Permanent Secretary Briefs On E-Government Projects
By Azlan Othman

Bandar Seri Begawan - The slow pace of the implementation of the $1 billion e-government projects led to the review, re-engineering and crucial policy decisions being made and referred back, the Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office revealed yesterday.

Pg Dato Paduka Hj Ismail said this at the inaugural get-together of ICT industry between the Prime Minister's Office and the local industry companies at the Civil Service Institute in Rimba, Gadong.

The e-government initiative started in 1999 but the e-government strategic framework for actions was released in 2001 with a budget of nearly $1 billion. The first five years of implementation was relatively slow and a review of its implementation was commissioned to Brunei Shell Petroleum Company.

The Review Report was presented to the government in 2006 and a process of re-engineering was subsequently made to the structure and governance of e-government.

"During this period of 2006-2007, only a few projects were released while a majority was put on hold, including some projects that had been tendered but not yet awarded. However there was no complete freeze of projects."

Pg Dato Paduka Hj Ismail added, as part of the restructuring, some very important policy decisions were made which incorporate the appointment of Deputy Minister at the PMO as the executive owner and e-government leader; the establishment of a full time body under AiTi called EG Technical Authority Body (EGTAB) with its pool of ICT experts; consolidating and optimising all ICT resources including one central data centre and two data recovery centres and all security related services for e-government programs and projects which include IT security handled by ITPSS Sdn Bhd.

Pg Dato Paduka Hj Ismail further said that EGTAB is now fully operational since October 2007, just less than five months old now. In this short period, EGTAB has reviewed over 50 projects: a number have been referred back to proponent agencies for refinement or clarification; 14 projects have been approved for implementation and recently a few more have been recommended for approval.

More e-government projects would be out for tender this year. The participants were briefed on the latest development of Brunei's e-government initiative as well as listened to industry players' suggestions on how best the government could engage the industry in its continuous efforts to improve the efficiency of government services and government perspectives.

This will also enhance the strategic role each sector is contributing to the nation's development.

Pg Dato Paduka Hj Ismail again added "One very important consideration in the context of e-government initiative for private sector is the employment of local staff and the transfer of knowledge and skills to these local talents".  -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Click Here To Have Your Say On This Story

Brudirect.com News

Brunei's Fastest Growing Website with