The Public Services Center will soon open in Dushanbe to help citizens use the unified government services portal Hukumat.tj (Egov.tj).

The state-run news agency Khovar, citing the Agency for Innovation and Digital Technologies under the President of Tajikistan, reports that such public service centers will gradually be established in other cities and districts of the country, and the list of government services provided electronically will continue to expand.

The digital platform Hukumat.tj is part of a government program aimed at digitalizing public administration.  Currently, 56 websites of government agencies have been created on the portal, and agreements for transition to this platform have been signed with 22 government bodies.

“The foundation of e-government development in Tajikistan lies in increasing the efficiency of public administration, improving the quality and accessibility of social services for citizens and organizations, and simplifying the procedures and timelines for providing these services,” says Ms. Farzona Bobozoda, senior specialist in the e-government regulation department at the Innovation Agency.

According to her, the most in-demand government services will be prioritized for access through the portal.

“At present, 11 government services are available through the portal, including issuing a power of attorney for driving a vehicle, a permit to use vehicles with tinted windows, certificates for obtaining excise stamps, criminal record checks, and the registration of wedding and funeral ceremonies,” the report states.

Earlier, the Civil Service Agency under the President of Tajikistan reviewed the performance of 72 websites of local government bodies and 57 resources of central government agencies for the first half of 2024.  The inspection revealed that most of the websites did not meet content requirements, and some were not functioning at all. In addition, none of the reviewed websites had posted announcements about competitions.

The development of the Unified Government Portal Egov.tj began in September last year.  The first 10 websites were ready by November.  The portal was officially presented on April 7 as part of ICT Week.  At the time, it was announced that over 40 websites of various ministries and agencies were technically ready, including the website of the Dushanbe Mayor's Office and the Prosecutor-General’s Office.

One of the platform's key objectives is to standardize the websites of all government bodies.  Previously, each agency created its own website with different designs, but now all sites are developed and managed using a unified visual and technical format. Egov.tj will also aggregate up-to-date information on the activities of government bodies and publish the latest news.