government portable in Saudi Arabia, which has recently been launched to utilize technology to improve how the government offices serve the public, businesses, and agencies, has not yet met the expectations of its service seekers. The increased demand for e-government from the public has been stuck in the old bureaucratic fashion of doing work, which still dominates a big chunk of government offices. The majority of government offices which have introduced e-services are still plagued with long wait lines to win the final transaction of paperwork. Over the past few years, the public has not seen any significant added value provided through the current e-services that are still shadowed by old laws of pen, paper, signature, and stamp. The e-government was the talking point of a majlis get-together of four young Saudis in Sa'fa District. The majlis included Khaled Al-Rabighi, Saeed Al-Ghamdi, Bandar Al-Muwalid, and Hisham Saleh. Khaled started off by talking about his hope to renew his driver's license with a click from his computer. “I don't know if it is really true if you could do it now online,” he said. “No brainer,” Bandar said. “Just go to their building and see. If it is crowded with long and unorganized lines, then you have to stay there until you reach the window,” he said. “I think they have not fully activated their e-services,” Bandar added. But one can pay the fee of a driver's license or a passport at the ATM machine, but they have to go there in person to have it issued,” said Hisham. “We cannot get rid of the green file image,” he said in a jest. “We cannot call this an e-service,” he said. “That is right. In other countries, I have heard that all you need is an Internet connection and a physical address to have your driver's license or passport delivered to you without shaking a leg,” Khaled said. In fact, effective e-government also involves rethinking organizations and processes, and changing behavior so that public services are delivered more efficiently to the people who need to use them, he said. Implemented well, e-government enables all citizens, enterprises and organizations to carry out their business with government more easily, more quickly and at lower cost, Khaled added. “Right!,” Saeed said. “Even in some Arab countries, they have started those e-services. All you have to do is just log on, fill the form, and pay with your credit card, and wait for the mail,” he said. But the e-government goes beyond the traffic and Passports Department, said Hisham. Government office providing direct service to the public should capitalize on technology and make life much easier, he added. “If this e-government thing is adequately activated, we will not end up with employees asking for permission to visit a government office to finish off their paperwork in the middle of the business day,” he said. “Best off all, this e-government system is open 24/7. You wouldn't be stuck with the old cliché of government employee ‘Come tomorrow,'” he said jokingly. “It is in fact a partial e-government that we have,” Khaled said. “That is, only a little part is done online, especially that of fee payment, but the headache comes when you have to go there in person and chase your paperwork from one office to another,” he said. “It is not only in the best interest of the public, but also in the best interest of government offices when we talk about efficiency and productivity. It is a new dimension in management,” Bandar said. “It will definitely reduce the load of work and time they spent dealing with customers face-to-face,” he said. “Most people are getting online day by day and the trend now is to go paperless,” he said. “All this sounds good, but we have to acknowledge that fact that the system won't be effective if the basic information technology infrastructure is not provided,” Hisham said. “The Internet service has also to be offered at a reasonable price just like anywhere around the world,” he added. “We can say that. But now, I think, we have some good telecommunication companies that can help make a difference in the technological revolution in our country,” Saeed said. “Also, don't forget it is much easier now to buy a computer at a very competitive price that it used to be, say, five years ago,” he added. “It's the new millennium and we have to keep the pace with the world around us,” Khaled said. “I would love for the time to come when I can set an appointment with my doctor through an online form, instead of just walking in or calling,” he said. “Can't we just finish off our paperwork from the comfort of our homes?” he asked. “Well. You can in some cases. Look at banks, for example. Those long lines at the banks are something of the past,” Bandar replied. “The banks have worked closely with other companies like the Saudi Telecommunication Company and the Saudi Electricity Company to allow customers to pay their bills and process other transactions online,” Hisham said. The majlis guests hoped some day soon that their government transactions are completely done through the Internet.
