Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (cabinet.gov.krd) – Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said the Kurdistan Regional Government, KRG, is “firmly insistent to implement administrative reforms”.
These remarks were part of a speech he made at the ceremony of presention of the ISO certificate to the KRG Ministry of Interior. He said the aim the KRG wants to attain is "to eliminate bureaucracy, red tape and conduct government’s jobs in a timely and simple manner; also following up citizens’ matters in a more efficient way with better quality."
Below is the transcript of Prime Minister Barzani’s speech:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to welcome you to this event of presenting the ISO certificate to the Ministry of Interior of the Kurdistan Regional Government. This certificate is awarded to governmental and non-governmental organizations that adopt Quality Management System for their operation in which the citizens will be the first beneficiaries as their paperwork would be dealt with and followed up much quicker.
The KRG is pleased that the Ministry of Interior obtained such certificate. This shows that despite all the crisis and the hardship, the KRG has kept its strong will and stayed determined and continued carrying out its reform program. The KRG is very firmly insistent to implement administrative and management reforms; thus, provisioning more quality services to the citizens in a more efficient way.
I applaud the Ministry of Interior for successfully implementing this system in the Directorate of Traffic in Duhok as they already obtained the ISO certificate and now they repeated the same process in the Diwan of the Ministry of Interior and soon we anticipate the same system to be implemented in both Directorates of Traffic in Erbil and Suleimaniya.
This achievement by the Ministry of Interior, which is a first and exemplary step, could be used as model and encouragement for other governmental and non-govermental institutions to follow.
The KRG is making every endeavor to establish a modern IT infrastructure through utilizing the state-of-the-art technologies for better provisioning services to its citizens.
Our aim is to eliminate bureaucracy, red tape and conduct government’s jobs in a timely and simple manner; also following up citizens’ matters in a more efficient way with better quality. We want such high-quality services to be provisioned at every ministry, departments or organizations, be it on the border, in the towns or in the cities. We strive and continue until we fully achieve that.
We are seriously committed to implement reforms in all sectors and especially in administration system. This project which adopted first by Toursim Board in 2014, followed by the Directorate of Traffic in Duhok in 2015. The fact that the Kurdistan Region was in the middle of a full-scale war with Da’esh and facing a severe financial crisis. This showed the commitment of the KRG in establishing a modern system for provisioning deservedly high quality and most efficient services to its citizens.
Citizens come first! Yes, they come first. Our citizens’ satisfaction is important for us. When a citizens visit a government department, their work should be dealt with in a seamless way with utmost respect. They should feel like they are in a modern and forward-looking department. They should be welcomed and received in a highly respectful and ethical way. Government employees should make sure that the citizens leave happy and satisfied with the services provided for them.
We truly empathize with what the citizens go through when they apply for their paperwork to be processed through such complex system. We understand that citizens need to go through much for getting necessary approvals for their paperwork. We know that there are onerous routines that are totally unnecessary. We know that the citizens have to carry many documents and proofs and visit numerous rooms and places to get their job done and it could take them days or even weeks. This style of dealing with citizens’ paperwork needs to stop once and for all.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We know that all the bureaucracy and red-tape routines in the government services are not only attributed to the administration system, or to the way how employees treat citizens but sometimes laws and regulations could cause the routine and red-tape to occur! This also should be looked into. The KRG is looking to review the laws, bylaws and the responsibilities of the governmental organizations and departments. We collaborate with the Kurdistan Parliament to review the outdated laws and regulations so that technological and electronic innovations are incorporated in the laws to better serve citizens.
Technology’s role is to serve the humanity and make it easy to get the jobs done. It can play a pivotal role in the world of administration for getting the jobs done in a quality and more efficient way. The KRG continues working on its e-government project; its goal is to provide an online administration system just like the ones used by the developed countries, where much of the services can be accessed on a mere laptop from home, hence the need of all paperwork and documentation will be redundant.
The e-government must have a robust technological infrastructure so that it would be able to earn the ‘ISO’ certificate from the International Organization for Standardization and gain satisfaction from citizens when their paperwork are dealt with in no delay just like the way it’s done in the Directorate of Traffic in Duhok where, in few minutes, the citizen can renew their relevant documents.
The KRG will strive to make all its departments and offices ready to adopt the Quality Management System and obtain the ‘ISO’ certificate. This work is part of the multifaceted reform program endorsed by the KRG in all sectors. Just like in the energy sector where the Deloitte Company has been contracted to carry out audits. And, working with the World Bank in carrying out reforms in the banking sector. Similarly, we have been carrying out reforms in all sectors.
I applaud the Minister and his staff for their efforts and I wish them all the success in their endeavor.
Thank you again