A lot of information systems built and developed for local use, have become waste since they cannot be integrated into the national information systems.

Local authorities have complained that their money spent on building local information systems has been wasted after the ministries and central branches build up similar systems for nationwide use.

According to Ho Quang Thanh, Director of the Nghe An provincial Information and Communication Department, the local information system serving the population management work has been applied by the Vinh City’s and Dien Chau district’s police since 2000.

However, a problem has arisen that the Ministry of Public Security is also developing a similar information system to manage the national database on population. As such, the local information system in Nghe An province, operating since 2000, may be put in mothballs, because it cannot be integrated into the national system.

The local authorities have also been asked by the Ministry of Planning and Investment to stop the local business registration system, as the ministry has put the national business registration system into operation.

Director of the Thanh Hoa provincial Information and Communication Department Do Thanh also complained that though the local information systems have been running very well, they may have to stop operation.

The Ministries of Natural Resources and the Environment (MONRE), and Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) have announced the implementation of the national systems, which means that the locality’s efforts to computerize the management work have become in vain.

The problem was that ministries and local authorities went their ways when building up information systems to serve their management works. The central agencies did not consult with local agencies when developing national systems or did not survey the information systems being used in localities.

As local information systems have been developed independently, they don’t allow to connect to others and exchange data.

There are now two choices for local authorities. They can either to use the information systems developed by central agencies and ministries, or maintain the two systems at the same time.

If they choose the first option, they would lose the database they have got so far.

An expert said that in such conditions, the better choice now for Vietnam is to remove the local information systems and run the national systems applicable nationwide, thus allowing to ensure the unity for the e-government.

The Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) is drafting a circular on the development of the information systems with the strict regulations aiming to avoid the overlapping in investments which causes the big waste of money and resources.

The draft circular says that the information systems to be developed by ministries and branches need to be built up after surveying the similar systems in localities. They have to find out if the existing items in local systems can be used in a national scale, or can be upgraded to get integrated into the national systems.

According to Nguyen Thanh Phuc, Head of the Information Technology Application Department, the circular would show the list of the information systems that local authorities have full powers to implement.