More than ever, the importance of digitalisation and new technologies has been seen, especially when it comes to the services that the public administration provides to citizens. The coronavirus pandemic imposed the need for citizens to change their adopted behaviours and, instead of going to the counter, to complete any public administration activities online through the eGovernment portal, as well as the electronic services of other state bodies. The same task is now the focus of the public administration – to provide citizens with services with as little direct contact as possible. In the special printed issue “Finish everything online,” which was produced in cooperation with the daily Vijesti newspaper, it was stated that, for the first time, the electronic services provided by the state administration were integrated in one place.
The issue was realised within the framework of the project “Effective Internal and External Communication of the Public Administration Reform Strategy,” funded by the European Union. The beneficiary of the project is the Ministry of Public Administration of Montenegro, and the project is implemented by a consortium led by the KPMG.
“We have recently done research that has shown that out of ten citizens, six of them prefer to go to the counter and have direct contact with the administration. These days, it has been proven that we can communicate faster, even easier, without a counter and that our traditional face-to-face communication method can be replaced by electronic applications and services. That is why it was important for us, at this moment, when the whole world is fighting the pandemic, when the number of infected people in Montenegro is increasing, for our citizens to stay home, change their traditional behaviours and communicate with the state electronically through the eGovernment portal, but also through portals of other bodies,” read the introductory text of the Minister of Public Administration, Suzana Pribilovic.
Pribilović reminded that the www.euprava.me portal exists since 2011 and that it has over 580 services under the jurisdiction of 50 institutions, as well as a large number of useful information for citizens and the economy. The aim of eGovernment is for citizens and legal entities to be able to receive information, submit a request to various institutions, communicate with the state administration or any other domain of services which are provided in one place. All of this can be achieved without going to the counter, but simply from the comfort of one’s home or office.
The Special Issue provides more texts on how to register on the eGovernment portal, the services available to citizens through the eGovernment portal, instructions on how to apply for criminal and misdemeanour records for legal and natural persons, and how to apply for professional exams to work in government bodies. In this way, citizens can also get a lot of information about administrative procedures in the field of the health system, how to report illegal content or incidents on the Internet, gain free access to information, etc.
In addition to the services on the eGovernment portal, citizens are provided with electronic services from other institutions, such as from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Tax Administration, the Customs Administration, the Real Estate Directorate, the Ministry of Education, and others. These services are also provided electronically.
The eHealth service www.ezdravlje.me enables insured persons to create a set of health care services online. It is the Special Issue that provides texts on how to access the chosen doctor through a click-through portal, prescriptions, findings, how to gain insight into health insurance status, how to order therapy without going to a health centre, as well as other useful information.
The Document.me portal is the electronic service provider by the Ministry of Internal Affairs through which citizens, by filling out a simple form, can submit an application form for issuing birth certificates, certificates from the register of Montenegrin citizens, and certificates from the register of residence. The Special Issue brings you texts on how to get these services in the easiest way possible.
In the Special Issue you can read other interesting texts – how to obtain an electronic tax return via TaxisPortal, how to obtain a digital certificate issued by the Post of Montenegro, the school portal for teachers and the e-Diary through which parents can communicate with class elders, and how senior citizens view the benefits of electronic services and whether they use them.
The special edition “Finish everything electronically” is available on the web site of the Ministry of Public Administration: http://www.mju.gov.me/vijesti/223537/Special-address-To finish- all-electronic-state-home-in-day- newspaper-News.html