What upsets people in dealing with the governing agencies should become an inspiration and a work plan.
I want to share an experience I had. At the national level, I hope it will have a happy ending.
Life happens and challenges us
My husband, Shahar, passed away a little more than 8 years ago. A good friend, a lawyer, helped us deal with the bureaucracy of issuing a death certificate and inheritance order.
At that time, I asked myself, without going into details, what is the source of the mentioned bureaucracy and whether digital processes can simplify it. The answer is “yes,” but as mentioned, I had no patience for details during those rough days.
Omer, my youngest son, was 13 years old at the time and was therefore registered in the inheritance order as a minor. His registration as a minor had an impact on funds transferring and on real estate registration.
Life continues, and bureaucracy as well
8 years later, due to some real estate deal, we officially registered an apartment that the children and I inherited. Omer, who has turned 21, was registered as a minor. The funding body demanded a corrected registration, according to his age, and to omit, the “minor” status. The official registration was carried out when Omer was already over 21 years old. Even though the lawyer asked the registrar not to omit the word “minor,” she insisted that it should be according to what was written in the inheritance order.
So how do you get out of this Bermuda Triangle? Simple. I paid a fee of NIS 513 (about 150 dollars) to the Ministry of Justice for amending the inheritance order. Beyond the scandalous amount, this whole procedure should not have taken place, but in the computer rooms of the Ministry of Justice and reached me in an online and imperceptible way (oh, yes, and for free).
Looking at the process
What should be the process? According to the law, at 18, Omer automatically became an adult and did not need to pay a fee or perform a particular procedure. One day a minor, and the next day an adult.
I would expect all the government processes where his status change to adult and somehow affects him or me to change automatically. However, they can update us on the status change and its meaning if necessary.
There should be a new inheritance order that I can use. Undoubtedly, it should have been updated automatically on the personal government digital service website.
And following this change, various entities, such as banks, insurance companies, and health organizations, will initiate automatic online processes according to the new status as an adult. Without a doubt, this is where the government, as a regulator, needs to issue guidelines.
Simple, no? very simple.
Taking responsibility
In my opinion, the government should be responsible for mapping the processes that must be carried out automatically, including cross agencies procedures involving several ministries. Everything should be done behind the scenes, and the citizen will not be required to be active in a place where the government and its computing departments can work in his place. In our era, there is no place for bullying citizens. As citizens, we expect government agencies to put our needs at the center and constantly think about what to do to simplify our bureaucratic conduct.
Who else should be committed to such the mapping of processes? All private organizations that provide us with services and subject to government regulations: banks, insurance companies, and health businesses.
I hope that the department in charge of improving the government service to the public will take the lead on the matter and there will be a happy end.
Not a unique problem
As a digital transformation expert in the public sector, I know this is a worldwide need. The gap between the automation that people get from private businesses and don’t get from government agencies is widening every day. As an Israeli citizen, I gave an example of my experience.
