The Kyiv City State Administration, which was represented by its deputy chairman Oleksandr Puzanov, and Microsoft Ukraine, represented by its director-general Dmytro Shymkiv, have signed a memorandum of understanding which provides for implementation of e-government in Kyiv.
Kyiv will be the first city in Ukraine to implement entire system of e-governance. “Microsoft has experience of working with governments of more than 130 countries on the implementation of e-government solutions that meet government priorities and make lives of their citizens better. We welcome this initiative of the Kyiv City State Administration and are happy to share our experience with them. E-government will help the city’s authorities to work more efficiently and provide higher quality services to Kyivites,” the executive director of Microsoft Inc. Kevin Turner noted.
Memorandum provides for the implementation of technologies and solutions to improve efficiency of municipal management and simplify interactions between the city government, citizens and businesses. The program involves several initiatives to be implemented in the coming five years, which include One Stop Center for Citizen Requests Processing, the consolidated payment system for fees and penalties, control and motivation of compliance with orderliness regulations system, system of tourism industry management, environmental monitoring and energy saving. According to the administration’s chairman Oleksandr Popov, the city initiated the development and implementation of a number of projects that aimed to harness new technologies, and invited a number of leading global companies, including Microsoft, to participate in them. Popov said: “We mean the e-government project first and foremost. Its importance for the city is sufficiently demonstrated by the fact that e-government is the basis for one of the eight strategic initiatives that are contained in the city’s development strategy for the period to 2025.” Kyiv authorities also plan to create the “Virtual City,” a powerful tourism portal and a kind of guide to the capital which should satisfy the information needs of guests and Kyivites alike.
Let’s recall that Microsoft has extensive experience working with all levels of government throughout the world. Using this experience, Microsoft has developed a system of steps to improve a nation’s competitiveness. These proposals suggest that to develop its potential, Ukraine needs to invest in education, human resources and technologies. Ukraine has come just 89th out of 139 countries in the latest World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index. Microsoft Ukraine is sure that sensible investments would allow Ukraine to enter the ranks of innovative and therefore highly competitive economies of the planet.
