GABORONE, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Botswana has announced intentions to expand the country's e-services following implementation e-tax, an electronic tax returns filing system.
Finance Minister Thapelo Matsheka on Thursday said electronic services being developed include e-payslip and e-procurement.
"My ministry is working on reducing costs of printing monthly pay slips for the civil servants by introducing an e-payslip," said Matsheka adding that the e-payslip would also address concerns from civil servants in remote areas, who do not receive their payslips on time.
"Final tests on the functionality are being conducted and the facility will be in place during financial year 2020/2021," said Matsheka.
Botswana's fiscal year 2020/2021 kicks off on the 1st of April 2020.
The minister further said developing of e-procurement will give birth to a 'one-stop shop' for all procurement-related activities.
"The system will facilitate the ease of doing business by reducing the number of physical interactions and streamlining the processes involved," said Matsheka.
He said the system is also expected to reduce the cost of procurement, improve transparency, and increase market access and competitiveness.
Matsheka, however, bemoaned challenges associated with e-services, such as unavailability of network and electricity in some instances.
