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OAS and Paraguay Sign Agreement on Electronic Government Program for Cities

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, and the Minister of the Interior of Paraguay, Rafael Filizzola, today signed an agreement for the implementation of the program, “Efficient and Transparent Cities (MuNet e-Gobierno),” the goal of which is to modernize the state’s mechanisms to strengthen the institutional capabilities of local governments through the implementation of electronic government solutions to promote socioeconomic development in the region.

During the signing ceremony, held at Organization headquarters in Washington, DC, Secretary General Insulza highlighted that “our governments are making a great effort to modernize, develop, and use the technologies that are often used by the central governments but are not widely available yet in remote regions and cities.”

“It is important to note that today, decentralization exists alongside globalization, which means taking government to all parts of the country, and in it cities are the main tool we use to get closer to citizens. Our program seeks to carry the message that it is possible to foment transparency and efficiency in the services provided and increase interaction with governments,” the head of the regional organization emphasized.

The Secretary General also highlighted “the great effort that President Fernando Lugo is making in order to strengthen the democratic process of participation, growth, and development in his country.”

Minister Filizzola said the signing of the agreement “strengthens the historic ties and commitment of Paraguay with the multilateralism we are building, and reaffirms our goal of creating an international system based on laws, on respect for the principles of international law.” In this context, he highlighted “the strong support of the OAS to strengthen the efficiency of city governments in our country through this agreement of cooperation.” The Minister also recalled the importance the OAS has had in “the process of democratization that the Republic of Paraguay lives, keeping a strong position and not hesitating to support democracy, and above all in contributing to its sustenance.”

The “MuNet e-Gobierno” program has as its objective to support the modernization of city management by taking advantage of the opportunities offered by information and communication technologies to facilitate transparency, efficiency and citizen participation in the work of public city administrations. Through this program, the OAS gives its Member States a methodological package that includes training, consulting and technology, and that has been developed through the experience of five years of implementing MuNet in other countries of the region.

During the 12 months of assistance offered by “MuNet e-Gobierno” to cities, a sensitization workshop will be offered to all participating mayors; 300 city employees will be trained; efficiency, transparency and participation assessments will be conducted; and support will be provided in the design of electronic city government strategies alongside all the technological tools needed to implement e-government city portals.

The MuNet e-Gobierno Paraguay program will be managed by a team of managers and consultants from said country to be trained and advised by OAS experts. This is a way of guaranteeing the adaptation of the program to local Paraguayan needs, its future sustainability as well as the possibility of expanding it to the rest of the country.

A photo gallery of the event will be available here soon here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-402/10