Tradenet to be summoned to parliament as institutions fail to join OneGov

Parliament is set to summon Tradenet, which oversees the OneGov platform, over the concern that many government institutions have not adopted used of the platform.

OneGov is a platform which is designed to provide online access to services from government institutions.

The issue was raised in parliament by opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP for North Galolhu constituency Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudu).

A letter sent by the MP to Parliament Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla states that the government company Tradenet was formed last year, with the OneGov platform launched to be a national single window operator.

The letter noted that while the platform is designed to provide online access to government services, only 14 government entities are using the platform to date.

He stated that even all government ministries are not included under the OneGov platform, thereby not providing many services related to citizen's basic needs.

Ibrahim said that the institutions which have not joined OneGov are instead creating their own, independent platforms, which poses risks of corruption as well as delays in service provision and lack of efficiency.

While there is a budget allocated towards providing all these services under a consolidated, single platform, the adoption of separate platforms by individual institutions result in increasing expenses and a waste of funds, he said. He further noted that some of these separate platforms are in need of regular upgrades due to low performance.

Ibrahim said that in light of this, it needs to be explored if OneGov is facing any challenges in providing integrated services, and any such challenges found need to be resolved swiftly.

In relation to this issue, senior officials at Tradenet will be summoned to a meeting of the Committee on Government Oversight.