2023-05-31 14:07:14
A smart city (smart city) Is that which put citizenship at the center and makes available the necessary digital tools to improve access to public services and the management of proceduresOtherwise, it will only be a city that will be left behind in the digital and social transformation.
This was stated by Gabriela Castañón, General Director of Smart City Softa Mexican company dedicated to the development of digital government solutions for public administration and digitization of procedures for the private sector.
In interview with DPL News During the Smart City Expo Latam Congress 2023, held in the city of Mérida, Yucatán, the executive highlighted that digitize the relationship between government institutions and the population is essential to build smart cities in the country.
In doing so, the quality of life is improved and the construction of citizenship is empowered, since the inhabitants can access public services more efficiently, quickly and autonomously related to health, work, education and finances.
We recommend you: 17 Latin American countries already have a high level of digital government adoption: UN
A guide from the Inter-American Development Bank, published in 2022points out that the strengthening of digital government contributes to consolidating democratic statesin addition to enabling and promoting the construction of society and the digital economy.
With the implementation of digital government, people can access their information and services at any time and from anywhere, without having to go to a physical office or stand in long lines, explains Castañón.
The advantages of saving time, resources and money are not only reflected in a practical way in the daily life of city dwellers who seek to be smart citiesbut also promotes productivity and strengthens trust towards public entities.
The public administration also perceives advantages of advancing in the adoption of digital government systems; between them, improves the exercise of public spending and can even obtain savings.
The General Director of Smart City Soft details that institutions can reduce the cost of maintaining traditional bureaucratic structuressuch as the use of paper, the forced presence, the maintenance of many offices, time, personnel and other associated expenses.
If currently many copies of documents and appointments are required in different departments to carry out an important procedure, the idea of electronic government is to be able to integrate the processes to make them more agile and simple. through a site web or a platform.
In this sense, Castañón commented that Smart City Soft develops solutions so that governments can digitize procedures and services without this representing an additional cost. The company offers an on-demand platform that allows citizens to carry out procedures online through a “one-stop shop”.
Outstanding: 65% of UN countries have a high development of digital government, but the digital divide is still an obstacle
Once a person uses the platform to, for example, get their driver’s license, it will be easier for them to carry out any other procedure because the single window will store your information in a digital file and will have it available for the next procedure that you want to complete.
The implementation of this platform can be done thanks to agreements between the company and the governments, since it is the latter that must give access to the processes required by each procedure or service. The agreements do not imply that a public budget must be disbursed.
Gabriela Castañón details that they are citizens who pay a small commission when they carry out a procedure when it is not free. But if it is a request for a scholarship or access to a social program, there is no commission involved.
Smart City Soft already has agreements in some states of Mexico such as Quintana Roo (Cancun) and Chihuahua, and in the United States with Texas. In addition, the company is already in talks with the government of Yucatan to explore possible mechanisms that allow the population to have public services within reach of a click from their cell phone.
1685552819
#digital #government #empowers #citizens #improves #exercise #public #spending
