<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>June 16, 2009
ONLINE SERVICES
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Effective e-Govt not just about hardware: SM Goh
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->SETTING up a new company here used to require multiple visits to a slew of government agencies and filling up reams of application forms.
Today, 15 minutes and a few clicks are all an entrepreneur needs to do this.
This is an example of the positive impact on citizens' lives brought about by the public services being available online, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong yesterday.
He pointed out, however, that building e-Government services was possible only with a transparent, accountable and efficient government which was backed by public agencies focused on meeting citizens' needs.
Having access to technology alone will not cut it, he added.
'More than technology...good governance is the foundation for successful e-Government, which in turn enables us to improve the effectiveness of government,' he said in his speech at the inaugural iGov forum organised by the Ministry of Finance and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore.
The Senior Minister noted that too often, 'the marketing allure of new technologies blindsides us into thinking that all we need is to roll out new hardware and software'.
The United Nations' director for public administration, Ms Qian Haiyan, agreed with his assessment.
She said many governments focus on infrastructure and technology, and fail to see that it is the services that make their citizens' lives better.
It is also important to have a central planner directing agencies to work in concert so that e-Government initiatives are not piecemeal.
Many governments have ended up with muddled and even a 'contradictory mish-mash' of services, which are a massive waste of the public resources that go into them, she said.
Mr Goh said that it is testament to how far things have come here, when it is 'almost a joy' submitting income tax returns online - 'short of not having to pay taxes'.
That remark drew laughter from his audience of local and regional government officials and public administration experts at the one-day forum at the Suntec convention centre. CHUA HIAN HOU
ONLINE SERVICES
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Effective e-Govt not just about hardware: SM Goh
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->SETTING up a new company here used to require multiple visits to a slew of government agencies and filling up reams of application forms.
Today, 15 minutes and a few clicks are all an entrepreneur needs to do this.
This is an example of the positive impact on citizens' lives brought about by the public services being available online, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong yesterday.
He pointed out, however, that building e-Government services was possible only with a transparent, accountable and efficient government which was backed by public agencies focused on meeting citizens' needs.
Having access to technology alone will not cut it, he added.
'More than technology...good governance is the foundation for successful e-Government, which in turn enables us to improve the effectiveness of government,' he said in his speech at the inaugural iGov forum organised by the Ministry of Finance and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore.
The Senior Minister noted that too often, 'the marketing allure of new technologies blindsides us into thinking that all we need is to roll out new hardware and software'.
The United Nations' director for public administration, Ms Qian Haiyan, agreed with his assessment.
She said many governments focus on infrastructure and technology, and fail to see that it is the services that make their citizens' lives better.
It is also important to have a central planner directing agencies to work in concert so that e-Government initiatives are not piecemeal.
Many governments have ended up with muddled and even a 'contradictory mish-mash' of services, which are a massive waste of the public resources that go into them, she said.
Mr Goh said that it is testament to how far things have come here, when it is 'almost a joy' submitting income tax returns online - 'short of not having to pay taxes'.
That remark drew laughter from his audience of local and regional government officials and public administration experts at the one-day forum at the Suntec convention centre. CHUA HIAN HOU
