iGA Chief Executive highlights importance of the 2019 Government Forum

Manama, Oct.10 (BNA): The Chief Executive of the Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA), Mohammed Ali AlQaed praised the outcome of the Government Forum 2019, held under the patronage of HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister of Bahrain, at the initiative of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander, and First Deputy Prime Minister. Mr. AlQaed noted that the Forum’s fourth edition portrayed Bahrain’s leadership’s vision towards achieving the Kingdom’s national aspirations, and highlighted the government’s forward-looking policies aimed at elevating productivity, enhancing excellence in service, and bolstering confidence in the public sector – in line with the Economic Vision 2030, the achievement of the Kingdom’s development goals, and in order to meet citizens aspirations. Mr. AlQaed highlighted that in accordance with HRH the Crown Prince’s directives to achieve the highest standards of Government efficiency, all government entities have made efforts to further improve their processes and public service delivery, using Team Bahrain’s resources to implement the Government’s Program 2019-2022. Mr. AlQaed celebrated the successful initiatives and projects discussed during the Forum, which exemplify the advances in public sector competitiveness and quality of service. Among those initiatives, Mr. AlQaed noted the Government Service Centre Evaluation (Taqyeem), and the National Suggestions & Complaints System (Tawasul), as the most prominent ones in supporting innovation and service excellence. During the Forum’s second panel discussion, titled Enhancing the Quality of Government Services, Mr. AlQaed, together with HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for International Affairs and Vice Chairman of the Taqyeem Evaluation Committee; Dr. Jawaher Shaheen Al-Mudhahki, Chief Executive of the Education and Training Quality Authority; and Mr. Jamal Abdul Aziz Al Alawi, Director General of Organization and Budgeting at the Civil Service Bureau, discussed the significant accomplishments in government performance achieved in a record time. In this regard, Mr. AlQaed noted the friendly competition between the participating government centers and their swift response to the committee’s observations, which resulted in the reengineering of their internal procedures, better cooperation among government entities, and the implementation of technical transformations. Among these improvements, Mr. AlQaed stressed a more optimal geographic distribution of the centers. Mr. AlQaed praised the success of last year’s Forum, in which HRH the Crown Prince awarded 10 government entities with the Gold classification, adding that this encourages the committee to continue its work and motivates other centers to improve their quality. The first edition of the Taqyeem Committee prepared a standards guide for government service centers, which is considered a roadmap towards transforming them into smarter and more innovative organizations. It also conducted tens of workshops, providing training to hundreds of employees from over 19 government entities, as well as evaluating 89 centers in two phases. A press conference was held on the sidelines of the forum, in which Mr. AlQaed provided the highlights of the panel and gave an overview of the Tawasul system. Mr. AlQaed noted that 37 government entities are enrolled in the system and that more will be added soon. iGA was one of the entities honored at the Government Forum 2019, receiving the Excellence in Communication with Beneficiaries Award.