Abdul Mujeeb Mohmand Ministry of Commutation & IT Mohammad Jan khan watt MCIT, Kabul, Afghanistan Tel: +93-799-312457 m.mohmand@mcit.gov.af E-Government in Afghanistan 2013 Baryalai Hassam Ministry of Commutation & IT Mohammad Jan khan watt MCIT, Kabul, Afghanistan Tel: +93-700-274818 b.hassam@mcit.gov.af 1-Background Afghanistan started rebuilding itself after almost three decades of war and destruction, when the Transitional Government came into power in 2002. The country did not have advanced communications system but even the rudimentary ones were also almost totally destroyed during the war. (A brief History of Telecommunication in Afghanistan highlighting major milestones achieved during last 13 years. The importance of rebuilding communication systems and giving the nation benefits of latest technologies and advances in the Information Technology for overall growth and reconstruction of the country was immediately realized. Good communication systems and introduction of IT was found necessary for growth in all other sectors be it security or governance or reconstruction and development or education or trade/business. The efforts for infrastructure building for better communication and use of information technology were initiated. The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) was given the responsibility to lead the sector to fast growth and development. There has been lot of progress since then. In fact, the communications revolution has been a major success story in the country. The growth of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector has had significant impact on economic growth and development. It has connected the whole country, improved efficiency of the government, and provided impetus to private sector growth. 2-Ongoing E-Government projects in Country This component aims to provide value added service in the government using ICT to increase efficiency, effectiveness and transparency in Government. This will be achieved through the following sub-components 1- National ID Cards -Vehicle registration -Driving license 2- Fiber optic -All government agency connectivity -University connectivity -School connectivity -Market Connectivity -Private sector connectivity 3- E-Governance Resource Centre 4- Websites for Service Delivery or Interoperability 5-Automated National Registries including in Land Ownership, ID Cards, Passports and Other licenses 6- Establishing an ICT Village 7-Developing Electronic Government Applications 8- Improving ICT training and digital literacy 9- Mobile government projects 10-GIS system in Kabul (Geographic Information system) 11- ICT trainings for government and private Sector
3-Achievements in last twelve years The Major Indicators of Success at a glance in the telecommunication sector are given below Table 1: Major Indicators of Telecommunication GSM Subscribers 19,520,813 CDMA Subscribers 164,443 Landlines 90,017 Phone Penetration 72 % Internet Subscribers Internet Users Investments in $ Millions 1.5 million 2 million 1,922 Telecom Base Station 5,005 Population Coverage Over 88% The telecommunications sector started its development activities after Bonn agreement in 2002, when the telephone penetration was less than 0.05% in the country. Telecom infrastructures were mainly damaged and Telecom services were moving towards a stage of non-existence. It was a real challenge for the newly established government of Afghanistan to meet the telecommunications requirements of the residential and business markets. The government took a pragmatic approach by ending its monopoly on the telecom sector and opened the market to private investment, applied minimum regulations and provided the required spectrum and support for the wireless access, backhaul and national backbone communication networks. Currently, Afghanistan has more than 19.5 Million telephone subscribers which are comparable with the figures in other regional countries. Investment in the telecommunications sector, as per the reports provided at the end of the last quarter of 2013, exceeds US$ 2 billion, and about 88% of the country s population has access to telecommunications services. The remaining 12% of the population, who do not have access to telecom services, live in remote rural areas and are expected to be covered through the Universal Access Program. There are six licensed cellular network operators at national level (5 GSM operators, one CDMA operator) and there are 100 small and medium size ISP licensees in the country serving close to about 2000,000 Internet users throughout the country. There is a strong competition in the telecommunication market. As a result, the consumers have many choices for selection of service providers to meet their needs and requirements. In addition to the above-mentioned operators, ATRA has also issued 3G license To 3 mobile operators, to provide good and quality services to the citizens. Quality of service is one of the main objectives and ambitions of ATRA. For this very reason, ATRA has purchased quality of service facilities and has trained a number of personnel to carry out tests in various parts and areas of the country, simply to make sure that the operators are fulfilling their obligations based on the standards set in their licenses and to make sure that the end users do receive quality services which they need and deserve. Figure 1: Mobile Telephone Coverage Over a period of five years from 2002 to 2007, there was tenfold increase in the telephone subscriptions, indicating an annual compounded growth rate of about 60 percent. In 2002 the country had subscription population of some
50000, which is estimated to have risen to about 19.5 million in 2013 From almost total absence of Internet in 2002 to an Internet subscription population of some 2 million now with 100 Internet service providers. Afghanistan s telecommunications industry has been growing rapidly. As of end of 2012, the number of mobile telephone subscriptions was estimated to be about 19.5 million and the mobile telephone networks covered 88% percent of the population. The reach of mobile telephony, achieved through primarily private sector participation creates a widely available and used platform for public service delivery. Intercity and international connectivity has improved significantly. The national fiber optic backbone network now connects 25 provinces and Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. This is a major milestone in connecting Afghanistan to international telecommunications networks. Fibre Optic Network is likely to generate additional revenue of about USD 30-50 million every year and total cost of network will be recovered in 3-5 years. Copper Cabling Networks have been built in the major provinces of the Country and it is now planned to provide these services for another Provinces of the Country in 1392. Figure: Fiber optic Network connection with Neighbor s countries The telecom sector is also a success story in the private sector development with about 6 big-time players in the fray. Telecom sector generates revenues of over USD 200 million every year, The Telecom Sector has attracted Foreign Direct Investment of about USD 2 billion and created 80,000 jobs directly or indirectly. The Ministry of Communication and IT (MCIT) has been able to put in place the essential legal and regulatory framework with the enactment of the Telecommunication Law and the establishment of the Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority (ATRA). ATRA was formed in 2005 and is working well. The Postal Code has been introduced for the first time in last 9 years at the district level and is likely to smoothen working in the Postal Sector. The Ministry has created one of the most advanced National Data-Centre in the Region for providing state-of-the-art IT/e-government facilities to the Government of Afghanistan. MCIT has been able to make shift from being a service-deliverer to being a policy-maker. The use of computers in the departments and agencies of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRA) has been growing in the last five years thanks to the large number of public sector reform and development projects that have been undertaken during this period and to the efforts of the departmental managements to integrate ICTs in the operations of their departments. Almost all the 35 ministries and departments have some computer hardware and foundation software resources; MCIT launch 120 websites for Ministers and government agencies. Some of the more progressive ministries and departments have developed application software as well, which address agency specific management and operational needs. Many others are now in the process of developing similar application software. 4-Challenges for the Future The Ministry of Communication and IT has been able to successfully meet the first generation challenges in the Sector but now is faced with second and third generation ones. The physical infrastructure for basic telephony and IT has been put in place but it needs to be further expanded,
modernised and deepened. The Sector has to move from providing basic services to providing value added services to its customers especially in the area of e-governance. The Ministry has to strengthen its role as facilitator, regulator and policy-maker to face the challenges thrown by introduction of new technologies and services and much wider coverage and use. Another challenge is to keep pace with the developments in this highly capital-intensive and fast-changing sector so that people of Afghanistan continue to get benefits of the latest in communication and IT and remain competitive. In addition to the challenges of the future, the Ministry is also facing certain problems in its current operations such as: Funds for expansion of its coverage, modernising of its networks and bringing benefits of technology to the government and the people of Afghanistan, Problem of security in execution of its projects, which results not only in delays but also in increase of costs, Problems of no power-supply, acquiring lands and getting right of way with the municipalities in execution of projects, Problems in coordinating IT projects being directly executed by donor agencies or their direct contractors, Enforcement of the Telecom Law is facing problems with the police and due to un-registered SIM cards, Retention of competent staff in the Ministry due to mismatch between salary levels in the government and the market, Shift of approach from Telecom to E-governance in the government requires cooperation of different ministries and departments as well as changes in procedures/processes, perceptions and attitudes across the government, which is not forth-coming sufficiently fast, Academia, private sector, ministries, etc. have to build their capacities to meet the challenges in IT and Telecom sectors, There is no vision or guideline for Public-Private Partnership preventing MCIT to take proactive initiatives in the Sector, and Many players in the Telecom Sector want international loans but they are not getting them because of Afghanistan not meeting IMF conditions. The legal and regulatory framework of the country in the Telecom and IT sector needs be brought in line with the developments in the sector. Many initiatives need to be taken in this direction. The legal framework requires enactment of ICT and Postal Laws; the regulatory frameworks are needed for cyber security, e- governance, digital signatures, electronic certifications, e-government interoperability, etc.; and new policies are needed for Fibre-Optic Open Access, Bandwidth Allocations, etc. and there is need for the ICT law to be revisited. There is need for strengthening the Afghanistan Postal Regulatory Authority (APRA) by appointing Chairman and other commissioners. The capacity within the postal department needs to be improved. Postal department is not getting required amount of funding from the Ministry of Finance. The capacity in the overall ministry needs to be further strengthened to facilitate changes in the sector. The Ministry itself needs to be restructured to meet the new challenges by doing Pay-and-grading reforms, establishing ICT regulator, E-Governance Directorate, Cyber Security Centre, Chief Information Officer Cadre etc. The Telecommunication networks require to be expanded for Telephone Line Networks, Broadband connectivity, optic fiber network and internet exchange. In order to provide the value added services in the government to improve its efficiency, many e-governance initiatives need to be taken up such as implementing the National Identity Cards Project, establishing the E-
governance resource Centre, developing websites of different ministries (and then bringing them under one umbrella website to provide information and e-services of the government), automated national registries including in land ownership, Passports, mobile applications in the areas of health, agriculture, education, good governance etc. There is lot of scope for developing Mobile-services for the government and the private sector needs to be energized for this purpose. ICT also offers the possibility of addressing some of the challenges facing the country, while creating new opportunities for inclusive growth. It will be critical for the Government to find ways in which it can improve governance, expand the reach of public services, and accelerate economic growth. Even with these challenges, Afghanistan is much better placed to realize the opportunities afforded by its strategic location, the growing number of educated young women and men, and improved connectivity with the world through better transport and communications infrastructures. Afghanistan might thus begin to exploit some of these opportunities to accelerate economic development and promote social inclusion and participate in the global information and knowledge economy. Wider access to and use of ICT will accelerate economic growth. If broadband subscriptions increase to 10 percent of the population by 2015, the positive impact on GDP due to this growth could be upwards of US$340 million. Widespread digital telephones offer a means for citizens and the Government to communicate, and permit improved monitoring of programs and beneficiary verification. There is a significant opportunity to grow Phone and Internet Services, attracting investments, creating jobs, and connecting more businesses and citizens to regional and global networks and markets. As the number of international and nongovernment organizations and private companies has grown, so has the exposure of especially young Afghans to technologies such as the Internet; Internet users are estimated at about 8% percent of the population. However, the retail Internet services market remains limited to major urban areas such as Kabul, Herat, Ningarhar and Mazar-e-Sharif. The availability of lower cost international Internet connectivity, plus the growing interest of the Government to support Internet market growth through policy measures and specific programs, should lead to an increase in availability and usage. CCN (Copper Cable Network) Project will be the best enabler to achieve this objective of providing affordable Digital Telephones and the Internet Services through the Copper Lines by using Dial-up and DSL Technologies. Thus, although MCIT and the Telecom and IT Sector in Afghanistan have done very well in the past and have prepared foundations for faster growth in all sectors by improving communication and IT, there are significant challenges to be faced in future to further expedite the expansion and growth in the sector and provide value added services. The goals and objectives of the E-Afghanistan National Priority Program have to be formulated keeping them in mind. 5-Governance Structure / Leadership The proposed governance structure for implementation of EGOV Strategy in Afghanistan intends to respond to high demand for general direction and coordination of EGOV initiatives. Guiding by international experience it is recommended to establish EGOV Directorate under MCIT and Government CIO structure and Forum along with existing government institutions responsible for IT and EGOV development, external partners and stakeholders from different sectors that are willing to contribute and has sufficient capacity for that. The governance structure consists of: 1) IT/EGOV Development Council 2) EGOV Directorate
3) Government CIO Forum 4) External Partners/Stakeholders IT/EGOV Development Council Top level leadership from the political and very senior levels of government is essential for the development and operation of e-government. Therefore, the National Information and Communications Technology Council of Afghanistan (NICTCA) which has the mandate of provide advisory services to the Government in all matters related to ICTs. As a coordinating focal point it will take up role of providing leadership and garner political and senior management support, ownership and engagement in developing EGOV in the country. NICTCA is actively promoting EGOV as a key strategic choice by the Government of Afghanistan and supporting by the EGOV Directorate of MCIT. They take on the mandate of determining standards and technical policies for EGOV development and have the authority to issue such policies, standards, guidelines and best practices to the whole government. EGOV Directorate: The EGOV Directorate (egd) is operate under MCIT and it is central coordinating, monitoring and evaluation office for EGOV development in Afghanistan. While it will report directly to the Minister for Communications and Information Technology, it is empowered by the NICTCA and work in accordance with the policies, strategies and guidelines set down by the NICTCA. It also chair the government CIO Council and take on the roles of Government CIO and CTO, advising and supporting Government on all matters related to ICT in Government through the NICTCA. The organizational structure of the edg take into consideration that their main task is coordination, program management, strategy development and project implementation. Therefore, special care will be taken in building capacity in the management and IT governance skill sets. In addition, capacity will be required in the skills of outsourcing and public private partnership management as well as contract management. Government CIO The Government Chief Information Officer s (GCIO) is an EGOV coordinating body composed of Chief Information Officers (CIO) or IT Directors and IT Heads of all the key ministries and agencies of the government. Their main mandate is to ensure that EGOV development across the ministries and agencies is progressing harmoniously in line with the Afghanistan EGOV Strategy. They act as focal points for the egd and support egd in carrying out its responsibilities in EGOV development including providing support and guidance on drafting technical standards and policies and ensure that these standards and policies are adhered to in their respective ministries and agencies. Members of the GCIO Forum also act as EGOV champions, raising awareness about the benefits of EGOV and building managerial and grass root level support for e-government. This Forum will be chaired, coordinated and managed by the egd of MCIT as a whole-of government CIO. External Stakeholders Developing EGOV and providing quality services to the people will require the government to partner with the private sector, NGOs and academia at various stages and in various roles of EGOV development and deployment. Therefore, creating and maintaining partnerships with external partners as key stakeholders in EGOV development is deemed critical. egd need to create and build a network of external partners who are willing and able to support the government s EGOV development agenda. Other ministries and agencies will have access to this network through the GCIO Forum.
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