The US Agency for International Development (USAID) launched a five-year, $10.9mn e-governance project, on January 28, to support transparency and reducing corruption in government-led processes in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

“Currently, BiH citizens must wait in line to get birth and marriage certificates, change their driver licenses, and extend car registrations at government offices. In some cases, BiH citizens must travel to another entity to retrieve documents. Businesses continue to waste resources by issuing contracts, public tenders, and payments with hard copies. I cannot imagine how many physical stamps and hand signatures are used every day, when instead BiH could be using e-signature and significantly reduce transaction costs and time,” said US ambassador to Bosnia Eric Nelson. 

He added that USAID and the relevant Bosnian authorities will employ information technology solutions to significantly reduce the amount of time and cost associated with public services and increase the quality and transparency of numerous government functions.

The USAID e-governance project will provide software, hardware and technical assistance in the areas of e-signature, e-construction permits, inspection services, social registries and public procurement across Bosnia. 

In 2021, USAID and Bosnia commemorate 25 years of partnership. To date, the US government, primarily through USAID, has provided $2bn in assistance to support economic, democratic and social progress in Bosnia.