The World Bank New-Economy Sector Study Electronic Government and Governance: Lessons for Argentina Paper Prepared by Roberto Panzardi
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- Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
- Technological Standards for the Public Administration (ETAP)
E-Government ProjectsOut of the programs presented in Box 1, a number of ongoing initiatives are explicitly oriented towards the adoption of ICTs in the public administration hence constituting examples of e-government. The ONTI itself has direct responsibility over most of these projects while others are under the domain of PSI or specific agencies. The most relevant projects on e-government that this study had the chance to analyze are summarized in Table 2 and explained in the next sections of this chapter. An analysis of their impact and sustainability will be left for the last chapter (Conclusions and Recommendations). Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)The PKI e-government project is directly managed by ONTI. In 1998, Decree 427/98 established the regulatory framework the use of digital signatures within the Argentine Public Sector, for internal transactions which do not directly produce individual legal effects, establishing that this new technology has similar effects to those of handwritten signatures. In 2001, Congress passed Law 25506, which granted to a digital document with a digital signature the same probative value as a signed paper document. The Law establishes the minimum requirements that have to be accomplished to obtain the probative value. The infrastructure defined by the Law is the following:
Table 2 Examples of E-Government Programs in Argentina – Year 2002
To implement Law 25506, the application authority has to issue the regulatory procedures and establish the advisory committee and the licensing body. Additionally, articles 47 y 48 (referred to the obligation of the State to go digital or adopt paperless procedures) are still to be enforced. This will require the adoption of common applications and procedures according to the digitalization of State management. Finally, the infrastructure established by Decree 427/98 has to be updated in order to comply with the requirements of the new Law. A relevant aspect of this legislation is that it resulted from the analysis and coordination of seven different proposals submitted to Congress for approval. All these proposals involved consultations with representatives of the public administration, academia, professional associations, banks and sector chambers of commerce. Currently, the Ministry of Economy is the Certifying Authority but other four entities are in the process of obtaining the license. Up to now, the project has awarded 1,500 mail certificates and has signed several agreements with various governmental agencies. To optimize the process of public awareness on digital signature technology, a laboratory has been implemented where the public in general, and particularly government officials and civil servants, can generate a pair of keys, obtain their own certificate and send signed electronic mail. A variety of information about this technology is also available. Nowadays the laboratory has been implemented with a new model for issuing certificates by means of Register Authorities and has already offered 120 courses for a total of 460 attendants from both the public and the private sector. In 2001, the project received more than 800 enquires via consultas@pki.gov.ar and the website www.pki.gov.ar receives at least 100 visits per day and 1,200 hits. The site counts with a list of new developments on digital signature technology and with international news on the subject. These lists have more than 1,000 subscribers who received information on advancements in digital signature on a weekly basis. Technological Standards for the Public Administration (ETAP)The ETAP is another program managed by ONTI and intends to harmonize the information solutions of the central administration. The publication of these standards helps public officials to know about the latest technologies and contributes to the transparency and neutrality of the procurement process. The specific objectives of the ETAP are:
The ETAPs are divided into:
ONTI reported that, in 2001, it received 494 requests from different government entities to purchase new information technologies and that 83% of these requests were answered, on average, within 11 days from their reception. Up to date, ONTI has published seven editions of the ETAPs. A recent survey on the new technologies has revealed that a new version of ETAP has to be prepared son, to update information on desktop computers, network servers and active elements of communications. Additionally, the agency is conducting research to include interoperability standards in the future. Download 232.63 Kb. Share with your friends:
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