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Introduction
Malta’s mission to attain a first-class information society is developing constantly and successfully. The initial principles and success factors to this objective were set in the year 2000 and still bear the flag to today’s mission:
- Deliver first-class public service
- Increase citizen participation in government decision making
- Streamline public services and realise efficiency-gains
In this regard, the former Ministry for Justice and Local Government and now the Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology - the champion and the leader of the e-Government programme - has drawn up an ambitious programme to ensure the timely implementation of these objectives. A number of public and private entities are being roped in the initiative to create a unique synergy that will put Malta on the forefront of e-Government in the global ICT scenario.
Government is actively pursuing the attainment of the e-Government initiative in Malta - an exciting opportunity that will lend the opportunity to factually demonstrate to the Maltese citizens and businesses, the tangible benefits that the information and communication technologies can offer to improve their quality of life of Maltese citizens, streamline public administration and promote improvement in the business community.
This initiative is being addressed through a number of inter-linked parallel implementation streams. Primarily, Government is actively pursuing public-private relationships with the local ICT sector in the light of establishing long-term trust based relationships for the design, development, implementation of a range of electronic services. The core operations of the initiative are being developed within Government’s IT Agency, MITTS Ltd, which seeks to provide a common platform and launching pad for all services. The approach, supported by the Central Information Management Unit (CIMU), seeks to achieve a world-class seamless e-Government, with a cost effective and efficient re-engineering of existing services.
This progamme is an important milestone to the Government of Malta’s reform in public administration taken up in 1987, and today is still going strong through the introduction of electronic practices. In this regard, Government has invested heavily in the use of ICT and seeks to invest further in the cultivation of a true information society and economy, a result Malta will benefit from both now, but exponentially in the coming years.
As at today, the programme boasts of a large number of electronic services being launched across Government, of which over 15 are electronic transaction-based services such as the application for a birth/marriage and death certificate, the submission and payment of an income tax return and the application for an examination. Another 10 will be in place by the end of 2003. This development and promotion of electronic services is seen as a definite method for meeting citizens’ and businesses’ expectations and the perceptions of Government in a modern world. The strive for a new communication channel, in line with an ever more technology dependant world is Government’s effort to be more inclusive and receptive to society’s needs.
The implementation of the Government portal, Gov.mt, marked yet another significant milestone. Gov.mt serves as the principal point of entry to all Government information and services. The portal will also re-dimension the way the public perceives Government from a silo-based structure to a service-cluster approach that cuts across the organisational boundaries that exist in the public sector. The introduction of service clusters, adds further value: the presentation of traditional services presented in a personal and easy to understand structure.
To complement this, Government is also putting in place a number of essential services often reffered to as shared components that will service the entire e-Government programme.
Some of the most prominent are:
The electronic payment gateway that enables Government to receive payments in a secure electronic form via the Internet, hence making technologically possible the implementation of services, which require secure on-line payment.
The registration and authentication mechanism that will provide an accessible and secure digital signature mechanism enabling citizens to identify themselves with Government when transacting with it on-line. The service will be secure enough to be considered a true online electronic identity, in line with the electronic signitures act.
The Central Data Repository: a repository for person information to act as a central reference point for government services, thus using only one location of information.
The M-Government Service: a unique development in terms of technology and approach. M-Government allows electronic services to use mobile phones as an additive service delivery channel together with the other conventional channels and mediums. Malta’s take up in terms of mobile phones (74% of the total population), facilitates the use of such a channel and in this regard Government is strongly pushing for the development of a number of push, pull and authentication based m-Government services, both in-line and distinct from the other electronic services.
Government has also recognised that off the counter services are here to stay, and in this regard and on another parallel policy stream, Government is aggressively working on the implementation of local e-Government, that is, the delivery of e-Government services through the front offices of all the Local Councils in the country. This initiative will be the principal contributor towards the eradication of the digital divide, pushing services closer to the community and enabling cost savings by redistributing deparment front offices on existing offices that already work and serve the public.
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