Quarterly Progress Report January - March 2010 eGov Project

The project was awarded by USAID/Macedonia in 2004 with a five-year budget of $4,950,191. An additional $697,320 was granted in 2009 to continue programming until January 2011. The project's main objective was to help the Macedonian government implement secure e-government solutions to enhance communication within the government and between the government and businesses and citizens it governs. The project addressed the USAID-Macedonia Strategic Objective 1.3: Accelerated Development of the Private Sector and Intermediate Result 1.3.3: Enabling Environment for Investment Improved. The project implemented various activities aimed at supporting sustainable operation of its applications, increasing usage of applications, and strengthening the institutional capacity for e-government development in Macedonia. The successful launch of the integrated e-procurement system and promotion of the two manuals developed to facilitate its usage was a highlight of the quarter. The integrated software represents a comprehensive system that covers all stages of the public procurement procedure, creating a one-stop-shop for public procurements in Macedonia. The project also focused on setting up a cooperative and productive relationship with the Ministry of Information Society and increasing the capacity of the Macedonian administration to continue to widely use e-government as a tool for more transparent and efficient public services. The project implemented various activities, including project management trainings, development of new features and upgrades for the EXIM system, and drafting of the e-Government Manual. The EXIM system, which is used for export/import licenses and quotas, was awarded 1st place by the MASIT WITSA award committee, making it eligible to compete for this year's WITSA award in the Public Sector category on a global level. The system's usage is constantly increasing, with 484 economic operators registered to use the system, a 7% increase from the previous quarter. The system processed a total of 47,619 licenses, representing a 37% increase from the last quarter. The project also worked on the development of the new customs declarations processing system (CDPS), implemented by Italian Customs, which is progressing slowly. The development process of the modules for communication and data exchange between EXIM and CDPS will be postponed until the first part of CDPS is installed and Macedonian Customs delivers the necessary data and information to the project. The project's activities were aimed at improving the quality of services provided by applications developed by the project, increasing their usage, and supporting their sustainability. The project also focused on setting up a cooperative and productive relationship with the Ministry of Information Society and increasing the capacity of the Macedonian administration to continue to widely use e-government as a tool for more transparent and efficient public services. The project's progress was marked by the successful launch of the integrated e-procurement system, promotion of the two manuals developed to facilitate its usage, and the development of new features and upgrades for the EXIM system. The project also worked on the development of the new customs declarations processing system (CDPS) and the drafting of the e-Government Manual. The project's achievements were recognized by the MASIT WITSA award committee, which awarded the EXIM system 1st place, making it eligible to compete for this year's WITSA award in the Public Sector category on a global level. The project's activities were aimed at improving the quality of services provided by applications developed by the project, increasing their usage, and supporting their sustainability.