Public agencies providing 100 online services — Shweikeh

AMMAN — Public agencies currently provide 100 e-services to citizens and more will be launched in the next few years, the government said Saturday.

The available services can be fully conducted online, from submitting an application or starting a transaction until completion and payment, ICT Minister Majd Shweikeh said at a press conference.

“This is a great achievement and citizens and users will start to feel the impact and difference of using such services.”

Shweikeh added that the government will introduce an additional 100 e-services in 2016-2017 and 150 e-services in 2018-2019 under the third phase of the programme, which seeks to enhance the level of services and save time and effort.

Several e-services are currently provided by the finance, justice and municipal affairs ministries, the Jordan Customs Department, the Greater Amman Municipality and the Social Security Corporation (SSC), among others.

These services include licence renewals for commercial establishments, inquiries about and settling real estate taxes, optional subscriptions to the SSC and the payment of dues electronically. 

They also include inquiring about and paying traffic tickets, issuing security clearance documents and other services at the Ministry of Justice, and several services at the Income and Sales Tax Department.

During Saturday’s press conference, Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani stressed the government’s support to several projects in the ICT sector, such as the National Broadband Network and smart ID cards.

Momani, who is also minister of state for media affairs and communications, said e-services will help trigger growth in several economic fields and also enhance the ICT sector, which is a pioneering sector at the regional level.

Shweikeh noted that the government will implement several major ICT projects in the near future, underscoring that public-private partnerships are crucial to advance the sector and provide further services.

The launch of additional e-services in Jordan comes at a time when smartphone penetration exceeds 70 per cent, she added. 

Authorities formally launched the e-government programme in 2006 with a view to streamlining bureaucracy and providing efficient services to Internet users.