Dubai: Leaders of Latin America have called for more transparency in governments, as it is the key to building trust between the state and its citizens.
In a session moderated by Sultan Bin Saaed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, representatives of Latin America discussed the future outlook for service innovation and the next generation of government service design and delivery, on the second day of the Government Summit.
“There are three pillars essential for developing a digital strategy in governments. They have to bring the government closer in representing the social needs of citizens, have an efficient system of management, and form private partnerships that will in turn make them become transparent,” said Alvaro Ramirez Alujas, researcher at the Research Group on Government Administration and Public Policy, and Professor at the Institute of Public Affairs, University of Chile.
He explained that Chile has made its mark in Latin America over the last four years, as the country focused on having local governmental bodies cooperate transparently with each other, in addition to cooperating with other Latin American countries and other nations, such as Spain.
Officials pointed out that a charter was necessary to clearly define the role of governments, and how to enable citizens to have direct contact with them as the voice of the public plays an essential role in smart governments.
“To have a smart government, you are going to have to make information available so that everybody can have access to it. And we need transparency to do this,” said Gregorio Montero, Secretary-General, Latin American Centre for Cooperation and Development.
Speaking on the future role of technology, Roberto Gallardo Nunez, Minister of National Planning and Economic Policy in Costa Rica, emphasised that the young generation has to start being trained in order to become proactive citizens and efficient civil servants.
“The transition to a smart government will take place if we give more access [of technology} to young people and, by investing in their education, future smart governments will have efficient and capable staff,” said Nunez.
