Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa chaired the committee’s 21st meeting.
The National Digital Economy Strategy Committee reviewed the report of the Bid Evaluation Committee.
The committee was formed under the chairmanship of the Executive Vice President for Operations and Governance at the Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) to negotiate with the five companies that submitted bids and assess them.
The final report in this regard will be referred to the Tender Board in May.
HH Shaikh Mohammed stressed that the development of a strategic plan for this national sector in accordance with globally recognized indicators standards has the support of the government.
Ensuring the transfer of knowledge and spreading the culture of the digital economy, through the work of the consultancy company in terms of assessing the level of digital maturity in Bahrain compared with the most advanced countries in this field, sets the general framework for the digital economy and the most prominent modern technologies, he said.
The committee discussed the national program for the development of the capacities of Bahrainis in the information technology sector.
The program was presented by the iGA as a strategic project to support the economic recovery plan by highlighting and supporting Bahraini university graduates seeking employment with technical specializations.
The aim is to empower them to find jobs in the technical field in the public and private sectors as the best choice for employment as part of the government’s multiple efforts and strategies to make Bahrainis the first choice in the labor market, and reduce the government’s operating expenses.
The committee stressed the readiness of the information technology sector and Bahraini to support development and attract foreign investments.
Within the national program, 240 IT graduates from universities and those registered in the national recruitment program will be trained over the next three years.
The training will take place in different technical departments of the iGA. The trainees will be given professional certificates, and they will be employed in the government and private sectors.
The Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology recommended approving the project of the national program for the development of Bahrainis in the information technology sector.
It also recommended that the concerned authorities implement the action plan in coordination with the iGA to launch the project in the first quarter of 2023.
The committee reviewed the developments of electronic transformation, as the number of electronic services provided through the e-government channels reached 568.
The committee praised the rate of electronic development during the first quarter of 2022, as about 1.2 million transactions were completed, and the total amounts collected amounted to more than BD211 million, an increase of 49% over the same period last year.
The development was positively reflected on the services, in terms of both cost and the time taken to complete them.
The savings rate for government services costs reached 85%, the time savings for processing transactions 69%, and the percentage of using electronic services compared to traditional services 90%.
The committee recommended continuing to work on launching various government services through e-government channels, as 16 services are being worked from six government entities – The Ministry of Interior, Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs, the iGA, the Ministry of Housing, and the Civil Service Bureau, and the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments. The launch of the services is expected by July.
The committee adopted a backup policy and mandated the iGA to coordinate with the concerned authorities to implement it and make it mandatory on all crucial systems for the tasks managed and maintained by government agencies, including those hosted in cloud services.
The aim is to provide secure storage of important data assets for government agencies, and to prevent data loss in any case and to ensure regular backups of essential business information, records and programs in a secure and reliable manner.
The committee reviewed the interactive meeting system launched by the iGA and ways to develop and increase its efficiency and its positive contribution to increasing the effectiveness of the meetings held government agencies and entities.
Source: Bahrain News Agency