Requirements and Obstacles for an E-Government

By Eng. Anwar Ali Askaran Globalized economy has contributed significantly to the growth of Arab economies in several areas leading to the demand for greater transparency, free market and mechanized capital. We can freely say that the birth of the globalized economy is in fact the birth of the digital economy which relies on digital systems in the implementation of strategies, plans and intercontinental programs to make the entire system work as one body with unified laws and rules applied regardless of differences in continent, language, or even currency. Therefore, the software industry has become one of the most important elements of the global economy and one of the most advanced industries. Some Arab countries have taken advantage of this industry, making significant improvements in their government, financial and administrative performance. They also sought to build a tendency to activate the use of the Internet to keep up with technological advances. 1. E-government E-government is "turning the government departments and private sector bodies towards exercising their functions and duties in terms of serving the public, or among themselves, electronically by employing information technology and modern means of communication." The e-government can employ a number of methods which will enhance citizens and businessmen experience. 2. Objectives of the e-commerce: • Improve the services performance level and avoid common manual mistakes. • Lessen the administrative complexities. • Reduce costs • Achieve a maximum level of client satisfaction. 3. Requirements of the e-government: 3-1 internet prevalence Internet utilization is one of the basic foundations for e-government. 3-2 regulations: There are many aspects to the frameworks of regulations: the legitimacy of data handling, data confidentiality and privacy protection, electronic signature, the protection of websites names, consumer protection and the applicable law. 3-3 the cooperation of the various sectors: E-government can't be implemented in isolation from the private sector, or citizens, since the process is interlocked. Such a project requires that the entire community becomes engaged so that the government and the business sector and non-governmental organizations all cooperate with an effective and prompt methodology; facing together the coming challenges and achieve the Government's overall goal of re-engineering the way the society functions with a flexible and simple duty cycle within the institutions in the actual time of service. 3-4 computer prevalence It is hard to imagine an E-government without access to computers. Computers involve two key elements: computer networks and their work stations, software and local area networks as well as wide area networks. 3-5 communication infrastructure: The stronger the communications infrastructure are, the more capacity they will have to meet the giant requirements of utilizing information technology to download the work of E-government and to allow the absorption of any future expansion. Here lies the greatest responsibility on service providers as they are required to create a communication infrastructure which provides wide packages and facilitate the communication process making the Internet environment an ideal one for business. 3-6 re-engineering the government work procedures: E-government projects require re-engineering the practical procedures and the automation of measures (conversion to electronic or digital format) to allow implementation of a digital pattern. 4. Implementation strategy In order to determine the features of E-government, vision and desired goals will have to be expressed clearly. The leadership may play an active role in this regard through pushing all members to move forward achieving the objectives of the strategy while paying attention to the human element, the organizational environment and an awareness element which represent the components of the strategy selected for implementation of the work. 4-1 the vision: A clear vision is important for E-government to determine how E-government is going to be shaped in the coming period of time and the appropriate condition. 4-2 leadership Leadership plays an important role in driving the E-government project forward. We can identify two types of leaderships, namely the political leadership and the executive leadership. Political leadership must have the former initiative of achieving E-government taking into account the demographic and geographic dimensions. The executive leadership shall undertake the responsibility of guiding all competent sectors in the field of E-government towards achieving the objectives, defining roles, following up the workflow, orientation guidance and taking corrective steps, and making sure to push the necessary changes to translate the plans into reality. 4-3 the human factor The human factor represents an essential and indispensable productive input in E-government and, therefore, focus must be paid to the human factor as the driving component. Thus, the development and training of this component is a matter of urgency. The interest in the human factor must go beyond the fields of technology and the roles of training to the establishment of a research center specialized in scientific studies like the Center of Digital Economy Studies which will undoubtedly contribute to bridging the gap of lack of information. 4-4 the organizational environment: The access to the digital pattern requires the existence of legal frameworks that facilitate E-government and make it a project endorsed by all. It also requires a general trend to stimulate all groups to engage in this digital context. 4-5 sensitizations: The E-government project carries with it dimensions that may change many concepts both on different levels: on individuals and the community as a whole. Such changes may affect the future of these individuals within the envisaged digital system. 5. Challenges: E-government faces various challenges that could be defined as follows: 5-1 legal framework: The completed frameworks for legal regulations are considered to be critical to the completion and dissemination of E-government, 5-2 financial constraints Infrastructure constraints limit the efficiency and effective operation of E-government. The physical factor poses a challenge to the existence of a financial cover to provide the requirements for the E-government by setting up a communication network that is capable of assimilating the work. 5-3 confidence Confidence is an important and essential factor in the creation of an E-government and must be rooted in the minds of individuals as well as institutions. 5-4 the social factor: A certain percentage of the population believes that engaging with the digital system would reduce their privacy and may expose their personal data to other parties. 5-5 knowledge management: Knowledge is the real capital as it has been showed that it plays a great part in successfully enhancing businesses and helping in the development of new ventures. 6. Recommendations and suggestions: - Building wide databases that include all financial and administrative sectors of the state. - Learn from the experiences of others in the application of e-government. - Rehabilitate cadres and supplement the educational curriculum with the required materials, and impose new prerequisites for graduation in order produce a sophisticated digital society. - Adjust some laws to ease in the E-government, starting with the awareness programs which will demonstrate the benefits that will be obtained through the application of electronic systems and the conditions and obligations to be considered when dealing with such systems.