Introduction of Electronic Licensing System in the Field of Natural Resources Application (GE0044)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Georgia National Action Plan 2016-2018
Action Plan Cycle: 2016
Status: Inactive
Institutions
Lead Institution: LEPL – National Environment Agency, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia
Support Institution(s): NA
Policy Areas
Anti-Corruption, Capacity Building, E-Government, Extractive Industries, Records ManagementIRM Review
IRM Report: Georgia End-of-Term Report 2016-2018, Georgia Mid-Term Report 2016-2018
Starred: No
Early Results: Marginal
Design i
Verifiable: Yes
Relevant to OGP Values: Access to Information
Implementation i
Description
Introduction of electronic licensing system in the field of natural resources application. Currently, issuance of licenses for using natural resources (except for oil and natural gas) are only partially electonized by the National Environment Agency. A licensee is only able to participate in the auction through electronic means. A citizen who is willing to obtain a license and/or receive any other paid services outside the auction, within the auction or afterwards, must complete additional paperwork (for example, submission of an application and other accompanying documents, the owner’s consent and decision, statistical form, etc.) before and after the auction. This process requires additional time and financial resources both for the citizen and the agency. Sorting and analyzing information received non-electronically is another complication. The current liscensing system is problematic because it is important to distribute high quality information in a timely fashion not only for formation of the database, but to deliver virious services promptly for the the licensees, license seekers, public structures and other stakeholders. Through this commitment, the National Environment Agency shall issue licenses and render other paid services entirely in an electronic manner. The new electronic system allows for documents pertaining to the licensing field to be available electronically. As a result, the agency will be able to sort and form the statistical database of collected information in a much more efficient manner. The system will ensure prompt, high-quality delivery of the processed information. Furthermore, the customer will have simplified access to any public information (statistics, online map of resources, guidebook, etc.) available in the licensing field. It is important that and the licensees will be able to contact and share information with one another. Date of implementation: 2016-2017 Issues to be Addressed: Issuance of licenses and other type of services are only partially electronized. Most of the documents are available as hard copies which complicates the process and requires more time, additional financial and human resources. Main Objective: - Improvement of services - Simplification of relations between the government and the citizen - Avoiding risks of corruption - Optimization of human resource application - More transparency during the service delivery
IRM End of Term Status Summary
3. Introduction of electronic licensing system in the field of natural resource application
Commitment Text:
Currently, issuance of licenses for using natural resources (except for oil and natural gas) are only partially electronized by the National Environment Agency. A licensee is only able to participate in the auction through electronic means.
A citizen who is willing to obtain a license and/or receive any other paid services outside the auction, within the auction or afterwards, must complete additional paperwork (for example, submission of an application and other accompanying documents, the owner’s consent and decision, statistical form, etc.) before and after the auction. This process requires additional time and financial resources both for the citizen and the agency. Sorting and analyzing information received non-electronically is another complication. The current licensing system is problematic because it is important to distribute high quality information in a timely fashion not only for formation of the database, but to deliver virious services promptly for the licensees, license seekers, public structures and other stakeholders.
Through this commitment, the National Environment Agency shall issue licenses and render other paid services entirely in an electronic manner. The new electronic system allows for documents pertaining to the licensing field to be available electronically. As a result, the agency will be able to sort and form the statistical database of collected information in a much more efficient manner. The system will ensure prompt, high-quality delivery of the processed information. Furthermore, the customer will have simplified access to any public information (statistics, online map of resources, guidebook, etc.) available in the licensing field. It is important that and the licensees will be able to contact and share information with one another.
Responsible Institution(s): LEPL – National Evironment Agency, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia
Supporting Institution(s): None
Start Date: December 2015 End Date: December 2017
Commitment Aim:
This commitment aimed to expedite license documentation processing for natural resource applications by introducing an electronic licensing system. At the time this commitment was adopted, investors in Georgia faced difficulties obtaining licenses from the National Environment Agency for using natural resources. There was significant paperwork, and the process dragged. More specifically, the commitment set out to:
- Provide licenses and other paid services entirely in an electronic manner;
- Make documents in the licensing field available electronically; and
- Give the customer simplified access to any public information in the field, including statistics, online maps of resources, and a guidebook.
Status
Midterm: Limited
This commitment saw limited implementation by the midterm. The first phase, including analyzing business processes of the new electronic system, was successfully completed in June 2017. However, the Agency decided to add two new components to the system that turned out to be more challenging to implement: 1) integrating the Environmental Supervision Department into the new system to monitor how licensees are implementing their obligations; and 2) developing more robust electronic modules for mineral resource applications. The Agency’s IT specialists were busy analyzing whether it would be possible to add those two components to the system.
End of term: Complete
The December 2017 amendments transferred natural resource responsibilities from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to the newly created National Agency of Mineral Resources under the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development. [8] On 20 February 2018, the Agency launched a new portal on the Revenue Service webpage, https://nam.rs.ge/, which allows license-seekers to register their interest to participate in auctions and to submit all necessary documents to the Agency electronically, including license implementation action plans and relevant statistics. The portal also allows the Agency to send out notifications to all registered license-seekers or licensees. It contains full and up-to-date data on the licensees, location of licensed objects, a list of natural resources for licensing as well as dates, costs, and the scope of license agreements. In order to register on the portal, interested users should refer to the service center of the Agency of Mineral Resources to obtain the necessary username and the password, after which they will be assigned a unique registration number. [9] In addition, in April 2018, the Agency launched another portal which should contain data on all geological projects implemented in Georgia, including relevant reports, cadastral maps, characteristics and photos of geological objects, expert comments on the condition of those objects, as well as minutes of relevant inter-agency meetings. [10]
Did It Open Government?
Access to Information: Marginal
The new electronic licensing system is not for public use since it requires the entry of username and password for registration, which must be obtained at the Agency of Mineral Resources. The system contributes to improving issuance of natural resource licenses and easing the flow of necessary documents between the Agency and license-seekers. The new geological portal, described above, is still under construction. Most of the data currently published are historical, archived documents in Russian and in scanned PDF form, which is not very useful for the reader. Finally, the Agency has not conducted any awareness-raising campaigns around its new portals. Neither has it tracked the number of users and the level of their satisfaction.
On a positive note, the Agency created a Facebook page, on 19 June 2018, which contains infographics, maps, and characteristics of natural resources in various regions of Georgia as well as new developments in the Agency and in the natural resource field. Some of this information was new to the public. Most Facebook posts were published after July, which falls outside of the reporting period. As of October, 1,129 people have liked this new Facebook page while 1,140 have followed it. [11] Based on this description, the commitment has led to only a marginal change in improving public access to information in natural resources.
Carried Forward?
The commitment was not carried into the new Action Plan 2018−2019. In line with the five key recommendations of the midterm report, the Georgian government could prioritize transparency of government contracts in the licensing of natural resources, as well as the privatization of and public procurements in infrastructure projects. Civil society representatives recommend the adoption and use of the Open Contracting Data Standard in conjunction with stakeholder collaboration. [12]
[8] Law of Georgia, “Amendment to the Law of Georgia on the Structure, Competences, and Work of Georgian Government,” Art. 2, doc. no. 1620-RS (7 Dec. 2017), https://bit.ly/2xUs0fw.[9] Elene Kemashvili (National Agency of Mineral Resources), email correspondence with IRM researcher, 24 Aug. 2018.
[10] National Agency of Mineral Resources, “Geology Fund Catalogue,” https://bit.ly/2DB8lHk.
[11] National Agency of Mineral Resources, “National Agency of Mineral Resource’s Facebook Page” (Facebook, 2018), https://www.facebook.com/nationalagencyofmines/.
[12] Lasha Gogidze and Tamar Gzirishvili, Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM): Georgia Progress Report 2016-2017 (OGP, 30 Apr. 2018), https://bit.ly/2NIr097.
Commitments
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Improved Public Services
GE0066, 2018, Capacity Building
-
Citizen Engagement Platform
GE0067, 2018, Capacity Building
-
Unified Authentication System
GE0068, 2018, E-Government
-
Economic Governance
GE0069, 2018, E-Government
-
Environment Portal
GE0070, 2018, E-Government
-
Strengthen Anti-Corruption Institutions
GE0071, 2018, Anti-Corruption
-
Monitor SDGs
GE0072, 2018, Capacity Building
-
Citizen Engagement Legislation
GE0073, 2018, Legislation & Regulation
-
Publish Court Decisions
GE0074, 2018, E-Government
-
Increasing Transparency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
GE0075, 2018, E-Government
-
Citizen Participation in Public Finance
GE0076, 2018, Anti-Corruption
-
Transparent Public Funding System
GE0077, 2018, Fiscal Openness
-
Public Procurement Improvements
GE0078, 2018, Access to Information
-
Housing Policy Planning
GE0079, 2018, Land Rights & Spatial Planning
-
Openness and Accountability of State-Owned Enterprises
GE0080, 2018, E-Government
-
Transparency and Good Governance
GE0081, 2018, Legislation & Regulation
-
Open Data Collection and Publication
GE0082, 2018, Access to Information
-
Participation for Disabled Individuals
GE0083, 2018, Infrastructure & Transport
-
Participatory Budgeting
GE0084, 2018, Capacity Building
-
Your Idea for the Zugdidi Mayor
GE0085, 2018, Capacity Building
-
Electronic Services
GE0086, 2018, E-Government
-
I. Gov. Zugdidi
GE0087, 2018, Capacity Building
-
Service and Citizen Satisfaction Assessment
GE0088, 2018, Capacity Building
-
Promoting and Monitoring SDGs
GE0089, 2018, Open Parliaments
-
Citizen Involvement in Budget
GE0090, 2018, E-Government
-
Technology for Transparency
GE0091, 2018, E-Government
-
Citizen Engagement Center
GE0092, 2018, Capacity Building
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Raising Public Awareness About Parliamentary Democracy
GE0093, 2018, E-Government
-
Electronic Innovations for More Transparency and Efficiency of Public Procurement
GE0056, 2016, Anti-Corruption
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Adoption of the Environmental Assessment Code
GE0057, 2016, Anti-Corruption
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Introduction of a Mobile App as an Alternative Channel to Connect to “112”
GE0058, 2016, E-Government
-
Development of Local Councils for Crime Prevention
GE0059, 2016, Justice
-
Development of a Guidebook for Economic Agents
GE0060, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Development and Introduction of the Quality Control Program of Commercial Service
GE0061, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Presentation of Company Reports in an Electronic Form and Provision of Their Accessibility
GE0062, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Introduction of an Electronic Petition Portal and “Zugdidi-INFO” on the Webpage of Zugdidi Municipality Assembly
GE0063, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Transparency of Ozurgeti Municipality Assembly Meetings
GE0064, 2016, Capacity Building
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Creation of Electronic Mechanism for Local Budget Planning in Kutaisi, Ozurgeti, Batumi and Akhaltsikhe
GE0065, 2016, E-Government
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Adapting the Public Service Hall to the Needs of the People with Disabilities
GE0042, 2016, Capacity Building
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Launch of the Unified Healthcare System Information Portal
GE0043, 2016, Capacity Building
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Introduction of Electronic Licensing System in the Field of Natural Resources Application
GE0044, 2016, Anti-Corruption
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Creation of Spatial (Geographic) Data Web-Portal for the Energy Sector
GE0045, 2016, Capacity Building
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Creation of Innovation Ecosystem
GE0046, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Electronic Portal for Registering and Disposal of State Property – Customer’S Module
GE0047, 2016, E-Government
-
Development of the Freedom of Information Law
GE0048, 2016, Access to Information
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Development of a Monitoring and Assessment System of the Government Policy and Legislative Acts
GE0049, 2016, Capacity Building
-
Introduction of the Public Officials’ Asset Declarations Monitoring System
GE0050, 2016, Anti-Corruption
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Establishing Unified Regulations to Publish Court Decisions
GE0051, 2016, Judiciary
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Development of Transparency and Integrity Strategy and Action Plan in the Field of Regional Development and Infrastructure
GE0052, 2016, Capacity Building
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Improvement of the Database of the Convicted and Transfer of the Penitentiary Department Entirely Onto the Electronic Workflow Management
GE0053, 2016, Capacity Building
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Publication of Phone Tapping Data According to the Nature of the Crime and Geographic Area
GE0054, 2016, E-Government
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Increasing Citizen Participation in Supervision of Public Finances (Public Audit)
GE0055, 2016, Anti-Corruption
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"Voice of the Consumer"
GE0013, 2014, Public Participation
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JUSTdrive
GE0014, 2014,
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Educational Services
GE0015, 2014, Education
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Citizen's Portal (Www.Mygov.Ge)
GE0016, 2014, Capacity Building
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Transformation of Public Libraries for Regional Development
GE0017, 2014, Capacity Building
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Digital Signature and Online Authentication
GE0018, 2014, E-Government
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Open Data Portal (Data.Gov.Ge)
GE0019, 2014, Access to Information
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Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Draft
GE0020, 2014, Access to Information
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Georgia's OGP Forum
GE0021, 2014, Public Participation
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I-Change.Ge
GE0022, 2014, E-Government
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Transparency of Public Service Recruitment
GE0023, 2014, E-Government
-
Asset Declaration Monitoring System
GE0024, 2014, Anti-Corruption
-
Political Party Financial Declarations
GE0025, 2014, Access to Information
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Accessibility of Ministry of Interior's Webpage to People with Special Needs
GE0026, 2014, E-Government
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Proactive Publishing of Surveillance Data
GE0027, 2014, Civic Space
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Public Awareness of the Electoral Process
GE0028, 2014, Capacity Building
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Transparency of Budgetary Processes
GE0029, 2014, E-Government
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Electronic System of Procurement
GE0030, 2014, Anti-Corruption
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Digital Human Resource Management System
GE0031, 2014, E-Government
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Digital Preservation System: E-Archive
GE0032, 2014, E-Government
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Openness and Accessibility of National Archives
GE0033, 2014, E-Government
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Electronic Catalogues of Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) Archives
GE0034, 2014, E-Government
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Public Finance Management System
GE0035, 2014, E-Government
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Alternative Channels to "112"
GE0036, 2014, E-Government
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Interactive Statistics and Crime Mapping
GE0037, 2014, E-Government
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Travel Insurance Services
GE0038, 2014, Citizenship & Immigration
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State Property Registration
GE0039, 2014,
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Development of Community Centers in Georgia
GE0040, 2014, E-Government
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Introduction of e-Governance in Local Self-Governments
GE0041, 2014, E-Government
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Public Service Hall-Hub of Public Services
GE0001, 2012, Access to Justice
-
e-Governance in Local Governments
GE0002, 2012, E-Government
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Citizens’ Portal
GE0003, 2012, E-Government
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Easily Accessible and Better Healthcare
GE0004, 2012, E-Government
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Launch Ichange.Ge and Data.Gov.Ge
GE0005, 2012, E-Government
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Platform for Participating in the Legislative Process
GE0006, 2012, E-Government
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Citizens and Justice
GE0007, 2012, Access to Justice
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Transparent Party Financing
GE0008, 2012, Anti-Corruption
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Home-Grown Concept of E-Procurement
GE0009, 2012, Anti-Corruption
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e-Declarations
GE0010, 2012, Anti-Corruption
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Technology Cares for Safety: ICCMS, Crime Mapping, and Safety in Your Neighbourhood
GE0011, 2012, E-Government
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NGO Forum
GE0012, 2012, Capacity Building