The Italian government will provide technical assistance throughout the different phases of the project which will be implemented by Ministry of Finance through the UNDP
AMMAN -- The government signed an agreement with Italy and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Monday to implement and develop e-accounting and e-procurement applications for the use of several ministries.
Under the agreement, the Italian government will provide $575,000 to fund the outlining of the two project's strategies. Funding will also cover "different activities to be undertaken for an in-depth analysis, determining the scope, time frames and financial requirements for full implementation of e-procurement and to support the country's public administrative reform process to set up a modern unified government-wide e-accounting system."
The agreement was signed by Finance Minister Mohammad Abu Hammour, Italian Minister for Innovation and Technology Lucio Stanca and UNDP resident representative Christine Mcnab.
"This project represents an essential part of the Finance Ministry's mid-term strategy [2004-2007] on financial management reform," Abu Hammour said during the signing ceremony.
He added that by making all government transactions and tenders regarding purchasing supplies, equipment and services done electronically, the agreement fulfils one major goal for this strategy in terms of improving the services extended to businessmen and citizens alike.
The Italian government will provide technical assistance throughout the different phases of the project which will be implemented by Ministry of Finance through the UNDP.
The Italian fund is part of the Italy's "e-government for development" initiative, which was launched in 2002 and focuses on project implementation through providing financial aid and know-how, government to government cooperation for sharing experiences and building on best practices and lessons learned from project implementation.
"As the government of Jordan recognises that one of the major driving factors in the transformation of the Jordan economy is government itself as the largest producer and consumer of goods and services in the country, hence, it has identified information and communications technology as crucial for the social and economic development of the country and an ICT policy and strategy has been defined," the UNDP said in a press release.
The statement explains that the government does not see e-government in isolation but rather as part of the larger structural processes of public sector and financial management reform.
"Through e-procurement and e-accounting, the government hopes to streamline the procurement and accounting processes, make them more transparent, reduce transaction costs and enhance the competitiveness among suppliers for its procurement, thereby lowering the costs for procured goods and services and raising government's capacity to provide public services," the UNDP added.
By Rami Abdelrahman
© Jordan Times 2005
