In eGovernment, the Internet is used to deliver government information and services. In Saudi Arabia, when a process is taken beyond the eGovernment system into the real world, there’s a fallback to old ways. Illustration credit: Burnedflowers.

 

Molouk Y. Ba-Isa

Saudi Gazette

 

The Saudi eGovernment system can be wonderful. Many procedures which used to take weeks of standing and waiting in government offices, can now be carried out online. Unfortunately, the integration of the Saudi eGovernment system is not yet ideal as witnessed by the need to wait for a day or seven or forever for the system in one ministry to turn over or update, in order to move forward with a procedure at another government organization.  And weirdly, when the correct data in one system for a person is shared and added to another system, sometimes the data in the second system is incorrect for the same person with the same national identity number. This shows that government organizations are still relying on their own databases, rather than building one cohesive database for use across all government agencies.



Unfortunately too, not every Saudi government process can be concluded within the eGovernment system. When a process is taken beyond the eGovernment system into the real world, there’s a fallback to old ways.



This is illustrated in the procedure to transfer an expatriate’s  sponsorship. Once a Saudi company transfers the sponsorship of an expatriate worker through all the eGovernment systems, there is still a last step required, “print.”



The “print” procedure is causing misery across the Kingdom. The plastic cards on which to print a new or revised “Iqama,” the residency permit, are very limited in supply.  It’s been that way for the last six months during the special grace period. The fee for the card itself is included in whatever process is underway, but for the past eight weeks, in desperate situations, print for a card is only possible for a fee of SR1,000 through agents with connections at the Passport Office.



Right now, companies that have completed every step in the rectification process for all their expatriate employees are still in trouble because they can’t get printed Iqamas. This leaves them confining their workers in the main office where the government affairs officer or company manager will be on hand to show the online records in case of an inspection.



Employees without printed Iqamas cannot be sent to client premises. They can’t open or update bank accounts or cash checks. This means payroll is a problem. Currently, these employees are terrified that they will be stopped at a checkpoint on the way to or from the office, so some are refusing to come to work - even though their residency status is legal.



By the way, how is a company supposed to get “print” for transferred Iqamas? In Al Khobar, in an archaic system replicated across the Kingdom, Saudi business owners or their designated Saudi representatives, line up outside the Passport Office starting at 3 am. At 6:15 am, a Passport Office representative arrives and hands out numbers. Those lucky enough to receive a number can print up to ten Iqama cards if the data in the eGovernment system is considered complete. But are there cards available for everyone in line? According to several company representatives surveyed, two days this past week in Al Khobar there were no cards available and on the other days, no one with a number higher than 20 was able to receive printed Iqama cards through the officially documented means. Once the cards available are printed, all the other numbers issued that day by the Passport Office for “print,” become invalid. Those lucky enough to get a number at 6 am, go and queue in the “print” line in the Passport Office. They will wait there for hours till their number comes up or the line is closed due to the cards running out or the system going down.



In many other countries with eGovernment systems, the “print” procedure is handled without any difficulty. Whether it’s the issuance of a passport or a driver’s license, once the forms and processes required by the eGovernment system are completed, the official document is sent to the recipient by post, courier or sometimes may be picked up in person at a designated location. There’s no standing in line or payment of extra fees. It’s time the Saudi government followed suit and removed this inconvenience and corruption from the eGovernment system.