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E-governance: the Internet brings government and citizens together

Government authorities have been using the Internet to approach its citizenry. Governments around the world have offered various services on the Internet. Public sector websites have grown by leaps and bounds and discussions of Internet policy issues are commonplace. The English online magazine New Statesman went so far as to create a prize with which to stimulate government initiatives to make use of the Internet.

In Brazil the Rede Governo - a gateway for all federal government initiatives on the Internet - organized a seminar in April to discuss ways in which the government might take part in the Internet. The major issues raised during the meeting were basically: the need to democratize public access to information technology; the way in which public administration should interact on the Internet; the dangers of hyper-regulation and the possibilities of partnership between the government and the private sector.

According to Developments in Electronic Governance, a document prepared by the Institute for Studies in Local Government (INLOGOV) at the University of Birmingham, England, and sponsored by the British Council, several principles should guide government control of information. These are:

• access - allowing information to be made available to citizens, civilian organizations and the private sector;
  
  
• process - providing information on how to access as well as getting involved in the political process;
  
  
• disclosure - providing information on what will be discussed and decided and when;
  
  
• communication - developing channels in which to exchange viewpoints and information;
  
  
• involvement - giving the society opportunities for involvement in debates on the understanding and evolution of information.
  
  

The government defines strategies

Aside from providing information and services on the Internet, what is under discussion are the actions the government should take with regard to the Internet. Brazilian political guidelines for the sector are being debated within the scope of the Information Society Program, which plans to formulate the planning strategy to be adopted by the Brazilian government. The two most preponderant issues relate to the regulation of crimes on the Internet and to the democratization of access.

Right from the beginning RNP has been taking part in the discussion by working on the deployment and maintenance of an academic network on a national scale, by joining the Information Society Program and by fostering research on network technology.

The services offered by the government on the Internet and the policies it outlines for the Internet are called e-governance (electronic government). In Brazil the government service that is most widely known and that has been most successful has been the handing in of Income Tax Returns over the Internet, though there are several other services already available on the Internet.

Direct line to citizens

All spheres of the federal government have invested in a direct communication channel to its citizenry. The advantages the Internet offers are unmistakable: agility, low cost and reduction in the go-between. In the legislative branch, there are sites for the House of Representatives and for the Senate. Both sites furnish daily news updates on events taking place in Congress as well as information on the structure of the legislative branch, providing access to laws that have been passed and to bills under debate. Both Houses also offer e-mail address for suggestions, questions and complaints.

A very interesting system adopted by the Higher Courts - STF, STJ and TST is push, e-mail access to information on the headway made by lawsuits. Data on legislation, jurisprudence, unconstitutionality proceedings, agreements and decisions of the courts may also be found on the Internet. Demand has been great: just the STF page alone has already been accessed over 4.8 million times since its creation in September 1996, thus averaging 100 thousand visitors per month.

On the whole, the interest the Brazilian society has taken has been quite satisfactory. The Rede Governo gateway had been accessed on an average 35 thousand times a month up to April of this year. Many of the problems that once had to be dealt with by waiting on line at government offices, such as keeping tabs on the concession of social security benefits, today can be resolved over the Internet. And services given over the Internet are often quicker than those given personally at government agencies.

Something new is happening all the time. It is now possible, for instance, to sign up as an individual or spontaneous contributor to the Social Security System by clicking onto the web page. All one has to do is furnish one's ID, CPF or PIS number. This measure should expedite enrollment for those not employed in the formal economy. It is also possible to figure out contribution fees and to print out the GPS payment form (Guia da Previdência Social).

Difficult Access

As is happening around the world, the Brazilian government, too, is preparing to discuss with the members of the Brazilian society the direction Information Technology will take in Brazil. For this reason, the "Green Book" (Livro Verde) will be released later on this month.

The greatest challenge the government faces is the extremely limited number of people with access to the Internet. According to official estimates, only 3 to 5% of the Brazilian population is linked to the Internet. This low rate reflects how difficult it is to gain access to telephone lines in Brazil. There are currently only 24.5 million wired telephones in Brazil, a nation of 160 million inhabitants. The issues under debate in the Information Society Program cover this reality as well.

Even though access is not yet available to all, the privileged minority has recourse to various options. Certain sites, such as the Cost Reduction Program site of the Ministry of Planning, are even interactive. " Cost Reduction " was developed within the Forward Brazil Program (Programa Avança Brasil) and foresees a number of measures to cut federal government costs, relying on the collaboration of anyone who might wish to make suggestions.

There is still much ground to be covered, many channels to be opened up and many people still cut off from the loop. The democratization of the network is still a dream though the Internet community hopes that the Internet itself will help to bring information to the entire society and will aid in producing greater transparency in government decisions.

[RNP, 08.18.2000]