Traffic passes in front of Ministry of Interior in Phnom Penh. Hong Menea
The Ministry of Interior has set up a digital government working group to focus on the use of information technology to speed up the ministry’s work and make it more efficient.
The working group has 15 members and is chaired by Sak Setha, the ministry’s permanent secretary of state, and has an assistant secretariat headed by the information technology department under the general-secretariat.
“There are many related departments and sections within the interior ministry and they all need to be integrated into a digital government system,” Setha told The Post on June 17.
He said that today the use of a paper system resulted in multiple workloads, and it was too slow. Having a digital government would not mean that the use of the paper system would be abandoned entirely, however.
“In the past, we always used physical paperwork. Now we’ve got a working group within the ministry preparing a strategic plan to achieve the goal of finally organising our system to be modern and electronically advanced,” he said.
He said paperwork is still used because it is a necessary component of the technology they are using so they are interconnected, but the government’s working procedures will make progress with the advent of digital systems.
“We already have had a gradual shift to electronic systems, but we want to set up a system that is easier and more efficient. For example, to create a website or to respond to people’s concerns electronically,” Setha said.
He said this digital system will help his ministry work speedily and accurately. He explained that previously population registration was done by paper, but now electronically.
“With the digital system, a person’s data is accurate. It cannot be corrected or changed by mistake or without authorisation,” he said.
According to the ministry’s decision regarding the establishment of digital governance for information, communication and technology (ICT) released on June 16, this working group has the role of managing the ICT project in the ministry’s general departments and units and developing a master plan for ICT and human resource capacity building training.
The working group is tasked with managing connectivity integration between the ministry’s ICT systems and those of other relevant ministries and institutions.
The working group is also responsible for managing updates and evaluating the quality of the ICT systems and equipment in line with the evolving state of technology in the world, doing professional work and providing more effective public services.
“The working group must also develop policies and legal documents to ensure the implementation of the ICT systems, digital government, digital citizens and digital business within the interior ministry,” said the announcement.
