Question: What is Affno's experience
with E-Government projects?
Answer: Affno
has won several E-Government projects in Sri Lanka as well as in
the region in countries such as Tanzania and Mauritius.
The World Bank has funded most of these projects. The Information,
Communication and Technology Agency (ICTA) has managed the majority
of the projects in Sri Lanka.
The latest Gold Award that Affno won for E-Government was for the
Legal Case Files Management project implemented at the Attorney
General's Department. This particular project was managed by the
Legal and Judicial Reforms Project.
Digital repository
Question: Can you explain about the E-Government project
which Affno did for the Attorney General's Department?
Answer: The Attorney General's Department functions
as the Legal Advisor to the Government and upper guardian of the
Law.
They advise the Government including all its departments and institutions
as well as represent them in criminal prosecutions and civil matters.
The Attorney General's Department would examine draft legislation
for constitutionality and assist in matters pertaining to negotiation
of international treaties, bilateral treaties and trade agreements.
There are over 200 Attorneys attached to the AG's Department and
some 25,000 new case files are opened each year.
Their wide range of work involves the collaboration of Attorneys
in different teams on different jobs at the same time.
Affno's solution enables all case files to be accommodated in a
digital repository and access made easier, faster, on a need basis
and more secure.
The existing processes were adopted into a digital workflow. Some
of the processes were also greatly simplified with minimum or no
impact to the established way in which the department was functioning.
In fact, the department was given a full digital workflow that integrated
perfectly with their way of working and their culture rather than
necessitating them to change their ways radically.
Hitherto impossible levels of management have also been enabled
through the system. For instance, the Attorney General or the Solicitor
General can personally check the macro status of all jobs at any
given time and drill down to the grass roots level of any particular
job if needed.
Similarly, the different levels of management can do the same at
their respective levels.
Increasing demands
Question: What has been your experience of introducing
this sort of latest technology to Government Departments?
Answer: Very positive. What we have consistently
found is that some of the best brains in most fields are in the
Government Departments. The quality of the individuals at top level
is, I would say, even better than the quality that one would encounter
in the private sector.
However, most of these Departments are bursting at their seams because
their systems and infrastructure have in most cases not kept up
with the increasing demands placed on these departments. This and
perhaps political interference are what largely makes Government
Departments not as effective as they should be.
There is of course always the problem of mixed computer literacy.
Moreover, even though we may see computers on every table in the
private sector, this is a common problem in our part of the world.
We are mindful of this situation and take steps so that this problem
does not become an issue in making our E-Government solutions work.
The design of our solutions takes this in to account and we also
employ a wide range of comprehensive training for the users.
Better business
Question: How would E-Government projects in Departments
such as the AG's Department help ordinary citizens?
Answer: Certain E-Government projects enable
citizens to interact with the Government Department through the
Internet for instance. There is no question about how citizens
derive value in such instances.
Even in instances such as the AG's Department where the E-Government
Solution is not for enabling citizens to interact with the Department
via the Internet but for making the Department more efficient
internally, citizens derive value indirectly.
Not only citizens; when pivotal Government Departments such as
the AG's Department is made more efficient with technology, value
is delivered across the board.
The improvements in the AG's Department has a direct bearing on
the efficiency of the President and Parliament as draft legislation
can be executed faster. Even the Judiciary can become more efficient
when its biggest client is better organised. The police would
be able to conclude criminal, drug related, terrorism related
cases faster.
This in turn would give ordinary citizens more confidence that
justice would prevail. All Ministries, Local Bodies and Government
Departments would be able to get their legal advice, contracts
and cases executed faster and they in turn would become more efficient
in what they do for the citizens and the country.
So the impact would be felt by every one of the 20 million citizens
in all 22 districts. The medium to long-term impact on the citizens
would be a feeling that the rule of law and justice prevails in
the country. The Government would not only improve its ability
to do business better with the rest of the world but more importantly,
the country would be able to improve its image in the eyes of
the world.
Comprehensive study
Question: What are the critical success factors for E-Government
projects?
Answer: A comprehensive study is paramount. One
has to not only understand the business and the processes of the
organisation thoroughly but also understand the culture of the
organisation very well.
The software design has to be tailored to cater to the subtle
nuances that are peculiar to each organisation. In our part of
the world, giving local language capabilities is also an important
factor for success. Finally, painstaking and patient training
over a long period of time is most important.
Question: What is the cost of E-Government projects?
Answer: Affno's solution for the AG's Department
as well as for all other E-Government projects has been completely
web based needing only ordinary PC's for the users. In Government
organisations that are widely dispersed across the country, regional
branches are connected with little or no additional cost, except
for the cost of PCs and internet access.
The software is deployed on a central server. This makes the maintenance
very cost effective as opposed to a system where the software
has to be deployed at the client's end as well. The product is
built on open standards. Therefore, it can run on any hardware
and operating system. |
