The Minister of Interior, Local Authorities, and Transport, Saïd Sayoud, announced this Monday the rollout of electronic services to all municipalities and provinces in the country, with particular emphasis on civil status records, the biometric national identity card, driver’s licenses, and biometric passports.
Speaking at the opening of the national meeting on innovation and digital transformation, organized by the Republic’s Mediator, the minister affirmed that “digital transformation is a non-negotiable national strategic choice,” embedded in the implementation of President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s directives.
In his address, Saïd Sayoud emphasized that innovation and digital technology constitute “a fundamental pillar for building a modern, efficient, transparent, and citizen-friendly administration.” He also stressed that digital transformation goes beyond mere document digitization, representing “a true revolution in how public services are conceived and managed.” This involves “a profound structural and cultural shift,” impacting internal administrative organization, decision-making processes, information flows, and relations with users.
This approach breaks from a purely procedural view of digitization. It is no longer just about dematerializing forms but rethinking administrative architecture to make it more fluid, responsive, and transparent. The goal is to build “a modern, efficient, and citizen-friendly administration.”
Among the key structural measures announced, the minister highlighted the adoption of the national identification number as a unique identifier. This decision will enable database interconnection and improve the reliability of administrative information. By centralizing and harmonizing data, the ministry aims to reduce redundancies, limit errors, and speed up file processing. “The development of digital services aims to shorten processing times, ease pressure on counters, and reduce citizens’ travel,” the minister specified.
The logic is twofold: to improve service quality while rationalizing human and material resources. Fewer queues, fewer unnecessary trips, greater traceability—these objectives reflect the will to end the administrative burdens long criticized.
Interoperability and Data Security
The minister also addressed the unification of national databases and their interconnection via secure networks. This interoperability is presented as a decisive lever for streamlining information exchanges between administrations and sparing citizens from submitting the same documents multiple times.
Securing information systems is a priority in this context. Protecting personal data has emerged as an essential condition for the process’s success. Saïd Sayoud stressed the need to update the legal framework and strengthen control mechanisms to ensure data confidentiality and integrity.
The minister presented digital transformation as a tool for moralizing administrative life. “Digital technology is an effective weapon against bureaucracy and illegal practices,” he affirmed.
Digitizing procedures, by reducing physical interactions and ensuring traceability of processes, is intended to limit arbitrary margins and enhance transparency. In this perspective, digital tools become levers for governance and accountability. Aware, however, that technology alone cannot transform administration, Saïd Sayoud highlighted the human factor.
The success of the transition depends, in his view, “on qualifying human resources, ongoing training for public servants, and embedding a culture of innovation within institutions.”
Modernization also requires updating legal texts to adapt the regulatory framework to new digital realities. “Digital transformation is a comprehensive project,” he summarized, calling for collective and coordinated mobilization.
Another central point of his address concerns citizen involvement. The minister affirmed that the user must be “at the heart of digital service design.” It is not just about offering online platforms but creating services tailored to real needs, easy to use, and accessible to the greatest number.
The ministry has thus committed to continuing public service modernization through an integrated vision based on widespread digitization, legal framework improvement, strengthened institutional partnerships, and consolidation of transparency and accountability principles. The minister concluded his address by declaring that “innovation and digital transformation are the cornerstone of a modern administration and the foundation for strengthening citizens’ trust in state institutions.”