Islamabad, Jan 6: The newly implemented E-Office system by the Ministry of IT and Telecom has been causing setbacks rather than improvements in the workflow operations at federal ministries and divisions.
Developed by the National Information Technology Board (NITB), the E-Office system is reportedly plagued by numerous technical issues that have complicated daily correspondence and tasks for government officers and civil servants. In a surprising statement, CEO of NITB, Babar Bhatti, claimed to be unaware of any technical problems with the system.
Despite the Prime Minister’s directive to transition to a paperless workflow, many federal ministries and departments continue to rely heavily on traditional paperwork. The system is facing significant technical hurdles, including hosting and capacity issues. More than 100 officers cannot log in simultaneously, and if 25% of officers access the system at the same time, they are automatically logged out within two minutes. Additionally, frequent downtimes lasting several hours are causing further disruptions.
Officers have expressed concerns about the system’s inefficiency, particularly when it comes to assessing their professional performance, leading some to revert to manual paperwork. Moreover, many sub-departments within ministries do not have access to the E-Office system at all.
