Kenya : Kibaki sworn in as new president

Dubai e-Government to add advanced offerings in 2003

High level meeting of Dubai Government departments reaffirm their commitment to greater integration

Dubai -December 30, 2002
Dubai e-Government recently rolled out a plan that will see the region's most dynamic e-initiative launching the advanced phases of projects that began in 2002, as well as unveiling a series of services, including new channels, to diversify the range of its offering. The plans for 2003 were discussed in the presence of department heads and senior members of 20 government organizations, who met at the Dubai e-Government offices to reaffirm their continued co-operation in the coming year in the light of the successes and achievements of 2002.

The high level meeting focused on leveraging the individual strengths of the various departments in order to devise professional and cost effective integrated strategies that could be implemented across the various departments. The meeting discussed ways in which they could best share their expertise and benchmark best practices, in order to offer new and innovative services to the citizens.

It was attended by representatives from the Dubai department of Awqaf, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dubai Civil Defence, Dubai Development Board, Dubai Airport Freezone Authority, Dubai Civil Aviation, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Police, Dubai Ports Authority, Dubai Transport, Dubai Economic Development, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Department of Health and Medical Services, the Land Department, Dubai Naturalization and Residency Administration, Etisalat, Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing, the Financial Audit Department and Public Prosecution. A representative from the Ministry of Labour and Public Affairs was also present at the meeting.

Salem Al Shair, Director, e-Services, Dubai e-Government presented glimpses of the future vision of Dubai e-Government saying that the new year would see the advanced phases of several integrated projects that began in 2002. "The year 2002 laid the real foundation of Dubai e-Government and provided glimpses of the first hands-on application of interactive online services. Some of the notable achievements were the launch of a more advanced content management system and the unveiling of e-jawaz and e-pay," said Al Shair. "Our greatest achievement included the complete integration of the Department of Health and Medical Services (DOHMS) website within the e-Government portal www.dubai.ae, thus becoming the first department to join the integrated platform, hosted by Dubai e-Government and display the advanced online applications. In the coming year, Dubai e-Government will migrate to a more dynamic stage where the people will be able to get the real feel of the online platform to carry out several transactions through a single sign-in facility."

The launch of the advanced phase of e-pay, an interactive facility that allows people to carry out multi-transactions through a single sign-in system (e-jawaz), which identifies registered users before providing access to various utilities and services in March 2003 will see a host of government departments integrating their web offering with the Dubai e-Government portal www.dubai.ae, enabling customers to pay their bills and fines online, as well as seek out information on any government services. e-pay which is already linked to Dubai Police, Dubai Municipality, Comtrust, Ministry of Finance and Industry and others, will enable the people to have the various utility bills and fines to be paid through a choice of modes of payment at one go through e-jawaz. The next stage will entail inter-bank links for epayment, notification by email, post and direct debit (from bank to bank).

Other highlights of the coming months include the launch of the advanced version of e-Job, a unified platform for job seekers and recruiting departments, a sophisticated call center, an emergency team available round the clock for trouble-shooting, services through mobile devices such as SMS and e-4all, a training program to facilitate the enhanced benefits of Dubai e-Government.

"We are now on course to take up the task of offering the full range of shared services and provide integration with all e-services of the different departments, to translate into reality the primary objective of easing the lives of the people by giving them the facility to carry out government transactions electronically," said Al Shair.

"An emergency team ready to spring into action at the first sign of trouble will be in place round the clock. Its responsibilities will include providing expertise to prevent security breaches, advise departments on precautionary steps to be taken, provide necessary software for security and keep itself updated with developments on the security front," he added.

The representatives of several government departments detailed their plans for the forthcoming year, emphasizing that such high level meetings facilitated the decision making process and enabled the departments to implement the services.

"The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) has upgraded its services considerably with the introduction of online services. Clients can now deal very comfortably with the DCCI via the Internet and do not need to make several trips to the DCCI. Currently, about 15 per cent of the 1000 export certificates issued per day are processed online and this number is expected to change drastically as more countries begin to deal electronically," said Abdul Rahman Al Mutaiwee, Director General Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "We aim to work towards the integration of information networks among the government departments in order to unify the systems and bring about a reduction in the expenses of the individual departments."

Hussain Lootah, Director Assistant General, Environment and Public Health and the Head of the e-Government team at Dubai Municipality said, "We have implemented several steps in e-Government and have announced many e-Services. It is now time to move towards greater integration with other departments through the Dubai e-Government portal, as this will generate a more positive response. We are currently working together Dubai Ports Authority and will soon have a tie-up with Etisalat and DEWA to provide integrated e-Services for the citizens."

Obaid Saeed Bin Meshar, General Manager Etisalat, Dubai Region further explained the collaboration between the Dubai Municipality, Etisalat and DEWA. "The three departments have come up with a unique concept of an e-NOC (No Objection Certificate) which can be applied for online and which will shortly be available through the Dubai e-Government portal. The e-NOC will enable clients to avail of the joint services of the three departments without having to go from one department to another."

Nasser Butti Al Shamsi, IT Director, Department of Civil Defence underlined the significance of such a high level meeting, saying that it helped to create greater transparency and trust within the government. In particular, he welcomed the integrated content management system, devised by Dubai e-government. "All government departments utilize this centralized system to upload and manage the content on their individual websites in a uniform manner," he said. "The next step that we are working towards is to export all our database and information to the e-Government portal so that it can be managed better by us through the uniform content management system."

Ayesha bin Beshr, web content developer at Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) emphasized the need for the formation of a high-level committee, which could act as a platform for the exchange of ideas and suggestions, in order to further enhance the websites of the various government departments and bring about greater integration. "The DTCM is already linked to the Department of Economic Development and we use the licence program on the DED website. In addition, we use a link developed by the DED to input economic information on their site," she said. "The integrated content management system implemented by Dubai e-Government is extremely well-developed and on par with world standards thus facilitating us to upload and manage content in a highly cost effective manner."

Dubai e-Government will continue to provide an integrated content management service to all government departments through updated software and set benchmarks for the departments along international certifications such as BS 7799 and ISO 17799. In addition it plans to put together a more dynamic outreach and marketing campaign, which includes a customer relationship program. Suppliers from the IT sector and electronic document delivery service will also be evaluated. ( keralamonitor.com)

Kenya : Kibaki sworn in as new president

NAIROBI, 30 December (IRIN) - Kenya's new president, Emilio Mwai Kibaki, was sworn into office on Monday following his historic electoral victory, and immediately pledged to go to work to revive the country's ailing economy and fight corruption.

Kibaki, the successor of Daniel arap Moi, Kenya's longest-serving president, who has ruled the country since 1978, was sworn in during a colourful ceremony following the 27 December election in which he defeated Uhuru Kenyatta, the candidate of the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU), with a landslide majority.

Kibaki's National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) also won an outstanding 123 of the 210 seats in parliament, while KANU took 56, and the little-known Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-People took 13 seats. The parliamentary results have, however, not yet been finalised as vote counting has not been completed in some constituencies.

Thousands of Kenyans thronged Uhuru Park in the capital, Nairobi, where the ceremony took place, to witness the event in which Kibaki was installed as Kenya's third president since independence in 1963.

The multitude of people had begun arriving at the park as early as 06:00 local time to witness the inauguration in which, for the first time in the country's history, an incumbent handed over power to a democratically elected president.

The ceremony was witnessed by several African heads of state, comprising Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia, Uganda's Yoweri Museveni and Tanzania's Benjamin Mkapa, as well as South Africa's first lady, Zanele Mbeki, all of whom hailed the peaceful transition. "Kenyans have shamed those who predicted doom, and reaffirmed the dignity of all Africans," Mkapa said during the swearing-in ceremony.

In his farewell message, Moi said Kenyans had, by virtue of the peaceful transition, demonstrated to the world that Africa could chart its own destiny without interference. "We have accomplished much, we have done much together. But we have a lot more to do. The next five years must reverse the current trend," Moi said.

Kibaki's rival, Kenyatta, conceded defeat early on Sunday and described the elections as "peaceful and competitive". "I accept your choice, and in particular now concede that Mr Mwai Kibaki will be the third president of the republic of Kenya. KANU and I will respect him and his position in accordance with the constitution," Kenyatta told an international press conference on Sunday afternoon. "The country has once again demonstrated its stability and maturity, so let us now ensure it attains its rightful place in the world order," he added.

The historic transition was also hailed by local and international election observers, who described the poll as the most peaceful and fairest so far held in the country.

According to the US-based Carter Center, one of the election observation missions to Kenya, election violence on voting day was minimal, and the process of counting ballots and tabulating results was transparent. "The Carter Centre commends Kenyans for the peaceful conduct of the elections and the determination shown by election staff and voters alike on what was a very long election day," Kenneth Kaunda, former Zambian president, who headed the Carter Center's delegation, told journalists in Nairobi.

"Despite the fears of election day violence, security officials maintained a low profile and, in some cases, appeared to be too few in number to deal with the large crowds that gathered in the vicinity of some polling stations. In the end, there were few reported security problems on election day," Kaunda said.

During his inaugural speech, Kibaki, a former vice-president and economics lecturer at Uganda's Makerere University, said he would ensure that all communities were represented equally in his government, adding that he would "not let Kenyans down". He said his government would primarily focus on reviving the ailing economy and combating corruption. "We are all going to be united to fulfil these objectives. Corruption will now cease to be a way of life in Kenya. I am calling upon all of you Kenyans to help the government fight corruption, as out first priority," Kibaki said.

"This is a critical moment in the history of our country. The task ahead is enormous, challenges ahead are intimidating. I shall provide a responsive, transparent and innovative leadership. I am willing to put everything I have into the job," he added.

The new president said his government would only appoint qualified people to public offices, and appealed to the international community for support. He also pledged to restore the authority of parliament and independence of judiciary, both of which had been eroded, as part of the country's democratic process.

"We want to bring back the culture of accountability and transparency in public office. The era of anything goes is gone," Kibaki said. "I believe that government exists to serve the people, not the people who serve the government."

Kibaki also pledged to promote peace within the African region and to continue with efforts to integrate the continent. He repeated his earlier pledge to provide universal primary education, improve health services, social sector infrastructure, and to revive crumbling institutions.

Kibaki's team however, faces tough tasks ahead of mending an economy broken by years of neglect, and the challenge of meeting high expectations by Kenyans to create new jobs, include women in decision making, and improve infrastructure and social services, according to analysts.

A number of women's organisations have already hailed the new government and urged it to implement its commitment to improve women's participation in decision making. "Women in Kenya have particularly been encouraged by Narc's commitment to affirmative action and minimum of one-third rule in its appointments to the cabinet and the public and diplomatic services. This is in line with the spirit of affirmative action and is consistent with the draft constitution," a group of women leaders said in a statement.