-Digital revolution to fundamentally transform the citizen-state relation

As many as 50 public services provided by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy are being delivered online via e-albania.al web platform and smartphone app since January 1 as part of the Albanian government’s public services reform designed to change the way public services are provided to eliminate bureaucracy, long queues of citizens at service windows, combat corruption, foster a customer-care culture, enhance citizens’ access to public services. A range of other online services will become available in the coming months in 2020 in a reform drive aimed at radically transforming the citizen-state relations. Prime Minister Edi Rama today visited the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy to attend a demo event showing how easily an online application is filled in and submitted in three minutes only replacing previous procedures and paperwork that used to take averagely a week. During the demo application for a license issued by this Ministry, the head of the licensing and regulation department said that the digital revolution will overhaul the public service delivery. “Now everything is pretty simple and easy. From a previously one-week wait time, the application process now completes in 3 to 4 minutes only and most importantly every applicant can follow every stage of his or her application online and reports to withdraw the license in person,” he said.

The range of the online services provided by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy and the institutions subordinate to this Ministry will significantly grow in the coming months, making the administration fully available to the citizens, eliminating long queues, service-related costs and corruption practices.  “We currently provide 23 web-based public services already accessible and processed online. Of these, as we speak, 9 include asset valuation services and the other 14 services include design services. All subordinate institutions and agencies together with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy today offer 50 web-based public services and we have already announced plans to add some 46 more services by June 30 and in January 2021 we intend to provide a range of 162 services,” Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku explained.

Prime Minister Rama noted that with the digital revolution underway the public administration will assume a whole new role in delivering public services to the citizens and will be held responsible for failing to deliver services properly. “The service windows will ultimately be shut down, yet the window clerks will now have to cope with a greater deal of work because they will carry out the procedure and the paperwork instead of the citizens. They will no longer be there to act like a traffic officer to allow people enter an institution if documents are complete, or tell them to fill in and provide this and that document. From now on, the service clerks will carry out the entire paperwork and required procedures for the citizens. If a state document that should have been provided by the administration is missing, then it will be considered as a submitted one and no citizen will be asked to wait again and the responsible office will be fined. If they fail again to properly do their job, then they will be sacked. This will practically completely eliminate bribes and long queues,” Rama said.

The eased online application procedures will be also accessible to the Albanian citizens living abroad, who will be assisted by the respective Consulates in filling in the required documentation. “As for the citizens living abroad, it is the Consulate that, just like the public administration here, will take over the task to provide the Albanian state’s e-stamp. Every citizen can apply from Italy, Germany, Australia, and everywhere else, can fill in the online application and if a dry stamp needed, then they should report to the nearest Albanian Consulate and receive the required service.”