Mohammad Ali Al Qaed, the Chief Executive of the eGovernment Authority, who highlighted the achievements and accomplishments of the Kingdom since the establishment of Bahrain’s eGovernment programme such as availing 230 eServices and four channels that did not exist before.
Al Qaed also highlighted the internationally advanced position that Bahrain has gained in the eGovernment sector, particularly the progress attained in the eGovernment services index since 2007 according to the Global Information Technology Report where Bahrain ranked 62nd worldwide and up to 7th worldwide in 2012 .
Al Qaed pointed out factors that have contributed to the success of eGovernment program in Bahrain, such as the great support of the Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology (SCICT), the unique partnership and cooperation with all government ministries and entities, and the partnership with the private sector and NGOs, in addition to researches and studies carried out by the eGovernment to make the users in the center of attention.
The eGovernent Authority CEO communicated the details of the new eGovernment Strategy 2012 – 2016 launched by Deputy Prime Minister, pointing out that it aims achieve next generation government excellence through raising efficiency, delivering high quality services effectively, encourage proactive customer engagement, and encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.
Al Qaed revealed the key objectives of the new eGovernment strategy, and its KPIs, and also elaborated on the framework of the development and modernization of the eGovernment program adopted in the new strategy, referring to the 90 initiatives to be implemented under the new strategy.
Regarding the eKey project, Al Qaed explained that all citizens and residents in the Kingdom of Bahrain can benefit from this project and urge them to start the registration process to create their personal account on the eGovernment portal (bahrain.bh) in order to be able to perform numerous services offered by government and private sectors through a one-time entry of information. On this pilot stage, a group of eServices will be available; for Ministry of Health (Immunization and Vaccines for Children school students, employees of health sector), and for Ministry of Human Rights and Social Development (Application for Social Assistance, Social Service Issuance of Disability), and for the Electricity and Water Authority (Record of Electricity and Water Bill, Enquiry and Pay electricity and water Bill, Electricity and Water e-Billing).
Al Qaed announced that the eGovernment Authority has launched new set of mobile applications in order to make the use of online services easier and more convenient. The new applications are compatible with Android and iTunes systems, and BlackBerry devices, The new applications, launched during Bahrain International eGovernment Forum and IT Expo 2012), include NGO Directory, Health locator, Gasoline Octane Inquiry service (GOI), eGov SMS Generator, Electricity and Water e-billing and Flight Information.
Furthermore, three new eServices were announced which include: New Vehicle Registration service developed by Ministry of Interior – General Directorate of Traffic, Issuance of Insurance Policies at King Fahad Causeway developed by United Insurance Company, and Report Road Fault service by Ministry of Works. Thus, the total number of eServices launched synchronously with the forum is seven services – all available at (Bahrain.bh)