The 2012 UN Global E-Government Survey, which covered 190 countries, indicated that the Kingdom ranked 14th among West Asian countries, while it was eighth among Arabs states.

At the Arab level, the UAE ranked first in terms of e-government readiness, followed by Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon and Jordan, according to the report posted on the UN Public Administration Programme website.

"The drop in ranking is mainly due to the slow pace in introducing e-services to the public. The lack of financial allocations for e-government services is negatively affecting our progress in this regard," Haitham Qaisi, spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, told The Jordan Times on Saturday.

"When there is enough money, we will introduce e-services. The lack of necessary funds is also affecting the upgrade of infrastructure required for introducing additional e-government services," he said.

In 2006, the government formally inaugurated the e-government programme with the intention of streamlining bureaucracy and enhancing access to the Internet in rural areas. 

Currently, e-government services are provided by several public agencies including the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior, Greater Amman Municipality and the Borders and Residency Permits Department, according to Qaisi.

In the UN survey, Jordan scored 39 per cent for online services, 10 per cent for e-participation, 80 per cent for human capital and 27 per cent for infrastructure.

The rankings are based on a measure of public sector capacity and willingness for using information and communication technologies to provide services for citizens. 

The index measures infrastructure, human capital, regulatory and administrative framework and e-participation, among other factors, based on a review of government websites.

The survey, released recently, ranked South Korea in first place, followed by the Netherlands, UK, Denmark and the United States respectively in terms of e-government readiness.

© Jordan Times 2012