As the legislative framework begins to solidify, authorities believe they can start introducing e-signature to the market by the end of 2005. Pierre Loza reports Effectively moving e-signature legislation into motion, Law 15/2004 established the Information Technology Industry Development Authority (ITIDA), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Communications, in charge of the regulation of electronic signatures in Egypt. After last May's issuance of the law's executive charter, authorities believe that in the next phase of implementation, e:signing will steadily grow to play a greater role in everyday dealings. The executive charter outlines a variety of definitions and articles that include the multifaceted role of ITIDA as a license granter/regulator, and the rules and regulations governing the parties involved in an e: transaction. ITIDA's deputy executive head, Sherif Hashim, believes that as this new service develops, it will have a deeply felt impact on society as a whole. "If you think of how many times a day you sign something, this will give you an idea of the potential impact of e-signatures," he said. The new programme promises to facilitate speedy consent to actions which may include anything from signing a decree, withdrawing money from your bank account, getting a building permit or even proving your eligibility for a social benefit with the simple swipe of a smart card. Instead of following endless stacks of a slow- moving paper trail, documents will be transferred electronically allowing the average citizen to enjoy a number of perks. "It reduces the time it takes to process your paper work, it can be exchanged from one location to another location, forwarded, signed and cosigned, and returned back to you in a transparent, efficient, way," he stated. One of the perks of e-signature is that when signing something, one doesn't have to be physically present at the location where the document is to be signed. With the easy replication of government forms at no cost to the citizen, and the capability to handle a larger volume of citizen requests, the new service is hoping to improve the government's performance and reduce costs. Reducing cost, and increasing the efficiency of the bureaucracy's processing channels is a goal Egypt's government has continuously failed to deliver. Hashim feels that e-signatures may prove to counter this phenomenon. "Citizens will feel a transparency in government transactions because there will be no hidden pockets or opportunity for ill-doings," commented Hashim. Getting your consent from one corner of the globe to the other in a matter of seconds, while ensuring confidentiality, is a benefit of e:signing that holds great potential for trade, as well as the processing of customs duties. The encryption of transferred documents makes it extremely difficult for a third party to overlook your transaction, ensuring security and confidentiality. "If a paper document falls into the wrong hands, the repercussions to your business can be devastating," said Hashim. He added that unlike paper documents, electronic documents are easier to trace. "With an electronic document I can prove that I signed a document on a certain date at a certain location and I can also verify how much merchandise I ordered from the second party," he noted Although electronic signatures have previously been used in Egypt, Hashim maintains that they were proprietary systems, which means they could not be used by "multiple users, based on agreed upon standards." These isolated attempts, mostly in the shipping sector, did not have much impact because they could not be expanded upon or incorporated into already existing systems. ITIDA hopes to change that by opening a system that can be incorporated with other local and international systems. "We have regulations which are compatible with what's going on around the world," he said. Expecting to start the licensing of firms who will provide the new service by the fourth quarter of 2005, these private entities will act as intermediaries that provide the service for a fee. "We will have multiple companies providing the service. Citizens interested in getting the e-signature will apply to these companies which are licensed by ITIDA," Hashim explained. A small device that costs about $30 can be attached to a computer turning it into an e-signature station. These companies will issue smart cards that can verify user identity through the use of a secret code or password, allowing the card user to give consent on electronic documents. In an effort to encourage companies to enter this up and coming sector, the minister of communications has recently reduced the licensing fee from LE 1.5 million to LE 500,000. Hashim believes that one of the strongest challenges facing the project is convincing people to depart from the paper-based culture they've been accustomed to for so long. The use of IT clubs to provide the service with the support of NGOs is another option on the agenda to help spread the technology. "If government entities want to accept electronic documents, they may have to re- engineer their back office dealings in order to be in line with the new technology," he said. Last December the Ministry of Finance declared its commitment to accepting e:documents as soon as possible.
