World Bank finances Governance e-Transformation Project

The World Bank will provide a loan to Moldova to implement the Governance e-Transformation Project whose objective is to transform delivery of selected public services using information and communication technology, Info-Prim Neo reports. The project was approved in the last meeting of Parliament by the Law on the Ratification of the Financing Agreement between Moldova and the International Development Association for implementing the Governance e-Transformation Project that is designed to increase efficiency and the quality of public services. The cost of the project is about US$23 million. The World Bank will provide a loan of US$20 million, while the Government of Moldova will contribute US$3 million. The project has two elements: e-Leadership Capacity and Enabling Environment that will assist the e-Government and e-Leadership Development Center in working out technical standards and an open data framework, and Shared Infrastructure and E-Services Development that will provide funding for developing a selected number of e-government services and shared applications to be delivered through multiple channels. In a last week meeting of the Civil Society Press Club centering on the use of new information technologies in solving community problems, Stela Mocan, director of the Electronic Government Center, said that by the provided services, the institution aims to reform the public sector, improve performance of the authorities and transparency of the state institutions and to promote digitalized services (e-Services). She also said that the main areas where electronic services are developed are education, healthcare, social protection and agriculture. The people can use the e-Services when applying for certificates, enrolling at education institutions, making reports for the police, looking for a job, registering vehicles, etc. The loan of US$20 million offered to Moldova is repayable under the standard conditions of the International Development Association. The grace period is 10 years, while the interest rate is 0.75%.