‘If used wisely, IT can help close development gaps fast’

LAHORE: Pakistan has given birth to many shining minds, who, with their enlightening vision, continue to illuminate the world by bringing trailblazing ideas to light in their respective fields of research. One such ‘brilliant brain’ is Dr Umar Saif, the globally renowned computer scientist, who currently heads the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB). He is also the founding vice-chancellor of Information Technology University and has pioneered a myriad of path-breaking projects. Moreover, as an advisor to Chief Minister of Punjab on information technology, Saif is also a key member of the provincial cabinet.

Ubiquitously known as the architect of digital Punjab, Said has transformed the province’s financial, health, education, and security systems and laid the foundation for sustainable growth in the times to come. Saif, in an exclusive talk with The News, recounted the six-year journey that has made Punjab the best governed province of the country.

Here are some select excerpts from the interview.

Q: Some sceptics think e-governance is more of a hype created by the Punjab government and is not a reality. What is your take on it?

Umar Saif: It has been globally accepted that with prudent use of information technology developing countries can narrow the gap between themselves and the developed world in shortest time. There are sectors where governance through information technology delivers in short time as in security and finance, while the time lag in sectors like land record, education and health is higher. Although we have a long way to go as far as e-governance is concerned, I still expect the Punjab GDP to grow 2-2.5 percent higher than the national average. Health and educational initiatives would manifest in long-term in the shape of better skills and more productivity, which would further accelerate the growth. Through e-governance we have enhanced efficiencies, plugged leakages, and promoted rule of law.

Q: What are the business and finance initiatives of the PITB?

Umar Saif: We have collaborated with Punjab industries, commerce and investment departments along with labor and human resource department, Punjab employees’ social security institution, and the World Bank to develop an online registration portal to facilitate business registration process for general public. It has reduced the registration time from at least 7 days to 2 days. Citizen, through this portal, can now register their businesses from anywhere. The portal also provides tracking of applications and timely issuance of online registration certificates. It is integrated with National Database and Registration Authority and Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and is expected to be integrated with Federal Boad of Revenue system as well for further facilitation.

Q: How has the PITB’s e-stamping system improved the collection?

Umer Saif: Collection of stamp duty was riddled with leakages of revenue through fake and fraudulent practices. The PITB’s e-stamping system has completely revamped the stamp issuance process, which once used to take at least two to three days. Now the system has gone online and anyone can purchase high-value judicial and non-judicial stamp papers through a computer with an internet connection. Name of the buyer, seller, and the person through whom stamps are being purchased are entered into the system along with their Computerised National Identity Card numbers. This has increased the stamp duty revenue collection by 44 percent to Rs58.60 billion since October 2016.

Q: How did the board help improve the vaccination system in Punjab?

Umar Saif: Almost 27 percent deaths among children are caused by diseases that could be prevented through vaccination. The provincial government provides enough vaccines to its 3,795 vaccinators to vaccinate all the children in Punjab. Attendance of these vaccinators posed a major problem and they were also overstating the number of children they vaccinated. The PITB provided vaccinators smartphones to digitise their fieldwork and monitor the attendance and performance.

The smartphones are used to enter real time immunisation records that are then sent to a centralised database. The attendance from fieldworkers increased from 25 percent in 2014 to over 97 percent this year, while the vaccination coverage increased 36 percent to 95 percent. The vaccinated children would remain immunised for the diseases against which they were vaccinated and their productivity would be much higher than the present generation that grew up without proper vaccination.

Q: What are the other health initiatives of the PITB?

Umer Saif: The PITB has pioneered a system for checking the the health of drugs in the province. The quality of drugs is being ensured through automation of drug testing laboratory, while their procurement has been automated. The system manages submission of bids and prequalification of vendors. It automatically calculates the lowest bid and then generates and awards contracts to successful vendors according to these parameters. Before the revamping and automation of the drug testing laboratory the drugs it approved were over 93 percent. When rechecked from a British drug testing laboratory 34 percent samples were substandard. Now 99.9 percent approved samples are also approved from British laboratory.