E-GOVERNMENT INITIATIVESIN ROMANIA AND BUCHAREST
Mirela MINCA
Head of InternationalPrograms and Cooperation
BUCHAREST
E-Government Initiatives in Romania
Due to the technological breakthroughs inthe IT, the e-government initiativestransformed from a visionary trend into realityand even smaller countries such as Romaniastarted to adopt these kind of initiatives.
E-Government Initiatives in Romania
Such examples include:
Bucharest City
At the national level through Law no.161/2003 regarding measures to insuretransparency for public administration andthe business environment and preventingand sanctioning corruption, The NationalElectronic System was implemented.
The main goal for the implementation ofsuch a system was to optimize theadministrative activity.
The specific objectives for creating thegovernmental website are:
-Reduce public expenditures, bureaucracy and corruption inpublic institutions;
-Increase the transparency when administrating public funds;
-Improve the access to information;
-Provide quality services through electronic means;
-Promote cooperation between various public institutions;
-Promote the use of internet and other innovative technologiesby public institutions.
The web-site is divided in 2 mainsections:
Quick access;
General interest.
In the QUICK ACCESS section the citizenscan find the following:
Various online services;
Submit declarations area;
The online payment desk;
Transport permits area;
Electronic procurements area;
Various online forms;
So on.
In the GENERAL INTEREST section thecitizens can find links to:
Various institutions such as: ministers, city halls andother public institutions;
E-government legislation;
A themed catalogue;
Postal codes;
So on.
E-government Initiative - Bucharest City HallBRIEF DESCRIPTION
Online public projects the City Hall wants to implement;
Reports;
Online public debates;
Online viewing of the General Council’s meetings;
Online forms;
Online information about how to request a permit: for instance for constructinga building;
Online petitions and requests;
A tracking application in order for a citizen to find out what is happening toone’s request;
Online interactive map;
Links to subordinated institutions from cultural to financial and so on.
E-government Initiative – Bucharest CityHallDISPLAY
E-government Initiative – Bucharest CityHallPROPOSALS FOR IMPROVEMENTS
Redesigning the website in a orderly and user friendly manner, including an English versionfor foreigners;
Recognizing the crucial role of the citizens and involving them more by setting up a forumwhere one can pose questions and receive answers in real time;
Setting up a poll where citizens can promote their own initiatives regarding the City,recognizing thus once again the importance of the constituents;
Creating a centralized data-base where the citizens can find anything related to the Citysuch as: public properties, infrastructure information (roads, gas lines, sewage system, etc.At present, the main roads are administrated by the General City Hall, the gas lines andsewage system by separate private companies and each of these institutions has its owndata-base and the information is not centralized.), taxes and so on - In 2006-2007, afeasibility study to this effect was conducted by an American Company called ARD, butunfortunately, after that, the project was abandoned;
E-government Initiative – Bucharest CityHallPROPOSALS FOR IMPROVEMENTS
Continuing with the info-kiosk project that was started in 2005, but that was put on hold dueto budgetary cuts. In 2005, in order to better inform our constituents, the General Councildecided to approve the placement of 100 info-kiosks in Bucharest;
Recognizing the traffic problem and creating an integrated traffic management system thatincludes an application where one can learn if a street is jammed and avoid it;
Implementing the parking system via text that is used by Croatia and Hungary;
Becoming more involved in WeGO – the World E-Government Organization and othersimilar organizations;
Increasing information and experience exchanges in this area and adopting successfulprojects from other cities;
Training the employees in order to understand the new public management trend andhiring competent IT specialists;
Use the social media channels;
Involving expert consultants in order to find the appropriate ways to improve the existingsituation.
E-Government Initiatives in RomaniaCONCLUSIONS I
From the point of view of the users, the e-governmentplatforms that were implemented seem to be easy to use,unfortunately on the websites there were no informationabout the number of users and their satisfaction with thesystems;
E-Government Initiatives in RomaniaCONCLUSIONS II
The most difficult challenge that all the institutionsthat are implementing online services areexperiencing is a low rate of internet coverage inRomania;
According to EUROSTAT most recent survey, only 47% ofRomanians have access to internet;
Moreover, 54% of the population in Romania have never useda computer;
Romania is on the last place regarding the high-speedconnection to internet (31%).
E-Government Initiatives in RomaniaCONCLUSIONS III
Another challenge that the Romanianauthorities are facing is the lack of trust of theRomanians in the online systems;
Also, due to the low salaries and economiccrisis, most of the Romanian IT specialistsleft the country, thus creating a shortage ofexperts in the public sector;
E-Government Initiatives in RomaniaCONCLUSIONS IV
From my point of view, the e-government initiativesare the next step in the development of publicadministration and Romania has to adapt to thelatest trends in New Public Management. By usingsuch systems, the citizens and the institutions aresaving costs, time and protect the environment.Romania has to solve the problem of internetcoverage and to educate its population in order tounderstand that the e-government programs arethere for their benefit.
THANK YOU FOR YOURATTENTION!
