Digital transformation is already in full force around us. The central government and local governments are exerting every efforts to keep pace with the times in which we live and work. e-Government is, therefore, becoming more and more present.
“I would like our municipality to do more to modernise and educate its staff, and thus ensure that all information and documents can be obtained by electronic means. Documents will be issued ‘instantaneously’ or delivered to your home address following an electronic request,” said Radisav Čučulanović, Mayor of Kladovo, announcing plans to make life easier for residents.
Has your municipality introduced the eZup system, which is already in place in most local governments, and to what extent will this IT system, interconnecting six largest data hosts, help you speed up procedures?
– The staff of Kladovo local government have already undergone training to use the eZup IT system, which enables them to ex officio obtain the documents they need to process cases, which will surely facilitate the procedures and enable people to obtain the documents they need faster.
The introduction of this system will facilitate many procedures, given that we used to have to wait a long time to obtain documents. Now the documents are in the IT system and the staff have full access in a few seconds. This means they can process cases faster. Our municipality has introduced and started using the eZup system.
As of 1st January, our municipality began to issue construction permits by electronic means. There is no longer any need to come in person and wait in front of the counter – requests are now submitted electronically. It takes an average of a month to get a permit, mostly because of the long process of issuing location requirements, though the issue of the permit itself takes only five or six days. The issue of construction permits by electronic means will enable people to get the permits they need much faster and easier.
We intend to pay particular attention to this issue, given that e-business is expected to be introduced shortly, but there isn’t enough relevant training and seminars
What do you see as the biggest obstacles hindering the introduction of e-Service that would enable modern, fast and transparent communication with the local population?
– E-government is very useful, as it eases procedures for both residents and civil servants. However, there are still some obstacles hindering us and preventing fast and transparent communication with the local population. The biggest problems include obsolete computers, a low level of awareness and poor staff education.
We intend to pay particular attention to this issue, given that e-business is expected to be introduced shortly, but there isn’t enough relevant training and seminars.