Nowadays, rapid changes have been made in the administrative procedures through the implementation of an e-governance, particularly in Ethiopia’s on-going reform in the service sector. In fact, e-governance has significant importance for facilitating the administrative procedures and increasing the efficiency of service delivery system.
The implementation of computer-based information system provides institutions a possibility to share data and documents among themselves as well as to make things easier in the administrative procedures, particularly the one-stop shop service in industrial parks.
A One-Stop Shop Service (OSS) brings e-government as the benefits of citizens and entrepreneurs. It allows citizens to fill administrative procedures online, be it in their own country or in any other country. Consequently, it also allows entrepreneurs to shorten the setting up and facilitate the overall procedures to make the service easy and stress-free.
Cognizant of these facts, different public and private offices that are found in Ethiopia have been providing the service through e-governance system. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Agency for Refugees and Returnees Affairs (ARRA) and different Industrial parks are among those implement the e-governance system.
Recently, 16 public and private offices agreed to offer One-Stop Shop Service to Clients. During the launching session, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) said that the new system would facilitate ease of doing business in Ethiopia, which is part of the country’s homegrown economic reform agenda.
“We can’t achieve prosperity if we are incapable to come up with new ideas and create favorable environment for the private sector,” the Premier indicated. The new system would also help to reduce theft, he added.
Ministries of Revenue, Trade and Industry, Agriculture, Science and Innovation, Transport, and Mines and Petroleum are among the offices which are implementing the e-governance system. The National Bank of Ethiopia, Customs Commission, Ethiopian Investment Commission and Information Network Security Agency also signed the deal.
Adanech Abebe, Minister of Revenues, said many countries use the system to increase their trade competitiveness. The system would help to facilitate trade as well as provide efficient and fast services to clients, she added. The project connects 16 regulatory agencies and enables traders to process all documentation relating to import and export through a single electronic submission.
It will reduce clearance time from 44 days to 13 days and then eventually to 3 days through creating a paperless environment, eliminating uncoordinated, multiple physical inspection, and repetitive documentary submission. The system will also improve transparency; reduce corruption by minimizing the opportunities for physical interaction, she added.
Adanech further noted that the new electronic platform will also make the customs procedure easy, predictable and reachable. In addition to cutting the paper works, the new e-service will spare the traders from wasting their times and days running from one office to another. Gradually, the number of companies using the system will be increasing.
South Korean companies have taken part in the development and deployment of the new electronic customs procedures processing platform. Documents of the Ministry of Revenue stated that Costume commission of South Korean promised to work with Ethiopia’s counterpart in line with implementing ESW service.
Approached by The Ethiopian Herald, Mekonen Hailu Public Relation Director at Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) stated that all operational industrial parks in the country have started delivering the service. Adama, Hawassa, Mekele, and Bole Lemi industrial parks are among them.
He also stated that the service has brought significant satisfaction among customers, employees and investors working under each industrial park. As to him, the commission is also getting ready to deliver the service on their office which will start soon.
The government in collaboration with other stakeholders should work in depth to benefit from this service as it can bring significant changes in modernizing customer service system and generating more finance.
The Ethiopian Herald February 8/2020
BY HIZKEL HAILU
