WASHINGTON, June 9, 2011 - The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approved a financing credit to the Republic of Moldova in the amount of US$ 20 million for the Governance e-Transformation Project. The main objective of this credit is to transform delivery of the selected public services using Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). Transformational impact will be achieved through creating an opportunity for citizens and businesses to interact with government using web portals and mobile phones without a face-to-face contact, undertaking legal and regulatory reforms, and changing the mindsets of public servants and broader population through large-scale public communications and training and activities.
“Prime-Minister Vlad Filat and the Moldovan Cabinet have chosen the route of e-Transformation because of the firm belief that ICTs can modernize the Republic of Moldova,” said Victor Bodiu, Secretary General of the Government of Moldova. “We look with great hope toward the future, we are ready to learn from global champions in the area of e-Governance in order to become more competitive and raise the standards of life in Moldova.”
The Governance e-Transformation Project aims to support the Government of Moldova’s commitment to openness and transparency and integration with the European Union. As a first move towards increased transparency, the Government of Moldova has recently launched Open Government Data (OGD) initiative with the first 92 datasets already published on the OGD portal (http://data.gov.md) since April 15, 2011, including comprehensive data on public expenditure. Another 120 datasets are in the process of being disclosed in open format to empower civil society and small-and medium-sized companies (SMEs) to demand better governance and improve accountability and service delivery.
Partnerships and knowledge exchanges with e-government leaders such as Singapore, Estonia, USA, and India are helping the Government of Moldova formulate a clear vision of ICT-enabled governance transformation agenda and enhance implementation capacity to effectively deliver electronic services.
The e-Government shared infrastructure, or M-Cloud, will serve government ministries, departments and agencies, small and medium enterprises engaged in the development and delivery of IT services and solutions. M-Cloud is expected to generate significant savings in public sector IT investments. Other expected outcomes of the project are reduced waiting and processing times for selected public services due to streamlined electronic delivery, reduced energy and paper consumption, carbon dioxide emissions due to introduction of cloud computing and other cutting edge technologies, improved government accountability due to increased citizen engagement and transparency in public expenditures and service delivery.
The credit will be used to support the Government’s agenda that identifies as priorities:
- implementation of a shared platform across Government to reduce waste and duplication in multiple data centers, foster innovation and achieve greater agility in the design and delivery of public services;
- transformation of Government processes to increase public administration efficiency through the use of ICTs;
- development of electronic services for citizens and businesses; and
- adoption of an e-Governance regulatory framework according to international best practices, including opening Government Data to empower citizens and businesses.
