SANTO DOMINGO.- President Leonel Fernandez affirmed that the implementation of the electronic government will assure that the Dominican Republic will gradually eliminate the hindrances and difficulties of the obsolete model of State management.

He said that the electronic government is the correct route, because it means that a model is adopted at the vanguard of changes, challenges and transformations that the times and this new century demand.

"This is not for fashion, it is not to be in the most modern or current, it is not a whim, it is not because we want to imitate anybody, but because the development tendencies at international level and at the vanguard, indicate that direction for us," said the chief executive in a interview for the Presidential Office for Information and Communication Technology (OPTIC) magazine.

For Fernandez, if the citizenship in general aspires to advance toward development, it must understand that it is necessary to undertake actions that help increase the competition, preparation and productivity levels.

"When installing an electronic government system using the mechanisms and tools of information and communication technologies, starting then we will be improving the government’s productive capacity. In other words, it is to obtain the benefits of a greater efficiency and effectiveness, to be able to generate more at a lower cost and with greater impact on the common wellbeing, that it serves as a benefit for the entire Dominican society," he said.

The chief executive stressed that it is about a shift of paradigms, a change of the economic and social development model, with which Dominicans will get closer to a democratic and participative society.

Regarding OPTIC’s role Fernandez stated that it was created at the start of his Administration to head and develop the Electronic Government strategy. He added that its purpose is so that once concluded his term in office, tangible and measurable benefits can be seen and felt that this initiative will bring with it.

"OPTIC has developed its plan strategy to implement the Electronic Government which the country requires and that the government promotes. In addition, it has the responsibility of coordinating with the other Government institutions the application  of this strategy," he said.

According to Fernandez, Dominican Republic has sufficient will and desire to develop the electronic government "within a framework adhering to the modernization of a modern society, to be immersed in a Information Society towards a Society of Knowledge."

The chief executive said that there are great opportunities to position the Dominican Republic at equal levels of other countries in the region and the world, for being a reference point in applications of Electronic Government.

"Nowadays we are seen as a dynamic country and with much future, we are being seen as a model and that must be our vision," he added.