much better job,
they sulk and grumble until they effectively ruin the whole
idea. The public service, bloated as it is, suffers greatly
from this resistance to change. The government has embraced
the new technology with open arms, it has passed through Parliament
three pieces of legislation aimed at creating a sound framework
for e-commerce, e-security and data protection. However, despite
the government’s efforts, civil servants do not readily
accept these “new ideas”.
Minister Gatt is lucky enough to have the backing of MITTS which
is working hard to bring the concept of e-government to fruition.
Some of Malta’s best IT personnel are developing the necessary
software to enable e-government to take off. And this is the
only way forward.
Other countries have introduced the concept of e-government
with great success, and this success is not due to their having
a better infrastructure. There are other factors, namely education.
And it is in this field that the government should be concentrating
its efforts. If the public is not conversant with modern technology,
it is useless providing it with a service that is available
over the internet.
Despite having internet for the past five years, we are still
lagging behind other European countries both in terms of users
and also technology. The liberalisation of the telecommunications
sector has helped to a certain extent but so much more could
be achieved when full liberalisation of the sector comes about
in 2003. One of the major problems in this country is that it
functions mostly in a time of crisis. We hardly ever anticipate
major trends in technology and when we do, it is either too
late or else it is a rush to get the country’s legislation
and infrastructure in line.
For once, the government seems to have looked out a little bit
further. It has realised that e-government could be the solution
to a number of problems in the public sector and it is doing
something about it. Change will not come about overnight, as
Dr Gatt knows all too well, but the foundations have been set.
Success does not depend on the government but on the people
it employs and the public who have to use the service. For once,
the government is one step ahead.
Commercial sanity
It has become a trend in some sectors of the economy to lower
one’s prices just for the sake of competition with the
result that the company in question is unable to balance the
losses.
This was highlighted last Friday by Lino Ferris, President of
the Malta Insurance Association. In a presentation, he said
that unless the industry competed in a professional and sensible
manner and endeavoured to produce an underwriting profit or
else balance the losses, “we are bound to have some very
serious repercussions and long term damage”.
This situation has arisen because there are too many players
trying to canvass businesses for underwriters. Although the
client is being given a much better deal, the insurance industry
will suffer in the long run. According to the latest figures
there are 19 risk carriers, 33 agents, 59 registered insurance
brokers and 554 sub-agents. All these in such a small market.
Competition has resulted in lower premiums, especially on motor
insurance, to such an extent that they do not cover additional
and inflationary costs. Can the industry continue to sustain
such losses? In the short term, maybe. But in the long term?
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