Bahrain: 3.7mln e-requests processed by government portals

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Bahrain- A total of 3.7 million e-requests were processed by all of Bahrain’s digital government portals over the past year, officials announced yesterday.

Moreover, 89 per cent of all government services offered on Bahrain’s e-government platforms were conducted online rather than in-person in 2022.

This data was revealed by the Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA)’s latest annual report, which showed that the online platforms were visited 1.8 million times in 2022.

“A total of 50 new services were launched last year,” iGA chief executive Mohammed Ali Al Qaed revealed at a media conference reviewing the authority’s progress.

“The amount of visits to our portals reflect the confidence of citizens and residents in the online services.

“Every year, we have a goal to launch 40 new services, but we have surpassed it in 2022 reaching a total of 50,” he said.

“An electronic authorisation certificate-issuing service was launched and new-born documentation was expanded to Phase Two. This brings it to a total of approximately 600 offered by all of our platforms,” adding that about 20pc of services were on mobile devices, equalling 128.

Mr Al Qaed further reiterated the importance of user feedback to the improvement of online services, through the National Suggestions and Complaints System ‘Tawasul’ platform.

In the upcoming year, the iGA aims to expand services delivered through mobile applications, improving user experience and adding depth to existing services.

“Complaints help us eliminate issues and improve experience of users,” the chief executive added.

The report was also discussed at a meeting of the Interior Ministry’s Information and Communication Technology Committee yesterday.

Of the 50 new services, 20 served the Interior Ministry, 11 served the Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Ministry, while the rest catered to various other governmental bodies.

The meeting, chaired by Interior Minister General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, reviewed the development of IT government services.

“The authority had made remarkable outcomes due to the ongoing follow-up of the Cabinet led by Prince Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister,” said an official statement.

“The committee was then briefed on the National Platform Project for Government Payments which is a unified e-system that collects financial dues for all ministries and government bodies through multiple electronic channels including new features and services.”