Kazakh Government promotes closer interaction, better service
The idea of creating the e-government services in Kazakhstan has been originally initiated by President Nursultan Nazarbayev in one of his annual state-of-the-nation addresses seven years ago where he highlighted the aim to join the top fifty most competitive and developed countries of the world.
In 2004, the programme on introduction of the electronic government has been approved by the Presidential Decree "On State programme of formation of the electronic government in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2005-2007" which outlined a stage-by-stage strategy directed at the improvement of publication and distribution of information about the state for the society.
Since the programme launch in 2005, the infrastructure of the e-government, creation of the basic components such as the web portal and gateway, electronic interdepartmental document circulation, and certifying centers were established during the two years.
In 2007, the "electronic government" programme for 2008 - 10 was developed.
Today, any resident of the state, as well as anyone interested, can view the outcome of the efforts at www.e.gov.kz . The website contains extensive information on Kazakhstan's governmental programmes, existing business practices, contact information for state authorities, and most importantly make use of the social services the state provides. Furthermore, the web-portal contains a database of the Laws and Codes of the country, Government Resolutions, Decrees by the President and Prime Minister's Orders.
The use of the website enables visitors to communicate and interact with the governmental agencies via the graphical user interfaces, making the interaction much more convenient, as well as time and cost effective. In addition, in many cases, direct interaction between the applicants and the governmental officials is completely eliminated, bringing more efficiency in the field of fighting corruption.
Citizens can get easy access to the most current information available on education, tourism, health, economy, labour and other spheres of the country. Furthermore, the website also provides information for foreign nationals and stateless persons arriving into the country, such as the issues related to obtaining visa, staying and working permits and others, while the website can be viewed in English, Kazakh and Russian.
In 2010, Kazakhstan was ranked 39th among 183 countries in the World Bank's research "Tax Payments 2011", making a significant improvement after being ranked 52nd in 2009. An important reason for that was the implementation of effective electronic filing and payment systems available at the e-government website.
Furthermore, the United Nations annual rating on global preparedness of the electronic government, prepared by the UN Department of Economic and Social Development, in 2010 positioned Kazakhstan at the 46th place, showing great progress from the 81st in 2009.
Currently, citizens can make use of numerous services such as the acquisition of real estate and mortgages, check public utilities rates, make insurance and welfare payments, document their civil status, pension coverage and much more.
For instance, two new electronic services are available at the website as of December 2010. First, being the new on-line mode by means of which it is possible to apply for registration of small-sized businesses; and the second is the ability to send an application to receive a duplicate of a certificate of the state registration for a legal entity, a branch or a representative agency.
In addition to the Internet, the use of mobile phones offers even more convenient channel through which to distribute government information. By utilising text-messaging, governments are able to send out region-wide and specific emergency warnings, provide up-to-the-minute information upon request, and in essence, make government accessible to the people no matter where they may be and at any time.