Government employees who are required to declare their assets and liabilities for verification by the office of the Ombudsman will be able to do it on-line effectively by next year. The Ombudsman Tito Rutaremara, told The New Times that studies are underway to design the on-line declaration. He added that his office will use both on-line declaration and traditional file based method in the first phase, in areas where Internet in low or no internet. Automated declaration will reduce on time used to deliver and returning the files, cut costs for printing books and transport. The Ombudsman said that the budget is likely to be lower compared to the one being used because a lot of money has been used to print books and transport staff to deliver books. In other cases those affected would come from as far as Cyangugu to declare wealth. “We have not identified how effective it will be because studies are still ongoing,” he said. In an interview with the Director General for Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the office of the President’s, David Kanamugire, said that electronic services eliminate middle men and reduce physical interaction which would lead to unnecessary delays in service delivery. “Technology is a potent tool to fight corruption because once services are automated, it’s easier to record checks and balances,” Kanamugire said. He explained that the government is building a mechanism and enabling environment to have most of the public services automated. Most of the government service providers are building policies and strategies. The most successful projects in electronic services include the National ID, Rwanda Revenue Authority, Migration and Emigration, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and in most commercial banks. Ends
