KZBlog

NewEurasia.net has an article up that scratches the surface of problems with e-government in Kazakhstan: How Responsive is Kazakhstan’s e-Government. I left a comment that pretty much sums up my feelings on what needs to be done to improve the system:

The key issues for e-government are, as you say, accessibility. Does everyone have Internet? And a printer if something needs to be printed? And does everyone know that they are official documents?

Also, having the information people need is important. Are the instructions clear? Did they just reprint some law (which is too complicated and long for normal people to understand) or are the steps needed to get a driver’s license, spelled out in simple terms. And are they up-to-date? One problem with websites in Kazakhstan is that they are often not updated regularly, particularly in English.

Also, is everything you need on the website? Or if not, is it clear how to get it. Or does it say, “Fill out form X5J22″ without telling you where to get this form.

In order to achieve this the government needs to get feedback from people. They need to test the system in reality. Have people try it out and then comment on how easy it was.

One of the issues here is the vertical hierarchy of government in KZ. One government company I know had to print out everything that went on the website so the Director could sign it. Only then could it go live. And for the Director to sign it, it had to be approved by practically everyone in the company first. Meaning the system updates very slowly and materials that may have started out user-friendly become less so as more and more bureaucrats edit it and try to make the text sound official. And these bureaucrats will never use the website or e-gov because they will use their connections and friends.

The heart of the issue is that e-gov is being developed in Kazakhstan primarily because Western countries have it. So no one actually understands what it is for. Therefore it will never meet the people’s needs.

Also another expat left a nice comment describing what Kazakh bureaucracy feels like to a foreigner.