Digital transformation cuts service cost by 96% last year in Bahrain
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
The Digital Transformation journey of the government last year helped it lower the cost of providing services by 96%, all the while elevating the satisfaction level of customers to all new highs online.
The latest iGA report says citizens enjoyed over 600 eServices last year via various eGovernment channels. Ali Al Qaed, the Chief Executive of the Information & eGovernment Authority, confirmed that the government launched more than 50 new eServices last year by improving its procedures.
“This paved the way for achieving 3.7+ million eTransactions, realising a 96% cut in the cost of services besides reducing effort and time,” he said, adding that accelerating the pace of digital transformation plans resulted in achieving 600+ eServices.
Sector-wise statistics
Sector-wise, Al Qaed said 20 eServices were for the Ministry of Interior, 11 for justice, six for health, four each for business, housing & real estate and education, and one for employment.
Of the 20 MoI eServices, nine were for the Nationality, Passports and Residency Affairs (NPRA) and seven for iGA. MOI also launched three services for Customs Affairs and one for the General Directorate of Crime Detection and Forensic Evidence.
In the health sector, iGA added six new eServices. Trade and Business sector incorporated four eServices, including two for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC) - one for the Labour Market Regulatory Authority and another for the Social Insurance Organisation.
The housing and real estate sector added four eServices- two each for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning and the Real Estate Regulatory Authority. The justice sector benefited from 11 new eServices, including three for the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Awqaf, and eight for the Legislation and Legal Opinion Authority.
The education sector received four new eServices affiliated with the Higher Education Council, while the labour and employment sector added one.
600+ eServices
Altogether, this allowed citizens, last year, to enjoy 450+ eServices through National Portal bahrain.bh, 19 through eKiosks and 125+ services through mobile apps.
Al Qaed credited this to the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister and the Economic Recovery Plan under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
Al Tajir mobile app
In this regard, he also highlighted the launch of the Al Tajir mobile app, the first integrated app of its kind in the region, that allows business users to complete and follow up transactions with government agencies through a single platform.
Last year, he said, also witnessed the enhancement of the government’s eServices framework to meet the objectives of the Government’s Action Plan, National ICT & Digital Economy strategy (2022-2026) and Economic Recovery Plan.
18 million visits
Dr Zakaria Ahmed Al Khaja, the Deputy CE for e-Transformation, said the eTransformation resulted in generating more than 18 million visits to the National Portal, up 22% from a year ago, 89% average eService usages compared to traditional channels and more than 3.7 million eTransactions. The authority, he said, also comprehensively developed the national payment platform, which now allows users to save their cards, doing away with the need to enter card details each time while also providing multiple payment methods, including ApplePay and the BenefitPay service.
The authority, Al Khaja said, completed four government systems and projects as part of the eTransformation. “This included the eAuthorisation system, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) platform, the National System for Births and improvements to the Government Service Center Evaluation system (Taqyeem).
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