'Strong leadership is a must for egovernance.' - Lee Kwok Cheong, CEO, National Computer Systems Pte Ltd (NCS

The

small island nation of Singapore has definitely set a trend by introducing

electronic governance in the country. Its impact has been tremendous and the

success story that it has spun around egovernance compels one to look into it

and take stock of how it could be utilized in India. To track the emergence and

success of egovernance in Singapore, DatAquest spoke to Lee Kwok Cheong,

Chief Executive Officer, National Computer Systems (NCS).

What is your definition

of egovernance and how did it happen in Singapore?

There are two sets of definitions

for egovernance. One is delivery of government services through digital and

electronic means and the other is at an operational level, which is how the

government can go about making decisions influenced by electronic governance.

The government can get feedback from the population through the internet by

opening a direct communications channel. Through this channel the government can

get inputs on reforms, policies and legislation from the public at large.

Electronic voting for major decisions is also possible.

Singapore started its efforts

towards computerization nearly three decades ago. The main focus was to make

government services more efficient, coherent and faster to the public. This is

still continuing by integrating various government services by linking various

departments. Now the whole government machinery is addressing it more from a

customer perspective than from a government perspective. While this can be

easily achieved in a single layer government like what we have our here in

Singapore, it is not possible in a country with multiple levels of government.

What were the

bottlenecks and obstacles that the government faced before the successful

implementation of services through electronic means and how did you go about

addressing it?

I would call it the early stage

obstacles. To begin with, its the mindset of the people. Many bureaucrats and

civil servants are more concerned about individual departments than the larger

picture. This is overcome by education and change in the mindset of the people

concerned. However, the most important aspect is strong leadership, which

invariably will overcome the inertia and mindset of the people. A good case in

point is an example in Andhra Pradesh, where the Chief Minister is providing a

very strong leadership, that is paving the way for faster and quicker

implementation of projects

The other constraints are budget

and resource. Cost for IT infrastructure is high. Not all governments have the

luxury of spending large amounts of the tax payers’ money. Some governments

leverage on the commercial sector and let the private sector invest in projects.

However, the key is to provide reliable services at reasonable costs to the

public. Once these early obstacles are overcome, then a strong organizing

mechanism needs to coordinate the implementation of different individual

government departments.

How were the benefits

quantified ahead of IT planning and implementation?

Singapore government strategically looked at what

services are important and how IT can help. However, business benefits cannot be

quantified. At one time, applying for a passport took quite some time compared

to the present when the government has records of all its citizens and a citizen

could get his passport within 24 hours. When one looks at electronic governance

on a macro level, it is electronic delivery of service that makes for, a more

responsive government and improving service levels. Again, if there is a $10

billion tax collected and by implementing IT if a 2% change can be brought

about, it is a significant benefit. Also before spending the tax payers’ money

there is a strong measurable factor and accountability. Finally, the government

should translate IT usage into measurable improvements. These must be tracked

and used to demonstrate the benefits to the public.

Were there any projects that

you tried which did not take off?

In the context of Singapore, the

selection process of a project is very vigorous. The Ministry of Finance has

been very prudent. There were a couple of them where implementation did not work

out. But that was more technical in nature where the vendor could not deliver.

What is your opinion on the

areas where India should start its egovernance projects?

At a national level, the justice

system, emigration and customs along with providing a broadband are the areas to

commence projects. Other areas include taxation and telecom. The most important

aspect is to create a mechanism for coordinating egovernance projects. In

Singapore, there are coordinating bodies such as Infocom Develepment Authority

formerly known as NCB. These bodies also get feedback from the people on the

service areas where the government should improve. India already has a strong

and talented base of software engineers. And once the Indian government starts

with strong leadership, a good case in point being Andhra Pradesh , the

government service delivery is bound to enhance the quality of life of the

public.

What are the bottlenecks you

see in India for egovernance?



The challenges are the same as it was for Singapore when it started. Changing
the mindset of people, infrastructure and budget.

What kind of specialization

does NCS bring into the egovernance area?



NCS has worked with many government agencies including the agencies in
Mauritius, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Australia right from the concept to

implementation stage. We have been successful in the most important aspect,

which is to orchestrate change in mindset and focus on end results. We feel very

few companies have this unique expertise.

Anil

Kumar R



in Singapore