Estonians to teach CIG about e-government
(CNS): A team of experts from the Baltic state of Estonia will be sharing their knowledge and experience with government officials this week about best practices in e-governance. Although successive administrations have pointed to the power of the web as a way of increasing government efficiency and cutting costs, Cayman has been slow to use the internet to improve public services. Having only just completed the “information-gathering stage” on e-government, officials said the Estonians will be hosting workshops to help transition CIG towards the “strategic development” stage.
Although only a small country, the northern European state of Estonia is a leading jurisdiction when it comes to e-government and its practical implication. Four representatives from the country’s e-Governance Academy will present and lead discussions with both the public and private sector about the Estonian e-governance experience, digital identity management and how elements of that country’s model could be adapted and used locally.
“Our objective is to fully understand the model by which a country of just over a million people has achieved extraordinary success in this field,” said backbench MLA Alva Suckoo, who was given the responsibility to oversee the development of e-government. “We will also be looking at their best practice to see what can apply in our local situation.”
Government appointed Ian Tibbetts as director of e-government almost a year ago. Since then he has been working with the e-government steering committee and the e-government task force to gather information, which is now finished, officials said. At present, government offers very limited on-line services and no on-line payments. Virtually all government entities now have websites but many of them are very basic and even the agencies such as immigration, which has a more comprehensive website and offers online tracking among other internet services, does not accept online payment.
The premier and deputy governor ,who have all spoken at length about the possibilities offered by e-government, will alsobe at the opening of the four day-long seminar, as well as representatives from the steering committee and task force. Tibbetts has also invited members of the public to attend the sessions at the Westin Hotel.
For additional information email ian.tibbetts@gov.ky or call 244-3614.
Category: Government, ICT, Local Business, Technology
How Is it that certain CIG departments and statutory bodies have already taken great steps in this area of operation and seem to be adopting and embracing new technologies while others are still stuck in the Stone Age? Just hedging a guess here but some departments may have to retrain or fire half the staff in order to facilitate the transition. This also might mean even some directors and chief officers will have to go.