Prime Minister Edi Rama has announced that as of January, business owners and citizens will be able to avail themselves of some 114 public services for their business via the online e-Albania portal.
Calling it a “digital revolution in public services”, Rama said that users will be able to carry out a number of tasks in just a few minutes via computer or mobile phone, just by clicking on the link. Users will be able to perform all the necessary procedures online, instead of via the “time-consuming” process in government offices.
In a live feed shared on Rama’s Facebook profile, he informed citizens that during online applications they should only provide personal documents as state documents will be located by those working in the institutions.
He urged the heads of institutions to get behind the new procedures and to eliminate documents that are not needed.
“These two months, we will have to continue assisting at counters, then the counters will be closed. It will be difficult at first, but people will understand that this is the right path,” he added.
Rama said this will radically transform the business landscape for small businesses by getting rid of many unnecessary costs and reducing corruption. The government’s aim is to offer 90% of all public services online by the end of 2020.
Health and Social Protection Minister Ogerta Manastirliu said on 3 January that citizens would have no reason to go to the counters to get several services, yet reports on the ground published by News 24 showed that there was little knowledge of the procedures. Director of Polyclinic No.2 in Tirana told the news crew that it was too early to operate the system. Another employee said they had not even heard of the system before they saw it on television.
