ANALYSIS
Where did Macedonia’s
e-Government Momentum Go?
According to the various estimates, over 60% of
Macedonians use the Internet and over 50% are active on a social network, however public institutions’
productive use of these tools lags well behind. However a recent study by the Metamorphosis Foundation,
showed that “gov.mk” web sites are primarily used for
one-way communication and offer limited interactive
functionality. It says that while most State institutions
have had web sites since 2009 (featuring largely general and static content), only 2% of them offer actual e-services today. Thus the initial infrastructural and
user adoption barriers have long been overcome, but
the government’s commitment to realize the time
and cost-saving potential of these technologies seems
to have waned. The Metamorphosis report concludes
that a lack of high-level political will is to blame.**
In 2009, 71.9% of company respondents confirmed
that they used at least one of the following available
e-government services: e-tax, online employment
registration, e-procurement, the automated system
for international cargo transport management and/or
the Customs Administration’s EXIM system.
Since that time, a few new e-government services
have been added to help ease the administrative burden on businesses, including the ability to:
• gain access to property titles, topographic maps,
aerial photos and land registry data from the Real
Estate Cadastre;
• register a new company, verify the size of a legal
entity, review and manage company debt information, submit your annual company financial reports and more at the Central Trade Registry;
• register new