Bali’s governor Made Mangku Pastika should be commended for his forward thinking policies on environmental conservation by implementing a fully wired e-government that he plans to have running within two years. Not only will the new system be more efficient he says, but it will also save in unneccessary waste of paper & cut cost. “In two years, everything should be (inter-connected) online, that’s my target,” he said during a meeting with the executives of the local chapter of Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI). “There is no need to conduct nonurgent meetings and searching for specific data should no longer take a long time.”

In a recent article by Wasti Atmodjo from Bali Access Online:

Pastika expressed his concern over the large volume of paper consumed in the administration’s daily operations. “Eventually, heaps upon heaps of decaying paper will be left abandoned somewhere,” he said.

He pointed out that producing the province’s annual budget was one activity that consumed a staggering amount of paper. “The budget ends up being a very thick volume and every time a revision is made, a new version is printed and distributed to each and every official and legislator involved in the deliberation process. What a waste of paper,” he said.

Pastika envisions that in the near future the agencies and divisions will be interconnected through an integrated information technology infrastructure.

“We will have a paperless environment. We will be able to save a lot of money because we won’t have to buy so many office supplies,” he said.

AJI will hold its national congress in Bali on Thursday. In conjunction with the gathering, a seminar on new media will be organized featuring speakers from Indonesia’s largest mass media.

source: access bali online