Cross River State to expand its use of Smartgov platform
Senator Liyel Imoke, Governor of Cross River State, has announced that his government will continue to expand ways the Smartgov platform, the identity management and e-payment infrastructure for state governments first deployed in Cross River State, can be used to raise new revenues.
The announcement was made during the presentation of the 2014 budget to the state assembly.
Smartgov was developed by Interswitch and deployed in 2011 in partnership with the Cross River State Government (CRSG).
The move reflected CRSG’s determination to improve governance, accountability and access to social services for citizens, and Interswitch’s position as the leading provider of e-payment technologies in Nigeria.
The initiative was delivered through the joint venture company Smartgov.CRSG Limited.
By using Smartgov state governments are able to automate ministries, departments and agencies, identify all citizens and residents, track and monitor usage of social services, enhance internally generated revenue and automate disbursements and payments by government.
By doing so enabling the state government to grow revenue, eliminate wastage, simplify governance and increase access to government services.
The Smartgov project has enabled CRSG to create a state-wide Identity Management System for residents and corporate in the state (the first state in Sub-Saharan Africa) while biometric-based Identity Cards have also been issued, providing cardholders with access to healthcare, pension, transportation, educational bursaries, social amenities and social benefits.
Smartgov has facilitated the automation of key Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) revenue sources and services and the reduction of government processing cost.
Jonah Adams, Managing Director, Smartgov.CRSG Limited, said: “We are extremely proud of our achievements to date in Cross River State and the renewed commitment from CRSG to extend the use of the Smartgov identity management and e-payment infrastructure to eliminate wastage and grow revenues.
“It is our mission to help state governments to offer their citizens a more efficient service and better value for money.”
Mitchell Elegbe, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Interswitch Transnational, said: “The success of Smartgov in Cross River State has given us even greater determination to roll out our solution across all state governments in Nigeria.
“By doing so we can give Nigerians everywhere a more effective and efficient service from government that utilises the latest world-class e-payment and identity management technologies.”
