Three building blocks in new phase of e-governance

The government should be more accessible to people and businesses and people alike following the launch of three new online services this week.

The initiatives, a government payment gateway (GPG), an e-IDs registration system for organisations and a new contracts and tenders website, launched by the Malta Government Technology Agency, were announced by IT Minister Austin Gatt.The GPG will replace the electronic payment gateway originally launched in 2002 and will provide a more secure and advanced payment system.

The system will enable government departments to process online real-time electronic payments made through their e-government services, which already see a lot of traffic. Last year, the payment gateway system handled about 350,000 transactions, of which 250,000 were for services related to the Malta Transport Authority, he said. The new e-ID service will extend the service so far available to individuals also to commercial organisations and entities, enabling those holding a personal e-ID to make use of e-government services on behalf of an organisation.

This system will open up over 30 different government services to businesses and companies with an electronic identity, Dr Gatt explained. The existing e-ID registration service was introduced last year for organisations listed in the Malta Financial Services Authority registry and was well received, processing about 4,000 new applications for registration last year alone.

Dr Gatt said the new contracts' site offers businesses easier access to online information, expanding the culture of e-commerce in Malta.

Dr Gatt said the website - www.contracts.gov.mt - will feature information on the whole procurement process, tender documents, which may be previewed, purchased and downloaded online and a system giving companies the option to sign up to alerts of notifications on tenders in which they are interested.

Funds for the website were obtained through the EU Transition Facility (2005), he said, adding that the website is a forerunner of a full-blown e-procurement system.

The three services were the building blocks for a new phase of e-governance and future projects are expected to include an online shopping cart system and a bills settlement service.