Press Release
eFisheries Officially Launched
BERAKAS, 18 June 2007,
Monday -
A new
online service, eFisheries, was officially launched today by the
Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR). It is part of the
eMIPR project under the eGovernment project. It is also part of the
MIPR’s initiative to heed the
titah
of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam which
urges the Public Service to mark the year 2007 as the year to improve
the quality of public service delivery in order to fulfill its role as
facilitator of national development.
This
message was stressed by
Dato Paduka Haji Mohd. Hamid bin Haji Mohd. Jaafar,
the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Primary
Resources, during the official launch of the eFisheries at
Dewan Setia Pahlawan,
Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources today.
Through
the eFisheries, fisheries entrepreneurs, investor and the public can
avail to the several services provided by the Department of Fisheries,
Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources and other relevant government
agencies such as the application and renewal of fisheries licenses,
import and export permits and others at any time.
The
eFisheries project of the Department of Fisheries started with the
development and implementation of the ‘Network Infrastructure’ project
which started in the beginning of 2005 and completed in 2006, which cost
about $ 248,000. With the implementation of the project, it has enabled
‘interconnectivity’ between the department’s headquarters and its field
stations and branches throughout the country.
The
Department of Fisheries then proceeded with the implementation of the
second phase of eFisheries which is done together with the Ministry of
Industry and Primary Resources. This second phase of the eFisheries
consists of two components: Release 1a which is ‘Business Facilitation
Services (BFS)’ and Release 1b which is ‘management information System
(MIS)’. The former started in February 2006, with ‘User Requirement
Study (URS)’, and ‘User Acceptance Test (UAT)’ which included trainings
and workshops for officers and staff of the Fisheries Department. The
project was completed in April, 2007, and today saw the official
launching for the subsequent used by stakeholders, especially and the
public in general.
In the long term, it is the
MIPR’s hope that the eMIPR Business Facilitation Services
will become a “Single Window” for
all integrated services required by entrepreneurs and investors which
will be readily available online, bypassing the traditional and tedious
way of dealing with various government agencies. This will
facilitate their investment and undertaking of a profitable business in
Brunei Darussalam.
To assist entrepreneurs, an
eMIPR Business Help Centre has been set up in the Industry and Trade
Information Centre, at MIPR Building. Branches of the Business Help
Centre will also be set up in all departments under the Ministry of
Industry and Primary Resources throughout the country where sufficient
resources are provided with the presence of IT Assistant Officers to
help the public especially the entrepreneurs. With the advent of the
online services, it will propel the local entrepreneurs on equal terms
with entrepreneurs outside the country who have been using IT as part of
their daily business tools to expand their businesses.
The eFisheries initiative is
hoped to facilitate the
realisation
of the Department of Fisheries vision which is ‘Sustainable and
Competitive Fisheries Contributing towards a Diversified Economy’. The
move towards eFisheries which is fast, reliable and business friendly
will enable both local and foreign investors and entrepreneurs to
establish a fisheries venture in Brunei Darussalam to get the necessary
licenses and services from the Department of Fisheries. This will
increase the fisheries industry contribution towards the national
economic diversification program.
Fisheries entrepreneurs and
investors are encouraged to make full use of the services under the
eFisheries as a way of achieving
competitive advantage in their businesses. The success in the use of the
services in eFisheries is a reflection of the entrepreneurs themselves
on how far the government’s initiative has been fully made use by them
as a way to increase their businesses. It is expected that more than one
hundred users which comprise of fisheries importers and exporters will
be making used of the services under the eFisheries every month to
conduct their businesses.
Also
present at the launching ceremony was the Pengiran
Hajah Mariana binti PDNLDR Pg. Haji Abd. Momin,
the Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry and Primary
Resources, Heads of Departments and Senior Officers at the Ministry of
Industry and Primary Resources, and fisheries entrepreneurs which
comprise of 127 fishing companies, 83 importers and exporters, 36
commercial fishing companies, 47 aquaculture companies and 15 seafood
processors.
The
Department of Fisheries,
Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources,
Brunei Darussalam.
18 June 2007.
