occasionalpapers Volume VI No 4 • Autumn 2005 The Occasional Papers are pub- lished quarterly by NISPAcee and dis- tributed together with the NISPAcee Newsletter. The series launches academic publications that discuss results of policy research in differ- ent fields of public administration. It provides a forum for the analysis and discussion of contemporary Content problems and possible solutions, models and methods of public ad- Bashkim Ruseti, ministration and public policy with Vasilika Kume, assessments of empirical evidence Nevila Baci from regional experience in public sector reform. E-Governance in Albania /p. 3 The main goal is to enhance the quality and quantity of intellectual exchange among researchers, edu- Nana Sumbadze, cators, scholars and practitioners George Tarkhan-Mouravi dealing with major issues of public administration and public policy in Gender & Society in the Central and East European re- gions. Samtskhe-Javakheti, Georgia /p. 11 NISPAcee occasional papers Copyright © 2005 by NISPAcee Editor Bohdan Krawchenko, School of Development, University of Central Asia, Bishkek, Kyrghyzstan Deputy Editor Juraj Sklenar, NISPAcee Secretariat, Bratislava, Slovakia Editorial Board Members Ingrid Shikova, Information Centre of the European Union, Bulgaria Ivan Maly, Masaryk University, Czech Republic Michal Illner, Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic Wolfgang Drechsler, University of Tartu, Estonia Mzia Mikeladze, Georgian Technical University, Georgia Gyorgy Jenei, Budapest University of Economic Sciences, Hungary Golam Mostafa, Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Planning, Kazakhstan Salih Murzaev, Academy of Management, Kyrghyzstan Vladislav Domarkas, Kaunas Technological University, Lithuania Pawel Swianiewicz, University of Warsaw, Poland Agnieszka Pawlowska, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Poland Gabriela Cecilia Stanciulescu, Academy of Economic Studies, Romania Sergei Pushkarev, Ural State University, Russia Milan Bucek, University of Economics, Slovak Republic Stanka Setnikar-Cankar, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia Dragoljub Kavran, Government of Serbia, Yugoslavia English Language Editor Todd G. Williams, Acme Anvil Language Services, Hungary Submissions Papers should be written on relevant public administration and public policy issues based on VI • No 4 Autumn 2005 Volume empirical research carried out in Central and East European countries. The papers should not exceed forty pages in length. If a paper is written in a language other than English, a three-page English summary should be submitted with a bibliography and a description of the length of the entire document. Each author may propose two reviewers for their submission, but the final selection of reviewers is at the discretion of the editor. Those authors whose papers are selected for publication will receive a modest honorarium. Editorial correspondence, including manuscripts for submission, should be addressed to Mr. Juraj Sklenar, deputy editor, NISPAcee Secretariat, Hanulova 5/B, P.O.Box 163, 840 02 Bratislava 42, Slo- vak Republic, phone/fax: +421-2-6428 5557, e-mail: [email protected]. Manuscripts should be sent in electronic form. Subscriptions Subscriptions and limited additional copies are available without charge. Requests to be placed on the mailing list or for additional copies should be addressed to the deputy editor. Change of address notifications should be sent to the publisher at least four weeks in advance, including both the old and new addresses. NISPAcee Occasional Papers are published with the support of the Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative (affiliated with the Open Society Institute), Nador ut. 11, 1525 Budapest, Hungary. ISSN 1335-5945 3 NISPAcee occasional papers E-Governance in Albania Bashkim Ruseti, Vasilika Kume, Nevila Baci 1 Abstract munication and to implement the e-SEE plan of action. The Albanian Government, with the Nowadays where technology plays an help of PNUD and the Open Society Institute important role in the integration of countries, in started work on the National Strategy of the the general economy and in the improvement Technologies of Information and Communi- of people’s lives all over the world, Albania has cation in July, 2002. Within less than a year, acknowledged the Technologies of Information the strategy was approved by the Council of and Communication as a tool for socio- Ministers (April 2003) after the intensive and economic development, regional cooperation useful work of the working group composed and integration in Europe. of both national and international experts Presently, Albania is below the general and partners. On June 19th, 2003, the Launch- average level of the other Eastern European ing Conference of the National Strategy of the countries with regard to the development Technologies of Information and Communi- of Technologies of Information and Commu- cation was organized. This was the first step nication. The country has inherited a tech- towards accomplishing the goals of the e-SEE nological backwardness; furthermore, the and this once again showed the seriousness lack of power supply and the old traditional and involvement of Albania in this process. infrastructure, as well as incomplete legisla- The strategy is divided into five chapters tion, create obstacles for Albania on its drive and each of them is addresses concrete objec- towards an Information Society. However, Al- tives for the socio-economic development of bania has made obvious progress in the area strategic areas such as the development of of telecommunications. e-education, e-infrastructure and e-legislation. The reforms undertaken, especially in This strategy forms the basis for the imple- the last 5 years, have distinctly influenced mentation plan towards a Society of Informa- VI • No 4 Autumn 2005 Volume the telecommunications infrastructure. The tion in the next 5 – 10 years. government has reaffirmed the importance of At the moment, there are approximately the Technologies of Information and Commu- 3.2 million people living in Albania and the nication for the socio-economic development economic structure is as follows; 26% agricul- of Albania and has made it a national priority. ture, 10% industry, 56% services and 8% other. Telecommunications services are provided by Vision Alb-telecom, AMC (› 550,000 subscribers) and Vodafone (about 600,000 subscribers). 1. The Current situation Access to the internet in Albania began in At the end of 2001, the European Union and 1995, when the UNDP and the SOROS Founda- the Stability Pact founded the organization tion started to serve as ISPs providing limited South-Eastern Electronic Europe (e-SEE) access to the internet for some institutions and whose purpose is to develop the Technology universities. The first private ISP in Albania of Information and Communication in the Bal- started in 1997 and today all ISPs are Albanian kans. During the e-SEE meeting held in Slov- companies. All other ISPs operating now in enia on June 4th, 2002, all participating coun- Albania, excluding Alb-telecom, use VSAT tech- tries agreed to develop a National Strategy for nology for their international connections. the Technologies of Information and Com- Universities and research institutions have been, and still remain to be, important play- 1 Faculty of Economics, Tirana University, Tirana, Albania 3 E-Governance in Albania NISPAcee occasional papers ers both in the development and intensive development of an e-governance initiative, use of ICT. Presently, as a result of the wob- that is to say, existence and interaction. The bly development of ICT and its application, website of the Albanian Government is it should be noted that there is involvement (www.keshilliministrave.al) of private companies, too, and this has bet- This site is a typical example of a web site ter crystallized the role of the university and which lists information, addresses, telephone the research sector as well as fostered closer numbers and contact opportunities but it has cooperation. no interactive capacity. This is a passive pres- Education consists one of the main means ence of general information. In its portal, the that ensures the social development in the government gives information about its politi- years to come. Today, it is thought that ICT cal activity and the prime minister’s activities is fundamentally transforming the human soci- as well as offers users the chance to be con- ety towards a “global society of information.” nected to the other ministerial sites or other It is the present day students that will shape important institutions, which themselves only this society and in this sense the use of ICT offer information about their activities. You in the education processes is critical for the can not interact with these institutions either. future of the society. Even the button “Contact” only gives informa- The Albanian Government has the follow- tion on telephone numbers or e-mail address- ing objectives for the development of e-gov- es to the respective institutions but they do ernance: not offer the chance to interact with them. The • To define the main directions for the ICT information is given in Albanian and English. development; The Directorate of the Technology of Informa- • To finalize ICT strategy in public adminis- tion and the Department of Public Administra- tration and further on; tion are two structures in the mechanism of • To establish support for a “central unit”; the Council of Ministers that are concerned • To compile