Half of Qatar’s population unaware of e-govt services

Doha: Nearly half of the population in Qatar is not aware of the various electronic government services while a mere 17 percent has actually used these services in the last 12 months — a drop from 20 percent in 2010, a study sponsored by Qatar’s telecoms sector regulator suggests.

Less than a quarter of the population has used even one of the e-government services in the past year, according to ‘Qatar’s ICT Landscape 2013: Households and Individuals’, a study sponsored by ictQatar.

The e-government services Qatari citizens are most aware of and are most likely to use are those for paying traffic fines and applying for a Smart ID Card.

Educated expatriates, on the other hand, are more likely to apply for and renew visas, health cards and residence permits using the e-government services.

The biggest obstacle to universal ICT penetration and usage in Qatar is widespread lack of the necessary skills among parts of the population, particularly female and older Qatari citizens, as well as semiskilled and unskilled expatriate workers.

http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/223705-half-of-qatar’s-population-unaware-of-e-govt-services.html