GOVERNMENTBy BiztechAfrica – Feb. 23, 2012, 10:24 a.m.Image: by Cross River State government
Cross River State Government has built several social service infrastructures on a smart card through its ICT company, Smartgov.CRSG, to empower the citizens and residents of the state.
The special adviser to the state government on ICT, Odo Effiong, said the objective of the initiative is to improve accountability in governance, simplify access to social services and create a robust social safety net for citizens of the state.
“the Smartgov.CRSG is a reflection of a new way of doing business in the state,” he said.
Smartgov.CRSG infrastructure would allow the state government to leverage its investments in technology, automate its ministries, department and agencies, identify all citizens and residents, track and monitor usage of social services, enhance internally generated revenue and automate disbursements and payments by government.
He said the infrastructure comprises a citizens’ information system, e-payment gateway and smartcard management system. In addition, through Smartgov.CRSG the state government will implement a social benefits administration, statewide health information management system, statewide health insurance management system and IT-driven hospital management system and human resource management as well as payroll processing system.
“a city is defined ‘smart’ when investments in human, social capital, traditional and modern ICT infrastructure fuel sustainable economic development and a high quality of life,” Effiong said, adding that Smartgov.CRSG initiatives enable the state government to identify its citizens, grow revenue, eliminate wastage, simplify governance and increase access to government services.
MySmartCityCard would be issued to the citizens under the Smartgov.CRSG initiative and would contain cardholders’ details, which would be used to provide access to healthcare, pension, transportation, educational bursaries, social amenities and social benefits for the youths and the aged promptly through automated payments system.
“MySmartCityCard will enable cardholders in the state to pay taxes and levies conveniently from the comfort of their homes and offices, using multiple channels such as ATMs, Point of Sale (PoS) terminals and the Web,” he said.
Under the smart economy, the Smartgov.CRSG project would deliver to the state a mobile revenue collection system that would enable the residents to pay taxes, using cellular technology, automated salary payment to the public service workers, automated contractor payment system and online revenue collections.
Under the smart mobility, Smartgov.CRSG will implement automated fare collection systems for public buses, an intelligence mass transit system, electronic tolling and an integrated electronic parking system.
Smartgov.CRSG will secure smart card-based identity management system, identity verification for the residents and business identification system.