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Ammon News - By Mohammad Ghazal/ Jordan Times

AMMAN — In an attempt to counter the decline in e-government services over the past few years, the government on Wednesday announced an award to encourage ministries and public agencies to improve e-services.

Under the award, which will be launched next year, public agencies and ministries will compete for best e-government unit, best e-government service and best e-government project, Nader Thneibat, secretary general of the ICT Ministry, told reporters.

“The award seeks to recognise the efforts and achievements of entities that already introduced pioneering e-services, and encourage others to introduce and improve e-services,” he said after signing an agreement with the King Abdullah II Centre for Excellence to launch the award.

Citing UN reports, Thneibat said Jordan ranked 51st globally in e-government services in 2009, but dropped to the 98th place in a UN report in 2012.

“The main reason for the regress is the lack of financial resources to upgrade and introduce new services,” he said.

“Therefore, this award seeks to encourage the adoption of plans and strategies to provide better e-services by public entities.”

According to Thneibat, the ministry will work with the King Abdullah II centre to draw up the criteria for the award and train liaison officers at all public entities on these criteria in preparation for launching the award next year.

ICT Minister Hatem Halawani, who attended the signing ceremony, stressed the importance of improving e-services, which play a key role in supporting the economy and facilitating people’s lives.

He added that e-government services have not developed over the past five years although the ICT sector plays a key role in the economy and other sectors.

In 2006, the government formally inaugurated the e-government programme with the intention of streamlining bureaucracy and enhancing access to the Internet in rural areas.