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Yves Boulanger, Canada's ambasador to Ethiopia, presented the TIGA prize to e-Fès's Professor Driss Kettani on May 1, 2007.

The Moroccan e-government project “e-Fès” continues to garner attention. The project was one of 12 innovative projects recognized with a Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) award, presented in Addis Ababa in May. The United Nations also awarded e-Fès with its prestigious 2007 United Nation’s Public Service Award (UNPSA).

Funded by IDRC’s Acacia program and developed by Al Akhawayn University in partnership with the Université Laval, the e-Fès project piloted an e-government initiative in collaboration with municipal authorities of the city of Fès in western Morocco.

Before the project, most government services, such as obtaining a passport or registering to vote, could only be accessed through government offices in the capital, Rabat, or in major cities, such as Casabalanca – both more than 150 kilometres from Fès.

Thanks to e-Fès, the 200 000 residents of the Fès-Agdal region can now access government services through free public digital kiosks, obtaining residency certificates, birth certificates, and marital status certificates. The kiosks are equipped with touch screens that allow people with limited literacy skills – Morocco’s literacy rate is 52% – to use them.

Through the Official portal of the city of Fès, also set up by e-Fès and currently offered in French and Arabic, people can access information about the city, its services, and its staff and representatives from anywhere in the world.

The project’s success has made it a road map for rolling out local e-government in other Moroccan municipalities. Plans are already underway to implement e-government in the provinces of Larache, El Hajeb, and Ifrane. The goal is national coverage by 2012.

The United Nations Public Service Awards – the most prestigious international recognition of excellence in public service – rewards the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide. The awards will be presented on June 26, 2007.

The first ever TIGA awards recognize the work of African governments in the effective use of information technology for improving services to citizens, civil society organizations, and the private sector in an efficient, transparent, and effective manner.

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