Baghdad: The Federal Integrity Commission has issued a call to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Antiquities to expedite the completion of requirements for digital transformation and e-governance. This announcement underscores the importance of aligning with the Government Institutional Resource Management System and adopting the Electronic Management System to move towards paperless solutions.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, the call to action follows a report based on visits by the Commission’s Prevention Department team to the Ministry. These visits aimed to assess the Ministry’s progress in implementing modern technology and achieving comprehensive digital transformation. The report highlighted the need for the Ministry to ensure its affiliated departments are following procedures to meet the e-governance and digital transformation project requirements, especially focusing on infrastructure and network connectivity within its departments and branches. This push comes after observed deficiencies in the execution of these projects.
The Commission’s report, which was also sent to the Office of the Prime Minister/National Center for Digital Transformation and the Ministry itself, emphasized the necessity for the e-services quality team to maintain direct communication with senior department heads. This step is deemed crucial to ensure swift completion of tasks, streamline procedures, and bolster the efforts of the Ministry’s IT and quality departments. The report further stressed the importance of enhancing the skills of Ministry employees and raising awareness about facilitating work procedures and delivering electronic services. Notably, the Ministry currently offers 32 services on its Ur electronic portal, though these are not fully integrated electronic services, while 28 services remain paper-based.
To address these challenges, the report recommended that the Ministry continue coordinating with the National Center for Digital Transformation to access necessary free programs and specialized courses. It also suggested developing strategic plans with defined timelines for its electronic projects. The goal is to increase the percentage of electronic services and transition the remaining ones into fully integrated digital formats, along with building modern electronic systems supported by advanced cloud databases.