Depoliticise e-govt agenda

South Africa is currently stagnated at the informational phase of the key e-government stages, says Gijima's Khaya Ngcakani. The South African government needs to depoliticise the e-government agenda, and, in partnership with government departments, develop accountable e-government committees, boards and commissions that include representation from all sectors impacting the implementation of a citizen-mandated e-government service. So says Khaya Ngcakani, Gijima Public Services' e-government consultant, who notes that South Africa's e-government initiatives are often large, 'big bang' initiatives that are almost always internally focused, and not necessarily informed by the socio-economic requirements of the bulk of the citizens. 

 
According to the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), SA still remains holed in the first stage of maturity when it comes to e-government. “The first stage of e-government maturity involves using the Internet and Web-based technologies to become more efficient at providing information and some basic forms of interaction and transaction,” the department explains.

“It requires considerable investment in technology, skills and institutional capability to lift service quality, access and reliability, and demonstrate results,” it adds. As of 2010, SA was at number 97 on the worldwide e-government development ranking, the DPSA reveals. “All the countries in southern Africa scored lower in the 2010 survey than they did the previous two years. SA continues to lead the region, but it also witnessed the most dramatic drop in rank – to 97th out of 190 states, with an index value of 0.4306, behind the world average of 0.4406,” it says. Market research firm, IDC notes that IT spending in the government sector in SA totalled $1.47 billion in 2010, largely on the back of e-government initiatives. The firm expects IT spending in the country to grow steadily in 2011 and beyond, with government investments continuing as the key driver.

 “IT spending in the government sector in SA is expected to show steady positive growth over the 2011 to 2015 period,” says Jebin George, IDC research analyst for Middle East, Africa and Turkey. “Achieving operational efficiency, better service provisioning, and lower costs through automation will be key priorities for the sector in 2011.”

The firm also states that SA still has a long way to go in terms of creating a sophisticated e-government infrastructure. Ngcakani believes the success of e-government initiatives is best measured by the proportion of a country's population that has access to government services. She notes that citizen-based e-government initiatives in SA are currently formalised and governed at the national level of government, when most essential services are accessed by the citizen at the municipal level of government.

She also points out that process-related efficiencies and an integrated, multi-tier approach to the modernisation of the government back-office would be greatly enhanced if cloud computing, specifically the community cloud, were considered as options as legacy systems, and retired infrastructure are migrated across government departments with related service delivery mandates.

“We are currently stagnated at the informational phase of the key e-government stages, and in order to transition into the transactional phase, where all citizens have access to e-services, critical will be wider broadband penetration, including a focus on rural connectivity, and also a review of the current service access channels as the citizen's interface to government services. “SA, at this stage, should be leading the way globally in the development of a mobile government strategy that includes mobile platforms and alternative mobile interfaces as the conduit to the services that government provides,” she concludes.

itweb.co.za

Smart Government at Gartner Symposium: Q&A from Twitter and after the Session

Earlier today I opened the government track of our Industry program with a session on “Smart Government: Beyond Cities and Planets”, which was very well attended, taking into account the early time of the day. For those who have not been following the session, previous entries in this blog cover the concept of smart government (see here and here). In a nutshell, smart government is not a program or a goal, but it is an approach to or style of managing IT driven by government financial sustainability concerns. It requires some form of boundary (between domains, tiers, jurisdictions, process areas, or constituencies) to be crossed.  

I promised attendees that I would answer questions posed after the session through Twitter or in person, and here they are.

Question: Some people would object that smart government cannot change the way politicians set their priorities, which then percolate on IT folks who need to implement those: what is your position?

 Answer: Smart government recognizes the reality of government, where political and budget cycles set the pace and the climate for IT spending. Rather than pursuing a difficult campaign to improve IT’s reputation, smart government works to make sure that as much as possible of what is accomplished within the constraints of one political term or one budget cycles can be leveraged for the next one. The point I made about the use of scenario-planning techniques to drive IT strategic planning goes in that direction: identifying commonalities across very different scenarios tells us what is worth doing that is unlikely to be thrown away at the next cycle.

Question: To what extent are current government IT cost containment efforts compromising future financial sustainability?

 Answer: An excessive focus on cost containment is likely to lead to short-term decisions that may have a negative impact on long-term viability and sustainability. On the other hand, this argument cannot be used to release the strings of the purse and be granted immunity from cost optimization. The challenge for smart government is to find ways to contribute to sustainability by keeping technology costs at bay. This is why I have been talking about “radical cost optimization options”: organizations that have already improved a lot their IT efficiency over the last few years, will have to be innovative in finding ways to either maintain their IT cost base or even reduce it further, while contributing to sustainability.

 Question: Since smart government involves significant cross-boundary working, can we cope with concomitant (huge) cultural change?

 Answer: The assumption is that cross-boundary activities will be pursued as a necessity and not as an option. Many problems with turfwars and ineffective joint governance derive from situations where those involved in cross-boundary cooperation did have other choices (such as holding to the status quo, or pursuing local optimizations within their own boundaries). When cross-boundary work is recognized by all parties involved as a necessity, and what is at stake is the ability of those parties to meet their statutory obligations going forward, then it is quite likely that resistance will be milder. This does not mean that cultural change happens overnight, but that if different agencies and jurisdictions share a common goal or pain point, it is easier for them to find a base.

 Question: Do you have examples of the kind of cross-boundary collaborations that exhibit some of the characteristics of smart government?

 Answer: There are quite a few examples, ranging from the resource-aware policy making endeavors that some European jurisdictions (such as the Netherlands) have been pursuing, to the interactive model used by the City of Portland to explore interrelationships between different departments, from the participatory budgeting in New York to the gov 2.0 example on human services that I used with last year’s keynote. One could argue that also endeavors like the Health Information Exchange in the US or the implementation of single points of contact for the EU Service Directive fall under the definition of smart government, but I am less positive. In fact these derive more from the need to comply with a directive, a standard or a specification, than from a genuine attempt at crossing boundaries for sustainability. Do not get me wrong: the policies leading to such endeavors probably have sustainability in mind, but from an IT management perspective they remain compliance programs.

 Question: Listening to different sessions there seem to be contrasting opinions between consolidation and devolution (or choice) and between downplaying the importance of business alignment and emphasizing the need to spend more time with the business to figure out its needs. How can they be resolved?

 Answer: It is a matter of striking the right balance. For instance, consolidation might be the right thing to do in cases where demonstrable savings deriving from consolidation are not offset by a loss of agility that may ultimately impact on sustainability. Similarly, in complex programs with a long-term commitment by the executive leadership, it does make sense to spend more time having the business agree (among itself and with IT) about the right course of action, while in programs characterized by greater uncertainty, it is better for IT to take the lead in determining the elements that is safe to develop and that can be sustained despite priority changes, and aim at evolutionary development that builds upon demonstrably sustainable components.


blog.gartner.com

White House shares plan for e-petition platform

The White House unveiled Sept. 1 plans for a soon-to-be released online petitioning platform hosted on the White House website. The tool, called We the People, will also come with a promise: The Obama administration says it will consider and respond to all online petitions that get at least 5,000 supporters within 30 days.

An official, on-the-record response will be provided by White House policy officials, according to a video that accompanied the announcement. Petitions may also be routed to other appropriate offices while under consideration, a White House blog post notes.

The administration may even consider ideas that do not align with its strategy, said White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer during a Sept. 1 press briefing, according to a report from Politico.

"If there are ideas that are ones that we fundamentally disagree with or are bad ideas and enough people come forward, we'll respond to why we disagree with that idea and look for a way to work together on other ideas," Pfeiffer said.

The tool, according to the blog post, will be ready "soon."

"We're announcing We the People before it's live to give folks time to think about what petitions they want to create, and how they are going to build the support to get a response," writes Macon Phillips, the administration's director of digital strategy, in the post.

Initially, petitions will be assigned a unique URL only know by the creator, that he or she can share with his network. Once the petitioner gathers 150 signatures it will become searchable on whitehouse.gov. Phillips acknowledged that the White House model has drawn largely from the U.K. e-petition platform.

fiercegovernment.com

Implementation of Online e-Government Services Worldwide Could Produce Savings of $114 Billion in 2016, According to ABI Research

Governments worldwide are making "citizen services" available online. Their aim is to achieve a return on investment, increase transparency, and improve access for their citizens. ABI Research forecasts that in 2016, as much as $114 billion could be saved worldwide through implementation of online e-government services.

"The overall e-government services market will see sharp growth over the next five years," says ABI Research analyst Phil Sealy. "Investment is set to increase from $28 billion in 2010 to $57 billion in 2016, and the number of users will nearly triple over the forecast period."

The market is very fragmented, however, with different regions and countries at different stages of implementation and success. "Initially much of the activity will be in the major industrialized countries," says Sealy, "but rollouts of e-government services will accelerate beginning in about 2014 when online services in developing regions start to become a reality."

Governments are looking to offer information and services on many levels. ABI Research is expecting to see mobile services become ever more popular, especially in those countries where providing citizens fixed broadband connections may not be a viable investment option. The aim is to maximize e-inclusion and e-participation of citizen-centric services by providing simplistic and convenient means of access.

It is important to note that the investment required to create, manage, maintain, and market a government-to-citizen service portal is high, and savings are not always seen immediately. Online e-government services are more an investment to create future savings.

ABI Research group director John Devlin remains confident: "Countries such as the US that already have well-established e-government services are looking into aligning services onto one portal rather than multiple portals. The same applies for Europe. Aligning services will make it easier for a country's citizens to access all services in one place. This allows a reduction in operating costs, while maintaining service levels."

istockanalyst.com

PDIP: Proyek e-KTP untuk Kepentingan 2014

news.okezone.com

PDI Perjuangan mendesak agar proyek KTP elektronik atau e-KTP segera dihentikan. PDI Perjuangan mensinyalir proyek ini sarat nuansa politis, terutama jelang Pemilihan Presiden 2014.

"Karena arah target sasarannya sudah sangat politis untuk kepentingan tertentu pada Pemilu 2014," kata Sekretaris Jenderal PDI Perjuangan Tjahjo Kumolo dalam keterangan tertulis, Jumat 26 Agustus 2011.

Menurut Tjahjo, PDI Perjuangan berpendapat sebaiknya hentikan dulu dan evaluasi menyeluruh untuk proyek ini. PDI Perjuangan mendesak pemerintah melibatkan pihak lain untuk mencermati proyek ini.

"Karena nuansa politisnya sangat kental sekali dan sudah berkembang ke arah lain yang tidak proporsional," kata Ketua Fraksi PDI Perjuangan ini.

Maka itu, kata Tjahjo, PDI Perjuangan mendesak agar proyek ini dihentikan daripada menjadi polemik dan tidak dapat mencapai target yang diharapkan Kementerian Dalam Negeri. "Saya kira, Kementerian Dalam Negeri memahami hal ini," ujar Tjahjo.

Karena itu, lanjut Tjahjo, akhirnya banyak pihak mempertanyakan dan sampai pada indikasi dilaporkannya ke KPK. Ada bukti awal yang bisa dipertanggungjawabkan. "Daripada akhirnya terjadi skandal, seharusnya dihentikan dulu," kata Tjahjo.

Tjahjo menegaskan, sejak awal Fraksi PDI Perjuangan di DPR selalu mengkritisi progam e-KTP. Dari mulai perencanaan sampai proses tender dan pelaksanaannya.

.vivanews.com

Post-riot, UK government halts talk of social media shutdown

A police officer in riot gear stands near a burning car in Hackney on August 8, 2011 in London, England. Pockets of rioting and looting continues to take place in various boroughs of London this evening, as well as in Birmingham, prompted by the initial rioting in Tottenham and then in Brixton on Sunday night. It has been announced that the Prime Minister David Cameron and his family are due to return home from their summer holiday in Tuscany, Italy to respond to the rioting. Disturbances broke out late on Saturday night in Tottenham and the surrounding area after the killing of Mark Duggan, 29 and a father-of-four, by armed police in an attempted arrest on August 4.[Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images]

The U.K. government met on Thursday with technology companies for a post-mortem on the violent riots earlier this month, but made clear from the onset that it was no longer considering shutting down services in times of crisis.

Home Secretary Theresa May met with representatives of Facebook, Twitter and Research In Motion, three companies whose services were used by participants in the violent rioting across several U.K. cities.

After the riots, Prime Minister David Cameron said the U.K. would look at "whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence." The suggestion that the U.K. could censor social networking services brought wide criticism.

The Home Office said in a statement that the discussions revolved around improving the "technological and related legal capabilities of the police" when dealing with services that are being used for criminal behavior. The Home Office did not mention if it discussed shutting down services with the companies.

Youths loot a Carhartt store in Hackney
on August 8, 2011 in London,
England. Pockets of rioting and
looting continues to take place in
various parts of London this evening
prompted by the initial rioting
in Tottenham and then in Brixton on
Sunday night. Disturbances broke out
late on Saturday night in Tottenham
and the surrounding area after
the killing of Mark Duggan, 29
and a father-of-four,
by armed police in an attempted
arrest on August 4.
[Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images]

But a statement from Facebook said that from the start of the meeting May "set the tone clearly that we were not there to discuss restricting Internet services."

"We welcome the fact that this was a dialogue about working together to keep people safe rather than about imposing new restrictions on Internet services," the statement read.

Facebook did acknowledge that "sometimes we have to be more vigilant or react faster when there are exceptional circumstances," such as the recent shootings in Norway or the riots in the U.K.

"When we are dealing with situations that are heightened or sensitive such as the U.K. riots, then content relating to this specific issue is prioritized," Facebook said. "As a result, the team works around the clock to ensure that take-down times for such content is decreased and content that straddles the line of acceptability is closely monitored."

Facebook said that it processes reports about content that is against its rules to its User Operations teams, which work 24 hours a day around the world. The company has a law enforcement team dedicated to helping U.K. police improve their skills in using the service to handle serious crime.

On Aug. 16, a British court sentenced two men to four years each in prison for using Facebook to try to organize two riots, one of the sternest punishments meted out so far for misbehavior and one that has been criticized as being too harsh. Neither riot actually took place.

Facebook said in its statement that the service was also used for positive actions, such as organizing groups to clean up debris from the streets following the disturbances.

RIM, whose BlackBerry devices are popular with U.K. youth, called the discussions "positive and productive." Young people are thought to buy BlackBerry devices for Messenger, an instant messaging application that allows people to broadcast messages to many users. It has been blamed for enabling youths to quickly mass in key neighborhoods in London and other U.K. cities hit with looting and arson.

Twitter was more oblique and did not mention Thursday's meeting with the government. "We've heard from many that Twitter is an effective way to distribute crucial updates and dispel rumors in times of crisis or emergency," the company said.

networkworld.com

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan quits

"Under the severe circumstances, I feel I've done everything that I had to do," Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan said as he announced his resignation. [ Yuriko Nakao  /  REUTERS]

The Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced on Friday that he was stepping down after almost 15 months in office as his government's ratings plunged due to handling of nuclear crisis triggered by tsunami.

Kan appeared on national television to announce that he was resigning as the leader of the ruling Democratic Party, effectively ending his tenure as Prime Minister.

His exit paves the way for election of Japan's sixth Prime Minister in five years, as the country is struggling to come out from the devastation caused by March 11 earthquake which triggered a nuclear crisis.

"I resign as the party president effective today", Kyodo news agency quoted him as telling his party leaders. He was the first leader in Japan, not hailing from a well connected political family to don the premiership.

After taking office in June last year, the 64-year-old premier has struggled amid plunging ratings, a relentless power struggle within his party and a combative opposition controlling upper house stalling legislation.

Later he came under fire from his own party lawmakers for his perceived lack of leadership in dealing with the March disaster that claimed the lives of more than 15,000 people and triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.

The ruling Democratic party will vote on Monday to elect a new leader, who will become the next Prime Minister.

Former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara is viewed as a frontrunner to replace Kan. Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Trade Minister Banri Kaieda may also enter the fray.

news.oneindia.in

China State TV Deletes Video Implying Hacking of Western Sites

The main Chinese state television network has deleted from the Internet a video that some foreign military and Internet security analysts say implies China has engaged in hacking attacks on Web sites in the West.

The video was the July 16 episode of a program on China Central Television 7 called “Military Science and Technology.” The episode, called “The Internet Storm is Coming,” was about cyberwarfare.

This week Western analysts began publicly scrutinizing a sequence that a narrator on the program says shows “many Internet attack methods.” There is then a demonstration of one method: on the screen, what appears to be a human-operated cursor chooses a target Web site address, then hits a button that says “attack.”

Using a software application on screen, the cursor chooses a target Web site under a pull-down menu for “Falun Gong Web sites in North America.” Falun Gong is a spiritual group that underwent persecution in the late 1990s in China and is now outlawed in the country.

In the CCTV program, the cursor selects an IP address of 138.26.72.17 as a target. It is a defunct IP address at the University of Alabama. But a screenshot of the page linked to that address that was archived on the Internet in 2000 shows an informational page associated with the Falun Gong. It is unclear who set up the page.

An online article published on China SignPost on Wednesday by two military analysts, Andrew Erickson and Gabe Collins, said there were questions as to whether the television program was using a mock-up to demonstrate cyberwarfare, or whether it revealed real hacking software and an actual attack. The technology shown was at least a decade old, the authors wrote. But “it is significant that an official Chinese state television channel showed even a symbolic representation of a cyberattack, particularly one on entities clearly located in a foreign sovereign nation,” they wrote.

Chinese officials deny repeated assertions by foreign Web security experts and foreign governments that China is the source for many prominent and ambitious attacks.

The discussion among Western analysts over the July 16 episode and its significance began this week when links to screenshots of the episode circulated on the Internet. By Friday, a video of that episode had been removed from a CCTV Web site that still has other recent episodes of “Military Science and Technology.”

CCTV has declined to comment. There has been at least one notable example of the network’s using fake footage in a report on the military: In January, it tried to pass off a scene of a fighter jet getting blown to bits in the 1986 movie “Top Gun” as images of a military training exercise done by the People’s Liberation Army.

nytimes.com

UK: Ministers Attend Social Media Meeting

shockya.com

Home Secretary Theresa May is to chair a meeting today between government ministers, police and representatives of Twitter, Facebook and Blackberry makers Research in Motion to discuss possible measures to prevent the technology being used to organise riots.

Several individuals have already been handed jail sentences for attempting to organise riots using Facebook pages, Twitter and Blackberry Messenger during the unrest in early August.

During an emergency session of Parliament shortly after the riots, Prime Minister David Cameron said the government would be "working with the police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality".

However, there are already signs of a split in the Conservative party over whether it is right for governments to restrict the use of social media, notably from London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Johnson was quoted in the Financial Times as saying: "The briefings I've had so far on this matter make it clear that social media and being able to follow things on Twitter is of some intelligence benefit to the police."

A Home Office spokesman said: "These discussions will help us determine how law enforcement and the networks can work better together.

"Amongst the issues to be discussed is whether and how we should be able to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality.

"Social networking is not a cause of the recent disturbances but a means of enabling criminals to communicate. We are working with the police to see what action can be taken to prevent access to those services by customers identified as perpetrators of disorder or other criminal action."

UNPAN Europe

Thai PM Announces Government Urgent, Long-Term Policies

The parliament meeting started from 9:15 a.m. with 484 MPs and 147 senators attended.

Thailand Government Complex Building

dreamstime.com

Yingluck said the Pheu Thai-led government will implement the following eight policies:

• The urgent policies 
• The policy on national security 
• The economic policy 
• The policy on social and quality of life 
• The policy on natural resources and environment 
• The policy on science and technology, research and innovation 
• The policy on foreign affairs and international economics 
• The policy on good governance.

The 44-pages policies are divided into the urgent and long-term polices, which are needed to be implemented in the first year in office and in four-year term, respectively.

Those 16 urgent policies include the policies to create political reconciliation, to fight against drug trafficking, to reduce corporate tax rates and to provide soft loans to the poor.

Before the policy delivery started, approximately 200 red- shirts or the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) members gathered in front of the Parliament compound to show support for the prime minister and her government.

Coming also was the anti-government multi-color group who submitted an open letter to the House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont expressing their opposition to some of the government's policies including the move to amend the 2007 Constitution.

The House Speaker announced also that the government coalition and opposition parties had 11 hours each while the senators were allocated 7 hours 40 minutes to scrutinize the government policies.

The joint-sitting will be carried out for two days or August 23- 24. About 450 police officers have been deployed to secure order around the Parliament compound and prevent confrontation between different political groups.

UNPAN Asia & Pacific

Pakistan begins verifying 81 mn voters

Pakistan has begun a mammoth task to verify the electoral rolls of 81 million voters.

epakistannews.com

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will carry out the verification of 81 million computerised electoral rolls based on the database of the National Database and Registration Authority, reported the Daily Times.

Those who don’t have their Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) would now get it.

The computerised card is mandatory for the registration of voters to ensure transparent electoral rolls.

Around 36 million new voters are likely to be registered as a result of the campaign which will continue till Sep 30.

This exercise is expected to take the total number of voters to around 83 million, the media report said.

For the door-to-door campaign, Pakistan has been divided into 145,000 census blocks, with each block containing 200 to 250 houses.

.thaindian.com

Canada proposes for e-voting test

Chief Electoral Officer of Canada,
Marc Mayrand,

The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Marc Mayrand, said he will be seeking approval to test internet voting in a federal by-election held after 2013. He regarded internet voting as a complementary and convenient way to cast a ballot.

In the May elections report, released Wednesday, Mayrand writes about his plan to test e-voting and encourages parliamentarians to update the Elections Act.

The report suggested the Elections Canada Act should be revised to incorporate the impact modern communication tools such as Facebook and Twitter have on the election.

“The growing use of social media puts in question not only the practical enforceability of the rule, but also its very intelligibility and usefulness in a world where the distinction between private communication and public transmission is quickly eroding,” the report said.

Mayrand said Canadians live in a world replete with e-services and increasingly expect a range of options that provide them with more flexibility and accommodate their busy schedules.

About 62 per cent of Canadians voted in the last federal election.

According to the report three factors stop electors from voting—apathy, inconvenience and administrative barriers.

The report likewise suggests government to also look at online nominations, including electronic signatures, mobile advance polls for rural and remote areas, and making poll staffing and tasks more flexible.

Elections Canada is the independent, non-partisan agency responsible for conducting federal elections and referendums.

futuregov.asia

Prof. Sofjan: Marzuki Alie Pro Koruptor

Ucapan Marzuki Alie agar koruptor dimaafkan membuktikan bahwa dia pro koruptor. Semangatnya ingin membubarkan KPK bertentangan dengan semangat reformasi yang bertekad memberantas korupsi.

Hal itu disampaikan Prof. Dr. Sofjan Siregar, MA kepada detikcom (1/8/2011), menyikapi opini Ketua DPR RI Marzuki Alie yang dinilainya semakin mengaburkan semangat dan amanat reformasi untuk memperbaiki negeri ini.

"Jika logika Marzuki dipakai, maka semestinya DPR harus dibubarkan lebih dulu, karena lembaga paling korup adalah DPR, selain itu kebanyakan gerombolan DPR adalah penipu, calo anggaran dan penguras uang rakyat," ujar Sofjan.

Lanjut Sofjan, delik pidana yang dilakukan para gerombolan DPR bukan delik aduan, sehingga KPK harus proaktif berinisiatif menangkap terlebih dulu para gerombolan itu, termasuk Marzuki pentolannya.

Ditengarai Sofjan, Marzuki bukan figur pro reformasi yang dapat membawa perbaikan dan perubahan. Antara lain kegigihannya mewujudkan pembangunan gedung baru DPR yang sarat indikasi korupsi dan ucapan-ucapannya juga tidak merefleksikan semangat rakyat yang ingin negeri ini bersih.

"Setelah skandal korupsi Nazarudin-Kemenpora-Wisma Atlet meledak, isu gedung baru DPR yang semula gencar langsung tiarap, setelah terlebih dulu satu perusahaan peserta menarik diri," papar Sofjan.

Menurut Sofjan, dalam kaitan ini Marzuki terdepan dalam melakukan pembohongan data dan informasi. Semula dibilang Rp 9 miliar telah dibayarkan ke konsultan, kemudian berubah lagi Rp 14 miliar.

"Kebohongan itu tambah jelas lagi ketika Marzuki berbohong bahwa semua fraksi telah setuju, ternyata beberapa fraksi di DPR tidak setuju," tambah Guru Besar pada Islamic University of Europe, Rotterdam.

Sofjan berpendapat, sebelum KPK dibubarkan oleh Marzuki dan gerombolannya, maka KPK telah cukup memiliki alat bukti dan fakta untuk terlebih dulu menjadikan Marzuki sebagai tersangka. Berdasarkan logika, mestinya pembubaran DPR duluan itu lebih relevan dan pas sebelum KPK.

"Jika KPK terlambat menangkap Marzuki, maka sebaiknya rakyat jangan hanya bicara, tapi harus ada terobosan yang bisa dan sah bertindak membantu KPK demi menyelamatkan NKRI. Kita harus malu sama Cina dan negara-negara sekitarnya," pungkas Sofjan.

detik.com

HK Launches feedback website for policy and budget

The Hong Kong government today launched a website that aims to invite the public to give its views on the 2011-2012 Policy address and the 2012-2013 budget.According to an official statement, the public consultation exercise for the 2011-2012 Policy Address and the government expenditure of the following year’s budget have been combined in order to strengthen the coordination between policy formulation and budgetary planning.

Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of the Government of Hong Kong, said that the public consultation will focus on key areas that have become a growing concern for the people.

“The people of Hong Kong have clearly voiced concern over the soaring property prices, which were not anticipated in 2007, the widening wealth gap, the provision of elderly services and the need for more comprehensive retirement protection,” he said.

With public consultation in place, the government expects that it will facilitate a more comprehensive and informed discussion with the community.

“I urge you to tell me what you want me to put in my Policy Address and the subsequent Budget. This is going to be a positive interactive process. My team and I remain wholly committed to serving you, the community of Hong Kong,” Tsang said.

futuregov.asia

e-Government Menghasilkan Pembuat Kebijakan Sosial (Vol.1)

Jejaring sosial dan dunia virtual 3D kerap dianggap sebagai ruangan-ruangan rekreasional, dimana orang berinteraksi dengan sahabat, kerabat, dan mereka yang menggeluti dunia ini. Tetapi perkembangan terbaru dalam e-Government--secara tradisional e-Government dipandang sebagai pembuat layanan-layanan publik pokok dapat diakses secara online--,kini melangkah ke wilayah jejaring sosial dimana para pembuat kebijakan berupaya mencari cara-cara baru untuk mengetahui apa yang dipikirkan masyarakat terhadap proposal-proposal yang mereka buat.

Sebuah studi yang telah dipublikasikan oleh EU pada Februari 2011 menunjukan bahwa pada 2010 kualitas dan  kuantitas layanan-layanan e-Government meningkat. Di seantero Eropa, e-Government untuk berbagai layanan pokok  publik mencapai 82% diantaranya; registrasi kendaraan mobil dan deklarasi pajak yang dapat diakses online, capaian  ini meningkat tajam dibandingkan 2009 yang hanya 69%. Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President yang  bertanggungjawab atas program Digital Agenda, menyatakan rasa senangnya bahwa banyak orang dapat mengaksesnya, misal meregistrasi perusahaan baru melalui internet. Namun demikian kemajuan semacam ini tidak terjadi secara universal.

Sebuah studi yang sama mengungkapkan bahwa berbagai layanan bisnis mengalami perkembangan yang jauh lebih cepat  ketimbang yang diperuntukan bagi individu-individu. Pemanfaat e-Procurement masih rendah. Dan tak terhindarkan, survei tersebut  menyatakan negara-negara yang tergolong utama seperti; Austria, Irlandia dan Italia juga dinilai masih tercecer,  termasuk juga Yunani, Siprus dan Rumania.

Untuk mendorong kemajuan e-Government, melalui rencana aksi e-Government EU periode 2011-2015 telah ditetapkan  serangkaian ambisi yang sangat baik ; memberdayakan masyarakat dengan membuat lebih banyak informasi yang dapat diakses online, memperkokoh pasar tunggal melalui berbagai inisiatif e-Government yang akan membuat hidup lebih mudah, juga bekerja dan belajar diseluruh Eropa; dan menciptakan karbon rendah, administrasi-administrasi pemerintah yang efisien. Uni Eropa menginginkan 50% individu di Eropa dan 80% bisnis menggunakan berbagai perangkat e-Government menjelang akhir 2015. Tetapi sebagaimana diakui dalam Rencana tersebut, menjadi tanggungjawab setiap negara anggota Uni Eropa untuk mengimplementasikan berbagai layanan e-Government. Peran Uni Eropa adalah menetapkan serangkaian target, memfasilitasi berbagai diskusi, menciptakan berbagai kondisi legal yang mendukung, mengurus interoperabilitas lintas batas negara-dan menilai performa setiap negara.

Tetapi e-Government bukan sekedar penyederhanaan berbagai pelayanan publik. Namun e-Government  juga mengenai pelibatan warga masyarakat secara lebih mendalam dalam proses demokratik. Hal ini dapat dicapai dengan membuatnya menjadi lebih mudah dalam melakukan pemilihan umum : sebagai contoh pemilihan umum di Estonia tahun ini, 25% pemilih menyalurkan haknya  secara online--namun, sementra hasil survei memperlihatkan antusiasme dikalangan masyarakat, teknologi ini belum  digunakan secara luas sejauh ini. Dimana Uni Eropa sedang memainkan peran yang lebih besar dalam pengembangan berbagai perangkat yang dapat melibatkan masyarakat dalam pembuatan kebijakan. Rencana Aksi EU mengatakan :  "Negara-negara anggota berkomitmen untuk membangun dan mempromosikan cara yang lebih baik dan berguna, dalam mengedepankan penggunaan berbagai solusi ICT, untuk kepentingan bisnis dan masyarakat sehingga dapar berpartisipasi dalam konsultasi kebijakan publik. "Untuk mencapai tujuan itu Uni Eropa melalui instrumen utamanya yaitu pendanaan  riset teknologi : Seventh Framework Programme, yang menopang 9 proyek inovasi e-Government.

Salah satu proyek tersebut adalah WeGov, sebuah upaya untuk mengikat kekuatan jejaring sosial seperti Facebook, Twitter dan Linkedln. Paul Walland bertanggungjawab sebagai koordinator proyek, berkedudukan di IT Innovation  Center University of Southampton berujar : "Apa yang coba dilakukan WeGov adalah menempatkan berbagai perangkat  ditangan para pembuat kebijakan," ujarnya di PublicServiceEurope.com. Ketimbang pemerintah dan penyelenggara lokal  menguji berbagai kebijakan dengan menggunakan berbagai questionaire dan berbagai website e-Government yang  spesifik--yang biasanya memberikan hasil yang hampa dari publik--WeGov mengembangkan sebuah perangkat atau perkakas  yang memungkinkan para pembuat kebijakan menggunakan jejaring sosial untuk melibatkan masyarakat dalam berbagai  debat." WeGov adalah ramuan banyak hal," ujar Walland,"mulai dari menyampaikan opini di komunitas umum dan memantau  reaksi masyarakat terhadap opini yang disampaikan, melalui penjejakan berbagai topik hangat dan berbagai jenis opini  masyarakat yang diungkapkan oleh masyarakat diberbagai website jejaring sosial.

WeGov salah satu proyek yang didanai oleh Program FP7 dengan dana sebesar €2 juta, dan dua skema percontohan direncanakan di Spanyol dan Jerman. Sebuah tatap muka user yang sederhana akan memungkinkan para pembuat kebijakan  untuk memilih sebuah topik dan "menyuntikannya" kedalam jejaraing sosial apapun yang dipilih--dengan tweet, blog atau menggunakan grup diskusi didalam Facebook atau Likedln. Walland mengakui bila kebijakan publik semakin meningkat didasarkan pada reaksi-reaksi media sosial, beberapa orang dapat menjadi sadar bahwa suara mereka tidak didengarkan, tetapi ia menambahkan ada sebuah bahaya disana "dengan tehnik apapun yang digunakan untuk mengumpulkan opini populer. Ini adalah sebuah respon dengan meluaskan jaring ketimbang "menangkap" semua orang". Ada juga isu lain ketika menggali dari jejaring sosial, seperti isu privasi. "Cara melakukan pendekatannya adalah hal yang sangat penting, untuk memastikan bahwa kita tidak hanya melakukannya dalam batas-batas yang legal tetapi yang lebih sulit lagi untuk mendefinisikan batas-batas yang etikal yang dimiliki oleh masyarakat." tetapi sebagaimana yang dikatakan  oleh Walland, para politisi "ingin menggunakan setiap perkakas yang tersedia bagi mereka untuk berinteraksi dengan masyarakat."

Ada sebuah premis dibalik proyek lainnya yang juga didanai oleh FP7 yaitu +Spaces. Dalam kasus ini, sebagaimana juga jejaring sosial, berbagai skenario dibuat dalam dunia virtual 3D yang akan digunakan untuk menguji berbagai reaksi terhadap ide-ide kebijakan. Michal Jacovi, koordinator proyek dan seorang peneliti grup teknologi-teknologi sosial di fasilitas IBM Haifa Israel menjelaskan :"Idenya adalah menjalankan berbagai kebijakan oleh masyarakat dan mendapatkan opini mereka dengan mendatangi mereka, sebagaimana yang terjadi hari ini, ke website-website e-Government untuk mengisi formulir atau melakukan pemilihan. Kita ingin pergi ke tempat dimana masyarakat berada. "

Seperti dengan WeGov, sebuah perkakas telah dirancang bagi para pembuat kebijakan-- para mitra proyek +Spaces termasuk parlemen Yunani, dan Jacovi berharap akan ada lebih banyak lagi mitra yang terlibat dimasa mendatang--untuk memudahkan mengajukan pertanyaan dan menciptakan berbagai debat diseluruh jejaring sosial.


Bagian paling inovatif dari proyek ini akan diuji tahun depan. Jacovi menjelaskan :"Kita fokus pada permainan  peran, dimana anda mengundang orang untuk terlibat, dan anda memberikan peran-peran. Anda dapat memberikan seseorang peran optimis atau pesimis. Mereka tak hanya harus mengatakan apa yang telah mereka pikirkan, atau yang telah mereka dengarkan dimanapun, tetapi mereka harus sungguh-sungguh berpura-pura menjadi seseorang yang lain dan berpikir sebagai orang lain. Kami memiliki sebuah versi 3D dimana avatar-avatarnya sangat sesuai dan kita juga menggunakan Twitter. "Jacovi memberikan contoh praktis :"Misalkan kebijakan pelarangan merokok di tempat-tempat umum : Kita telah menyelenggarakan workshop dimana orang memainkan peran-peran sebagai seorang perokok, seorang yang tidak merokok, seorang pemilik restoran, seorang pejabat kesehatan publik, dan seorang polisi. Mereka dipandu agar mengasumsikan diri mereka berada di masa lima tahun kedepan, dan setengah dari mereka adalah orang yang idealis dan setengahnya lagi tidak idealis. Ini memberikan wawasan kepada para pembuat kebijakan dan juga kepada diri masyarakat  itu sendiri."


Pada awalnya ini akan terlihat serampangan awalnya, tetapi Profesor Thomas Gordon yang memimpin sebuah proyek  lainnya lagi yang didanai FP7 yaitu IMPACT dan berasal dari Fraunhover Institute for Open Communication di Berlin,  berujar : Seluruh area e-Participation adalah hal yang semakin berkembang menjadi penting". Bagi Gordon, melibatkan warga masyarakat pada awal berbagai tahapan perencanaan kebijakan adalah vital. Ia mengutip sebuah contoh topik.

"Anda dapat melihat disini di Jerman dengan debat yang begitu besar tentang Stuttgart21, sebuah stasiun kereta. Ada berbagai demonstrasi yang berlangsung dan hal ini menjadi topik hangat yang entah tumbuh sendiri atau memang dibuat demikian. Dan salah satu alasannya itu sebuah topik hangat dari sudut pandang saya adalah karena warga masyarakat tidak dilibatkan secara memadai dalam fase perencanaan, dan sekarang para politisi menghadapi masalah yang sangat besar.

Bersambung ke Vol.2

Daniel Mason - PS Europe | Martin Simamora

India, US ink accord on cyber security

With terrorists increasingly resorting to hacking and using internet for communications, India and the US Tuesday inked an agreement to promote increased collaboration in cyber security.

The memorandum of understanding on cyber security was signed by R. Chandrashekhar, secretary, India Department of Information Technology, and Jane Holl Lute, deputy secretary for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The agreement entails closer cooperation and the timely exchange of information on cyber security.

The pact was signed on a day US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and External Affairs Minister held the second India-US strategic dialogue that focused on expanding counter-terror cooperation.

"The agreement helps fulfill the joint commitment of both nations to advancing global security and countering terrorism, one of the pillars of the US-India Strategic Dialogue launched on July 20, 2009," a statement from the US embassy said. The accord sets out best practices for the exchange of critical cyber security information and expertise between the two governments through the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), Department of Information Technology, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and DHS' United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT).

The agreement will allow both the US and India governments and broader cyber security communities in the two countries to coordinate on a broad range of technical and operational cyber issues. The cyber security agreement flowed from the first comprehensive bilateral dialogue on homeland security issues between the US and India that was held in May.

deccanherald.com

South Korea army, university to start cyberdefense major

© REUTERS/ Kim Jae-Hwan
South Korean troops in Paju, a town bordering North Korea

The South Korean military and Korea University have signed an agreement to set up a cyberdefense program aimed specifically at training students in cyber warfare to combat virtual threats from North Korea.

The four-year cyberdefense major will be offered at Korea University's Graduate School of Information Security starting next year and will accept 30 undergraduates, according to a report by the country's English daily Korea Herald.

The army will provide four-year scholarships to students under the program who, upon graduation, will join the armed forces as military officers specializing in various cyber warfare units for seven years.

Training related to cyber warfare tactics, strategies, deciphering enemy codes, cryptography and cyber psychology will be part of the course curriculum to prepare students as "cyber warriors that we need in the military", said General Kim Sang-ki, who is army chief of staff, in the report.

Korea University's president, Kim Byung-chul, added: "We are very happy that with the support from the army, we can educate students who can contribute to strengthening our national security."

A separate report by news agency AFP said South Korea's plans to build up a cyber army is a response to growing virtual threats from its Northern neighbor.

South Korean authorities claimed North Korea was behind the system crash that brought down the former's biggest banking network, National Agricultural Cooperative Federation or Nonghyup, and rendered various customer services unavailable for several days. North Korea had denied the allegations.

"We seek to nurture warriors to fight in cyber warfare amid growing cyberterror threats from North Korea and to secure a stable supply of specialists," an army spokesperson said in a statement to AFP.

Security experts told ZDNet Asia earlier this month that cyber threats post a "real danger" to countries, and advised governments to take action to safeguard their infrastructure and information systems.


zdnetasia.com

Philippine ICT commission dissolved

.futuregov.asia

President Benigno Aquino III has issued an executive order to abolish the Philippine ICT agency and transfer its function under a department as part of the programme to streamline government bureaucracy.

Through the Executive Order 47 signed June 23, the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), an agency tasked to develop the country’s ICT policies, will be transferred under the Department of Science and Technology (DoST).

The new office will be named as the Information Communication Technology Office (ICTO).

Aquino likewise abolished the positions of the CICT chairman and the commissioners. ICTO will be headed by an executive director with the rank of undersecretary.

The CICT attached agencies—National Computer Centre and the Telecommunications Office—will also be transferred to the DoST.

EO 47 states that DOST is to prepare a medium-term development plan for ICT research and development, and its linkages to the ICT industry, and a medium-term e-governance infrastructure and information systems plan.

The CICT has unveiled its Philippine Digital Strategy (PDS) for 2011 to 2016 on Wednesday, a five-year ICT roadmap for the country. EO 47 came just as the country ended its celebration on June 30 of National ICT Month.

Former CICT chief Atty. Ivan John Uy said he has not received yet any notice about re-appointment as undersecretary to head the ICTO yet he remain positive about the order to transfer CICT to DoST.

“We welcome any development that will push the ICT agenda of the country forward. I’m sure President Aquino has his reasons for reorganizing his Cabinet,” former CICT chief Atty. Ivan John Uy said in an interview.

DoST chief Mario Montejo said he also welcomes the ICTO, which will be added DoST’s already many sub-agencies. He said he will study the CICT’s five-year Philippine Digital Strategy drafted under Uy’s term.

“The ICTO under DoST will accelerate the development of a connected government and integrate IT government systems under a unified platform. Consolidating all government ICT programs will likewise put an end to inefficient ICT projects that are disjointed or duplication of each other,” Montejo said in a statement.

The ICTO will streamline research and innovation in ICT to address issues such as cybercrime, disaster risk management, and environment protection, according to DoST.

Within three months, DoST will submit to Aquino a rationalization plan. Uy confirmed that he will be meeting Montejo to discuss the transition and study the parts of the ICT Roadmap for immediate implementation.

futuregov.asia

Cyber Attacks Ranked With Military Threats Under Obama Strategy

An Obama administration policy for tightening global defenses against computer attacks places cybersecurity on equal footing with military and economic threats, according to security analysts.

The International Strategy for Cyberspace, unveiled at a White House event yesterday, calls for the U.S. government to work with other countries on standards to protect intellectual property, prevent theft of private information and ensure cooperation among foreign law enforcement agencies when a cybercrime is being investigated.

“We as a society should not take it as a fact of life living in the era of Internet that people are going to successfully take your identity or your credit card or disable networks,” Howard Schmidt, the top White House cybersecurity official, said in a phone interview yesterday. “We want nation states to be unified behind a vision like this so we can send a clear message to bad actors that there's going to be no place for them to operate in the international sphere.”

The plan recommends setting consequences for countries and groups that don't comply with the standards and strengthens the U.S. position on its response to a cyber attack.

The administration is sending the message that “cyberspace is not some separate world where our usual laws, our usual deterrence does not apply,” said Kristin Lord, vice president and director of studies at the Center for New American Security, an independent security research institution.

The message is meant to “deter attacks and say, ‘Look, we're the United States, we have a full set of tools at our disposal,' ” Lord said in a telephone interview yesterday.

‘All Necessary Means'

The cybersecurity plan states that the U.S. reserves “the right to use all necessary means -- diplomatic, informational, military and economic -- as appropriate and consistent with international law,” to defend itself and its allies.

The strategy calls for the U.S. government, including the State, Defense, Homeland Security, Commerce and Justice departments, to work with their global counterparts, Schmidt said.

“Long-term cybersecurity in cyberspace depends on cooperation” on the plan, which was a result of “more than 18 different departments and agencies” collaborating, Schmidt said at the White House event.

The departments must report back to the president in six months on their progress, which is an important time frame, Dean Garfield, president and chief executive of the Information Technology Industry Council, said in an interview yesterday.

“It has taken a long period of time to get where we are today and the fact that the administration has put some time frame around the next steps are important in making sure that we move forward at a more accelerated pace,” Garfield said.

‘Private Sector'

Federal departments will issue details on their strategies for the plan. In six months, the White House will assess agencies' progress on meeting the plan's policy goals, John Brennan, President Barack Obama's assistant for counterterrorism and homeland security, said at yesterday's event.

“We look forward to partnering with our private sector, with other nations and with others who share the same goal” to support trade and commerce, security, free expression and innovation in cyberspace, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at the event.

The strategy also emphasizes that the U.S. will respond to hostile acts in cyberspace “as we would to any other threat to our country,” according to a fact sheet released yesterday by the administration. Possible retaliation will mean the “right to use all necessary means -- diplomatic, informational, military and economic.”

International Norms

The strategy's broader goal is to ensure that current conventions and international norms on self-defense and armed conflict include violations of cyberspace, Schmidt said in the interview.

“The rules are not different in cyberspace,” he said. “It's been difficult over the years because there's a desire to carve that off separately” from the rules governing conventional conflicts. “We need to make sure it's brought up to the 21st century with the understanding that none of us want to see” a conflict, he said.

Schmidt said attributing cyber attacks to specific countries or groups remains difficult and “that's why we need diplomatic ties” to help the U.S. and other countries talk about ongoing investigations.

The strategy also calls for helping small and developing countries build the capability to deal with cybercrime and theft of intellectual property.

Russia and China

The U.S. doesn't want some countries to “become the next generation of cyber victims because the developed countries constantly do a better job of protecting our systems and citizens,” Schmidt said. “We want to make sure we are helping them build theirs as well.”

The Obama administration is consulting with a range of countries, including Russia and China, on developing these norms, Schmidt said.

“It's very important to understand we can't have these discussions without engaging” with both nations, Schmidt said.

The U.S. also is urging countries to sign a 10-year-old treaty called the Cybercrime Convention that calls for cooperation in probing crimes committed via the Internet and other computer networks. These crimes include copyright infringement, fraud, child pornography and violations of network security, according to the treaty website.

The treaty has been ratified by 30 countries, including the U.S. and 29 European nations. Signatories including the U.K., Canada and Turkey have yet to ratify the law, according to the treaty website. China and Russia are among nations that have not signed the treaty.

businessweek.com

Amandemen Undang-Undang Dasar Dinilai Mendesak

Saldi Isra. TEMPO/Adri Irianto

Guru Besar Hukum Tata Negara Universitas Andalas, Saldi Isra, menilai perubahan atau amandemen ke-lima Undang-Undang Dasar 1945 sudah mendesak untuk dilakukan. "Saya kira harus diselesaikan periode sekarang. Karena semakin jauh kita meninggalkan '98 itu akan semakin berat kita melakukan perubahan," kata dia usai mengikuti seminar "Urgensi Perubahan UUD 1945" di Gedung MPR, Jakarta, Selasa 28 Juni 2011.

Saldi juga mengaku heran dengan lambannya proses perubahan undang-undang ini. Menurut dia, Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pernah berencana membentuk tim kajian perubahan konstitusi. Tapi sampai sekarang rencana tersebut tak ada kabar beritanya lagi.

"Menurut saya secara akademik ada problem dalam perubahan itu, jadi ada yang harus diteruskan perubahannya. Misalnya soal DPD yang dicontohkan banyak orang. Ada pula pasal yang tumpang tindih," ujar Saldi.

Ia mencontohkan, pasal 28 UUD 1945 pernah akan direvisi dengan pasal 28 butir a hingga i. Tapi hingga saat ini pasal 28 masih tetap seperti sebelumnya. "Jadi ada bagian yang berimpitan. Secara sederhana soal struktur, banyak yang sulit dipahami," kata dia. "Jadi begitu orang membaca konstitusi kita itu dahinya jadi mengernyit. Itu perlu perapihan melalui proses perubahan konstitusi."

Saldi khawatir kelambanan ini terjadi karena banyak pihak yang sudah merasa nyaman dengan kondisi sekarang. Berbeda dengan Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (DPD) yang merasa masih kurang dalam hal kewenangan dan saat ini sedang menyusun rancangan perubahan tersebut.

"Banyak yang merasa berada di zona nyaman dengan perubahan itu. Itu salah satu faktor yang bisa mempersulit perubahan. Kalau DPD, itu lumrah (mempersiapkan rancangan)," ujarnya.

TempoInteraktif