The President signed the E- Government Act of 2002 into law on 17th December, 2002 with an effective date of 17th April, 2003 for most provisions of the Act. The Act set up a new agency, the Office of Electronic Government headed by the Federal Chief Information Officer within the Office of Management and Budget. The avowed objective of the Act covers improvement of the management and promotion of electronic government services by putting in place internet driven web technology for providing the citizen with greater and improved access to government services and information.
An E- Government Fund was instituted to provide finance for projects and initiatives under this Act.
The Act makes provisions for increased and meaningful interaction of the citizen with the government through web based interactive modules. It also facilitates web based co-operation across different government functions and functionaries to improve the delivery of public services to citizens. The accent is also on increasing transparency and accountability of the government to the public through IT and IT enabled services.
Other benefits that may result from the implementation of the Act include use of information technology for manpower planning, recruitment and human resource development in the government and its different agencies.
Further, this legislation authorizes funding for the use of electronic and digital signatures in government functions and requires regulatory agencies and Courts to launch websites to upload decisions, actions and judgments to keep the public abreast with the latest developments in different spheres of governmental and agency action.
