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Whether measured in terms of employment, expenditures, or revenues,
government is almost always the largest economic actor in any
economy. Effective use of ICT can change the way governments manage
their vast resources, especially as regards their interaction with
businesses, and can impact the overall efficiency of the economy,
the competitiveness of its enterprises, and its ability to attract
foreign investment. Government action can accelerate the change in
mentality needed promote the use of e-Commerce by private sector
enterprises, particularly SMEs.
Although it is the stated policy of the government of Bangladesh to
develop a country-wide ICT infrastructure for governance, human
resource development, e-Commerce, banking, public utility services,
and online ICT-enabled services by the year 2006, to date the GoB
has taken few concrete steps toward this goal and government
spending on ICT has been limited. The GoB has, in fact, been slower
to adopt ICT for its own purposes than has the private sector. Many
problems remain, including insufficient telecommunications
infrastructure, limited rates of computer and general literacy,
limited understanding of the opportunities and potential ICT offers,
and regulatory inadequacies that hinder Internet applications.
Although use of the Internet, and of information and communication
technologies in general, can result in significant net financial
gains, the GoB still perceives the investment required as being too
high. Despite these difficulties, JOBS has assisted the GoB to take
some initial steps toward e-Governance through a number of
initiatives, including:
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Assisting the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the
Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) to put
on the
BCC website.
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Developing the official website of the Bangladesh Law Commission
(URL:http://www.lawcommissionbangladesh.org)
to
create a better regulatory environment in the country and to
ensure civil participation in the formulation of its laws.
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Providing ICT training to 22 Law Commission officials on computer
applications, basic networking, and website development and
maintenance to enhance the human capacity of the Commission and to
promote the use of ICT in its daily work.
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Sponsoring two important government officials to a four-day
conference on “Implementing e-Government,” hosted by the U.S.
Department of State, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency and the
U.S. Agency for International Development.
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