Deal to provide e-system for municipal services signed

Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs Prince Mansour bin Miteb and Minister of Communications & Information Technology Muhammad Jameel Mulla on Saturday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up a comprehensive e-system that will provide municipal services and information. The MoU authorizes the e-Government program Yesser to extend all efforts to the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs (MOMRA) in this project.
"This will be a major step forward in implementing this e-Government initiative in Saudi Arabia and for the adoption of the infrastructure and the regulatory provisions in conformity with the e-Government Action Plan", said Mulla after singing the agreement. He pointed out that Yesser, within the framework of the MoU, would provide MOMRA with consultants and infrastructure services to implement the municipal information system called “Baladi".
On this occasion, a MOMRA team made a presentation highlighting its vision to establish a comprehensive municipal information system that contains a vast quantity of valid and accurate information. The project seeks to provide high quality e-Services that will be accessible anywhere, through any media and at any time. The objectives of Baladi include improving productivity and efficiency, standardization of business processes, maintaining municipal documents, delivering accurate information, analysis and statistics.
"The project will go a long way in supporting the country’s economy and increase investment returns," said a press statement released on this occasion. The two ministers expressed their happiness on signing the MoU confirming that it is aimed at achieving progress in the domain of e-governance in the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia attaches high importance to the e-government concept and its realization.
The Ministry of Communications & Information Technology (MCIT) recently announced that Saudi Arabia occupies ninth place in terms of electronic participation. It holds second place in the GCC in terms of providing electronic services. The ranking was according to the United Nation e-Government Survey in 2012. The Saudi government has 1,200 electronic services provided by 144 government agencies.
The Kingdom launched the e-government initiative in 2003 following a royal decree issued the same year.