Tunisia: 3 open government departments before the Constituent

By the Constituent Assembly, 3 departments will adopt an open government. The interim president has ratified a decree to convert all the ministries in this transparent mode of governance within 2 years. But the open government depends on the emergence of e-Citizen. Exclusive Tekiano interview of Gaaloul Adel, Secretary of State for Technology.

Translation from French to English by Lyne Robichaud.

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TUNISIA: 3 OPEN GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS BEFORE THE CONSTITUENT
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 7:00, Interview by Mohamed Jebri, Tekiano
Tunisie: 3 ministères gouvernement ouvert avant la Constituante

The Secretary of State for Technology, Adel Gaaloul, delivered the opening address at the event TunAndroid held on Saturday, June 4, in Sousse. In his speech, he spoke of five main axis to give a boost to the ICT sector in Tunisia's. Among the guidelines, the Secretary of State spoke about the role of government, which must ensure that the aspect of "transparency" is in its relationship with the Tunisian. After the close of the event, Tekiano took snippets of conversation with Mr. Gaaloul, which I would stress, welcomed (the journalist from Tekiano) with an open heart and did not complain about the questions he asked. Immediately, we discovered a humble man, smiling, warm, and loquacious. Interview guarantee 100% without twaddle.

Tekiano: During your speech, you talked about the forthcoming introduction of open government in Tunisia. What date do you plan to launch?

Adel Gaaloul: First, it seems important to define the notion of open government. This mode is relative to transparency of our administrative institutions in their relationship with citizens. It therefore enhances trust between the governor and the governed. I must also remind you that this is a notion that has been implemented very recently in some developed countries. But since Tunisia now welcomes a new climate of freedom, the interim president has ratified a decree for which we have provided a 2 years period for all our departments to make public their financial reports.

What are the constraints now?

There are certainly some constraints inherent in the infrastructure that explain why the open government is not immediately established. But just as, I think, it should be noted that the long process of learning which must undertake the Tunisian citizens to become familiar with this concept. In my opinion, it takes 5 years for an open government to succeed and lead to a more strengthened between civil society and its administration. Upsetting the balance of power after 50 years of dictatorship is not as easy as people think. And teaching Tunisian citizens to take care of their own interest by themselves and assume their full responsibilities of his country, it takes time...

What about technical constraints?

The biggest problem we have now is related to citizen identification. The implementation of an open government must go through the assignment of a login to each Tunisian to give them access to the reports of our government and interact in their name about the content. We have not banned tyranny to lead a society composed of anonymous individuals. - You can imagine the volume of work and investment that it implies. But the good news is that the government is now cornered, the decision was taken and we cannot go back. The ministerial structure that will be formed through the Constituent Assembly has only two years to adhere to this mode of governance.

And the last word...

What I can promise you right now is that I'll get the project started before leaving the department. By the election of the Constituent Assembly, three departments will adopt the open government. I also want to clarify that the interim government relies heavily on the dynamism and vitality of the youth, who ejected the dictator, and who has made Tunisia what it is today...