E-government the future prospect in macedonia

E-government the future prospect in macedonia

Dr. Ljubomir Kekenovski, Faculty of Economy

Mirjana Apostolova, City of Skopje Institute for informatics, deputy manager

The dynamic and democratic society, with a strong and productive economy, requires service-oriented, reliable and innovative government at all levels. Successful implementation of eGovernment can improve services, strengthen our societies, increase productivity and welfare, and reinforce democracy. The e-government strategy should be an important part of national development strategy.

In the Republic of Macedonia e-government is in a very first level, but it is recognized as an important part of Information society.
In this paper we try to present the technical issues, the e-government national results and needed independent and common regional activities and approaches in e-government environment.

1. Preface

The dynamic and democratic society, with a strong and productive economy, requires service-oriented, reliable and innovative government at all levels. Successful implementation of e-Government can improve services, strengthen our societies, increase productivity and welfare, and reinforce democracy.

1. EU Ministerial Declaration

In definition of a framework of e-government strategy and action plan we must have in mind the EU Ministerial Declaration in occasion of e-government conference in Brussels, 29th November 2001, and must be agreed to their commitments to rapid e-Government developments as an integral part of the Lisbon strategy for growth and employment and of the eEurope Action Plan.

They agreed that higher priority should be given to eGovernment issues as following:

E n s u r i n g i n c l u s i o n

Ministers agreed that citizens and businesses must be at the centre of attention in the design of on-line services, which can be easily accessible by all. Ministers took note of the « e-Inclusion » report and agreed that greater account must be taken of specific needs, for example of the physically disabled and for different age and language groups.

Ministers agreed that services must be delivered through several complementary communication channels: on-line and in traditional ways, with continued opportunities for direct human contact and assistance where necessary. Citizens must be able to exercise choice in the channel they use. The ministers expressed concern about dependence on single ICT service-providers and producers, and called for more competition. Ministers agreed to share experiences, and asked the Commission to stimulate the development of open-source alternatives where necessary. Interoperability of a variety of network infrastructures and services will therefore be essential, and open standards and “technology-neutral” regulation are vital.

1

Pro m o t i n g t r u s t a n d s e c u r i t y

Ministers recognised that appropriate security and trust is a precondition to the successful introduction of on-line eGovernment services. Ministers agreed to strengthen co-operation across Europe to ensure the security of networks and guarantee safe access to eGovernment services: In the delivery of electronic public services, including respect for privacy and safety, Ministers invited the Commission to establish a group of national experts to survey national electronic identification and authentication systems and tools, and to explore the possibilities for measures to promote policy coherence in these areas at the European Union level, and that this work will be reviewed by Ministers in 2003. Ministers also looked forward to progress in this area at the forthcoming Telecommunications Council and agreed to encourage the large-scale use of electronic signatures, when appropriate, for both public services and business by 2003.

Bu i l d i n g o n b e s t p r a c t i c e

Ministers agreed that effective eGovernment requires internal re-organisation: changes in structures and work organisation, training and skills, as well as in employment conditions. Ministers agreed to share experience in training, and in improving the quality of work and working conditions in the public sector.

Ministers took note of the good practices identified and presented at the conference and agreed to explore further how best to extend them within their countries, across Europe and internationally. Ministers invited the Commission to further refine assessment methodologies.

Ministers acknowledged that information and communication technologies (ICT) provide unprecedented opportunities for easier access to authenticated public-sector information, and that clearer conditions for re-using it throughout Europe will contribute to economic growth and employment. Ministers agreed to give urgent attention to the proposals by the European Commission in this area. They agreed that special attention should be given to access to information from the EU Institutions.

Ministers agreed to encourage National Administrations and EU Institutions to establish a common view on which pan-European eServices are most essential on a European level, and to establishment of an eGovernment platform, building on the European Forum on eGovernment and the eGovernment Observatory.

Ministers invited Governments of Countries outside Europe, both developed and developing, to participate in the exchange of good practices with Europe.

2

En c o u r a g i n g p a r t i c i p a t i o n

Ministers agreed that ICT can be a powerful tool for good governance and endorsed five key principles: Openness; participation; accountability; effectiveness; and coherence. Ministers recognised that the transition to eGovernment must improve all these dimensions, and invited the European Institutions to implement eGovernment solutions accordingly.
Ministers recognised that ICT can contribute to greater participation in democratic activities and can strengthen our systems of representative parliamentary democracy.

They took note of the new opportunities and challenges associated with ICT and Parliamentary democracy in Europe, and recognised the importance of increasing participation in local, regional, national and European democratic processes.

Ministers agreed to explore, initially at national-level, with MEPs and others, how use of ICT could help to increase awareness, interest and participation in European democratic processes, in particular in the European parliamentary elections in 2004.

Ministers also recognised that ICT offers important new opportunities for “e-community” development and agreed to catalyse and support these developments.

L o o k i n g t o t h e f u t u re

Ministers recognised that the transformations towards eGovernment must go beyond the first generation of Internet-based provision of information to fully interactive services. Ministers invited the European Commission to make the necessary investments in research and technological development, in particular in the sixth Framework Programme, to ensure interoperability and dependability in the next generations of infrastructures and open systems. Ministers also stressed the need for prioritisation, evaluation and co-ordination of EU eGovernment initiatives and invite the Commission to ensure greater synergy between eGovernment activities under the responsibility of different services.

2. E-government in Macedonia

   1. e readiness

      1. Technical issues

The whole public communication infrastructure in Macedonia is operated by state owned operator Makedonski Telekomunikacii. From January 1, 1997, unique PTT Macedonia was separated into two legal entities, Makedonski Posti and Makedonski Telekomunikacii(MT). In March 1998, MT was registered as a shareholding company. By the law, Makedonski Telekomunikacii was protected operator, allowing competition for mobile in 2000 and for fixed telephony in 2005 (expected to be shortening to 2003). Reasons for that monopoly protection is allowing time for privatization of all segments of telecommunications.

The company is highly profitable, showing profit of 100 million DEM for 1999 and 70 million DEM for six months period of 2000. High level of investments is kept during last 6 years, currently heavily investing in mobile network, ISDN, IP network and the Internet.

IT indicators

Basic telephony services

All types of basic telephony services are available: Voice, Fax, Telex and ISDN

Value Added telephony services

Virtual Private Network, Leased Lines, Frame Relay, IP connection, Packet Switched Public Data Network

Basic Internet services

Access to Internet infrastructure, Access to WWW, E-mail services

Value Added Internet services

Web hosting, Service & application hosting

Content management services

Information brokerage. Content aggregation and E-shop/mall are present in very initial phase.

Access Networks

The access networks that are available are the following: PSTN, GSM, SDH, and ISDN. (ADSL is to be available in 2001) GSM 900 is a type of mobile network available, including frequency

Carrier Networks

Optic fiber and IP are the available carrier networks

Accessibility versus availability

About 23,4%. of the population have a fixed phone

Fixed Lines

The teledensity is about 26.7 lines per 100 inhabitants

Mobile phone

Cellular phone users are almost 9 per 100 inhabitants in Macedonia. Makedonski Telekomunikacii (MT) is in possession of the first GSM license in the country. Its mobile arm MobiMak is established as a separate subsidiary, 100 per cent owned by MT.

In February 2001 the government declared its plans to let a second mobile operator into the market this year. The tender has just been won (November 2001) by the Greek OTE

Voice over Internet Protocol (IP)

Voice over IP is considered voice and not data until end of 2004. It was part of the privatization agreement that it should be against the law to publicly offer Voice over IP.

Networks

In terms of international connectivity Macedonia has direct fibber optic links to European backbones.

General Internet Statistics

The Internet penetration (as number of dial-up subscribers) is approximately 20.000 or 1 per 100 inhabitants. However, the number of Internet users (people who have accessed Internet within the last month at home, at friends, at work, at public Internet cafes etc) is estimated to be approximately 4 per cent of the total population.

There are about 200 Internet hosts in Macedonia that means an average of 1000 inhabitants per host.
There are 13 Internet Service Providers (September 2001) out of whom four have a noticeable part of the market, e.g. mt.net.mk, unet.com.mk, mol.com.mk, soros.org.mk, medismk.net, porta.com.mk, euronet.com.mk. Makedonski Telekomunikacii offers the same tariffs to all Internet Service Providers. The service and available lines might differ.
The approximately price for internet accesses are about 10 DM dial up flat rate per month or 400 DM 64 kb fixed line per month.

2. Future prospects

Makedonski Telekomunikacii is the incumbent operator in Macedonia and provides telecom services, data and mobile services. In January 2001 Makedonski Telekomunikacii was partly privatized. Hungarian Matav that is part of the Deutsche Telecom Group bought 51 per cent of the shares. 2 per cent belongs to International Finance Cooperation that is part of World Bank. The rest, 47 per cent, still belongs to the government. Initiatives have been taken to sell another 10 per cent of the shares, and to distribute another 2 per cent to employees of the company.

Makedonski Telekomunikacii has monopoly in fixed-line and basic telecommunications services. The exclusivity period for fixed services will end 31 December 2004 and privatization is expected to pave the way for full liberalization of telecommunications services. The market for data communications including Internet access is already fully liberalized.

Makedonski Telekomunikacii embarking on an aggressive campaign to build a modern, high-speed, packet-optimized IP networks using Cisco 12000 Series Internet Routers. Based on Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), the network will be the first of its kind in the entire Southeastern European region. Beyond providing high-speed, high-value IP services to customers, this project will serve as a showcase for privatization in Macedonia—and will help to persuade strategic investors to expand into other areas within the entire region as well.

This new countrywide IP network will consist of 20 points of presence (POPs) throughout Macedonia. It will include an IP core of Cisco 12008 Internet Routers, each equipped with STM-4 DPT interface cards. Nine large POPs will be equipped with Cisco 7507 High-end Routers, Cisco AS5300 universal access servers, and Catalyst^® switches. Eleven small POPs will each be equipped with a Cisco 3640 Server.

Makedonski Telekomunikacii's core network comprises three Cisco 12008 Internet Routers, one installed in each of three major Macedonian cities: Skopje, Shtip, and Ohrid. The Cisco 12008 Internet Routers are connected through a dark fiber DPT ring. Makedonski Telekomunikacii previously installed the dark fiber when developing its SDH network to link its phone switches.

Of the nine large POPs, four are installed in the capital city, Skopje, and another five in the cities of Bitola, Ohrid, Shtip, Tetovo, and Strumica. The large POPs are connected to the core ring via Packet-over-SONET (POS) SMT-1 uplinks. These 155-Mbps links run through the existing SDH network.

This infrastructure gives a possibility to create an e environment, which is very important in, implement the e government strategy.

5. E government results

In interesting initiative for business to public sector electronic commerce has been the one taken by the Ministry of finance. Specifically, the Macedonian taxpayers have the possibility to down load and inform themselves about laws and procedures about VAT obligations on www.finance.gov.mk. The possibilities for e - commerce in banking and trade is still on basically level. During July 2001 a serial of training for e banking and trade sponsored by European Center for Peace and Development of the UN University for Peace ECPD Regional Institute for Development Studies were organized. Some activity is evident in local self government are made. The famous one is WWW skopje.gov.mk an official portal of the capital Skopje with e services inside.

The government, public agencies, local self government have their own web presence with WEB pages. The public services are not in portals. They are realized still on a classic way. The exclusion is the Ministry of finance and Skopje City portal. They try to involve the e government possibilities in regular working procedures. Some existing web sites are: Macedonian Government( www.gov.mk), Information Society Project Office http://www.ispo.gov.mk/, Agency for youth and sport (www.ams.gov.mk), Agency for agriculture (www.agencija.gov.mk), Agency for development and investment (www.adi.gov.mk), Institute for intellectual property (www.ippo.gov.mk), Radio difusion of Macedonia (www.jpmrd.gov.mk), Ministry of ecology (www.moe.gov.mk), Ministry of health care (www.zdravstvo.gov.mk), Ministry of information (www.sinf.gov.mk), Ministry of culture (www.gov.mk/kultura), Ministry of foreign affairs (www.mnr.gov.mk), Ministry for education (www.mofk.gov.mk), Ministry of defense (www.morm.gov.mk), Ministry of economy (www.ms.gov.mk), Ministry of urbanism (www.mupce.unet.com.mk), Ministry of finance (www.finance.gov.mk), National bank (www.nrbm.gov.mk), Institute for health protection (www.unet.com.mk/rzzz/), State parliament (www.assembly.gov.mk/sobranie), Radiodifusion Council (www.srd.org.mk), National and regional roads Fund (www.roads.org.mk), Hydrometeorological Institute (www.metro.gov.mk) ,City of Skopje local self government (www.skopje.gov.mk)

2. E-democracy

Ministry of Finance started part of portal named as FORUM with various possibilities for discussions, suggestions about Draft Laws or initiatives.
Skopje City Council started project funded by EU Program for democratization and civil rights named as "e City Council" with main objective "Transparency and citizen involvement in Council sessions and councilors working".

Future prospects

Total number of companies is approximately 100.000. The last few years the Macedonian market of electronic commerce is in basic level. Although the number of enterprises that use traditional electronic commerce technologies, mainly for business-to-business communications has been stabilized in relatively low level, there is an interest on business-to-consumer applications and on-line transactions of products and services.

During 2002 about 60.000 Cash Registers linked with Public Revenue Agency will be implemented (with telephone line).

In April 2002 the National Credit Card payment will start. Approximately 100.000 cards will be issued for public sector. It will be the beginning of implementation of laws for digital signature, digital cash and electronic protection of personal data.

5. Law and Regulations

The most important issues that the legal system in Macedonia faces today are:

• 
  The settlement of the user authentication problem for the electronic transactions over the Internet. The National Parliament has passed the Law for digital signature.
  
• 
  The reformation of the laws for e commerce. based business transactions The legal framework for electronic transactions will be defined upon USAID and ICL project named as Legal framework and regulation for e- commerce.
  

The Legal framework will consist the realization of the following activities:

1. 
   Analysis of existing legislation, directives and recommendations of EU, UNCITRAL, WTO, ICC, OECD, etc.
   
2. 
   Preparation of a commented collection of relevant European and international model laws, recommendations, directives and regulations, which Macedonia should consider when drafting new e-commerce legislation. Legislation of comparable countries in the region should be considered in this analysis.
   
3. 
   Analysis of existing legislation in Macedonia
   
4. 
   Analyzing the Macedonian legal system for any and all obstacles regarding e - commerce and legislation identified which needs changes to stimulate e-commerce. Those obstacles could either be specific legal provisions tailored for paper - based commerce or provisions missing in Macedonian legislation and which are needed where e-commerce practical applications also change the procedures or ways government or commerce operate.
   
5. 
   Propose possible solutions from incompatibility of existing legislation
   
6. 
   Based on the analysis of existing legislation in Macedonia, different ways of introducing changes will be suggested for problems outlined in the analysis. Upon this proposal the Macedonian government will be able to decide on which route to follow to solve the outlined problems.
   

• 
  Proposal, draft and final version of necessary changes in the legislation for e-trade, e-services and consumer protection
  

Selected solutions in most cases may need new or amending legislation.The following provisions will be needed:

1. 
   provisions regarding exchange of electronic of electronic messages and on - line delivery of intangibles,
   
2. 
   about the obligations and liability of internet service providers, application service and content providers,
   
3. 
   provisions considering the disclosure of pertinent data for business transactions
   
4. 
   general and e-commerce specific consumer and personal data protection provisions
   
5. 
   international private law solutions incorporated in the new draft-Hague convention
   

• 
  Proposal, draft and final version of necessary changes in the legislation for e-banking
  

The obligation and liability of banking institutions in e-banking security needed in financial transaction provisions regarding the issuance of e-cash

• 
  Proposal, draft and final version of necessary changes in the legislation for transport and customs (especially connected with the transportation documents)
  

The legislation should for example replace both the requirement for a written contract of carriage and the requirements for endorsement and transfer of possession of a bill of lading

• 
  Proposal, draft and final version of necessary changes in the legislation for special areas like Health Care, Lawyers, Notaries etc
  
• 
  Proposal, draft and final version of necessary changes in the legislation for e-archiving
  

Future prospects
The Ministry of finance promotes the development of the legislative framework that supports digital signatures and other regulation close with e - commerce. This move is expected to help the expansion of electronic transactions in the Macedonian market.

5. THE GENERAL OBJECTIVES AND ACTION PLAN

The State General objectives and Action plan for eGovernment should include:

1. 
   Power of determination and co-ordinate action for the design and implementation of a long-term national strategy on electronic commerce. This strategy must incorporate the following:
   

• 
  Liberalization, transformation, commercialization and privatization on telecommunication sector as main objective and principle of Macedonian Government
  
• 
  Progressive opening of telecommunication market and liberalization the telecommunications providing low prices and better and various services close to business and citizens needs and requirements
  
• 
  Liberalization the custom taxation and trade in a field of informatics and computers
  
• 
  Create the opportunities for open competence market.
  
• 
  Fastened cooperation among the countries in SEE region on a telecommunication and building the common network as an basic infrastructure for the development of the region
  

2. 
   Develop and implement government and business support for fundamental blocks of Information Society as modernization of economy, new opportunities for employment / prosperity for citizens and inclusion in the new global economy
   
3. 
   Building awareness for e - commerce and e - environment
   

• 
  Exchange information / experience and best practice between EU and non EU countries
  
• 
  Building and supporting the public Gateway, portals for various needs and information
  
• 
  Promotion and affirmation the e-environment through public media, professional and public association and NGO
  

2. 
   Starting an competence in e - commerce and computers education for middle edge population
   
3. 
   Including the SME's power in popularization e - commerce through SME's centers and association
   

5. E-government framework

1. e - government objectives

e-Government area is very wide, since the government has several roles with respect to new technology. The objectives of e government in Macedonia we recognized primarily in the role as (de)regulator and provider of public services, but also as an important part in ICT-based commercial transactions (eProcurement).

e-Government also concerns civic-society-related issues, since the potential of new technology in increasing democratic dialogue, transparency and accountability is great. An important way to achieve this is to enable Government and private sector co-operation in increasing access to ICT and lowering costs.

Government leadership in promoting policy, regulatory and network readiness is exceedingly important. There is also the issue of improving government transparency – and thus democracy – with the aid of new technology and enabling legislation.

In the area of government as a service provider, the role of ICT in improving access to health and medical services could be an interesting venue to pursue.

Fostering a favorable investment environment is perhaps especially important in the internet-related telecomm sector.

2. NEEDED ACTIVITIES

The e -Government objectives we will realize through:

• 
  Promotion increased equitable and affordable use of ICT in Macedonia by developing appropriate legal and regulatory frameworks and removing any obstacles to ICT development.
  
• 
  Identification how ICT can contribute to more effective, efficient and transparent government.
  
• 
  Using ICT to help guarantee the universal and equitable provision of effective public services and information.
  
• 
  Creating an enabling IT environment for economic growth.
  
• 
  Supporting SMEs access to IC.
  
• 
  Counteracting the skills gap and improving workforce readiness by meeting demands for employment qualifications with information technology-ready candidates.
  
• 
  Raising awareness of the opportunities offered by the e-agenda and share experience and best practice by means of networking in SEEurope.
  
• 
  Establishing and strengthening cross-links with other initiatives in the country and in the region too.
  

3. Future achievements in Macedonia

The future achievements in e Government in Macedonia are as following:

1. National Consultation and creation of e-Agenda

Establishment of National Consultation Groups, e-Everything Info Days, Community based discussions of e-Issues and Proposing National e-Agenda and corresponding Action Plan for Macedonia.

2. Developing National e-Strategy

Developing/Adopting the national strategy planning methodology, training the responsible e-Agents in the Government Institutions and Agencies ( 100 strategy officers/developers trained) and

Developing National e-Government Strategic Plan and its Communication

3. Developing Government Departmental e-Strategy

Developing Departmental e-Government Strategic Plan for five(5) Pilot Departments and their Communications

4. Developing Local Government e-Strategy

Developing Local e-Government Strategic Plan for five(5) Pilot Local Governments and their Communications

5. 
   e-Government ICT infrastructure Demonstration
   

Government Inter-Agency and Municipal Communication networks strategy and interoperability with Pilot networks(Central and Local Government) demonstration design, implementation and operation using the PPP-Public Private Partnerships Concept

4. POSSIBLE ICT APPLICATIONS

There is a range of possible ICT applications, which might be successful in improving the quality of government. This includes using ICTs to make the government administration itself more streamlined and efficient; using ICTs to bring service delivery more directly to citizens and give a wider choice of ways to access them; procuring goods and services through e-procurement; and improving dialogue and democratic accountability between governments and citizens. The many researches from global experience shows that in order for these to be successful, not only does there need to be better access to ICTs, both directly and through government and civil society and business run intermediaries, but other significant constraints need to be overcome. These include:

• 
  the need for a strong vision of the objectives of government applications, based primarily on an assessment of overall governmental objectives and priorities;
  
• 
  the need for top level government leadership, not confined to the Government Department responsible for IT;
  
• 
  the need for financial models, including those involving the private sector, which make the applications affordable and sustainable;
  
• 
  the need for both ICTs skills amongst public servants and citizens, and a readiness to use ICTs for governmental purposes;
  
• 
  the need for processes within government to be radically changed along with the application of new technologies, so that the new technology does not entrench inefficiency rather than overcome it;
  
• 
  a realistic and achievable program of introducing new applications;
  

The purpose therefore reflects the need for a very considered approach to the highly complex question of whether and how ICTs can improve the governance.

There will be four outputs:

• 
  A strategy- based e-governance Action Plan with outputs that may be realistically achievable within a limited time frame
  

• 
  A framework for assessing the feasibility of e-governance initiatives
  

• 
  Selected specific initiatives developed which use ICTs to improve governance
  

• 
  Resources mobilized to help ICTs to improve governance
  

7. Scope of regional e government framework

However, provisionally, there are likely to be six linked areas:

• 
  provision of strategic advice to the e-gov
  
• 
  help develop national e-gov strategies;
  
• 
  help develop realistic and achievable country action plans;
  
• 
  selection of four pilot countries/ entities in SE Europe region as e governance ‘beacons’ and network with people in the countries responsible for government reform;
  
• 
  help to assess and possibly develop specific projects within the framework of the strategies developed in these four countries/ entities;
  
• 
  Help to mobilize international government and private sector finance.
  

Reference:

1. 
   Sector Study Internet and e-Commerce, Balkan Region, Larive International, November 2000
   
2. 
   Investment Guide for SEE - Bulgaria Economic Forum www.biforum.org 2002
   
3. 
   Telecommunication Directorate Review, Telecom Regional Symposium, Skopje, January 2002
   
4. 
   National Report of e commerce in Macedonia - SEED EU project, Fourth version, February 2002
   

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