The Vice-President of the Government stated in Angra do Heroísmo that the development of an increasingly closer Public Administration to people should be "a common goal for all." On the occasion, he announced for this year more investment in technological equipment as well as in the digital transformation of RIAC - Integrated Citizen Support Network.
 
"The development of a Public Administration, increasingly at the service of people, is, without doubt, a common goal that will be achieved by seizing the potential of new technologies, creating conditions for the implementation of new tools to facilitate and simplify the life of citizens, and providing services with greater efficiency," said Sérgio Ávila.
 
The Vice-President spoke at the opening session of the Administrative Simplification Seminar, carried out under SIMPLIMAC project, a Community initiative developed under the INTERREG MAC 2014-2020 programme involving entities from the Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, Cape Verde and Senegal.
 
"We live in new times and, in this context, new platforms and new ways of accessing information should be used by the Public Administration," said the Vice-President of the Government. According to him, the Public Administration "can only be effective and efficient, and become partner of citizens and companies, if it has the capacity to meet these needs."
 
In this regard, and as an example of this alignment between Public Administration, citizens and companies, Sérgio Ávila highlighted the work carried out by RIAC.
 
"I can say that RIAC provided last year nearly 800 thousand services, more precisely 798,127," the government official said, defending that, "on average, each Azorean used the services provided by this network about four times."
 
"A network that registers a total of 798,127 services in just a year demonstrates its importance and its capability to provide services of interest with efficiency and effectiveness, which has led to an increasing use of RIAC services. The 2018 data represent 48 thousand more services compared to 2017," stated Sérgio Ávila.
 
The government official announced "a significant investment" of about two million Euros in technological equipment and digital transformation of services in order to provide "an increasingly digital service," while facilitating the "access of citizens to on-site services."
 
"As for waiting lines, we will implement this year a tool, available on RIAC portal and the toll-free line, which will allow citizens to book their service at a scheduled time, thus avoiding waiting lines," announced Sérgio Ávila.
 
In turn, whenever citizens wish to go to an office without scheduled appointment, they may request a password and monitor the evolution of the service through a computer or a mobile device, allowing them to better manage their time.
 
"These innovations do not stop here," Sérgio Ávila stated, adding that RIAC will also "create a system of text or email notifications to inform citizens about the evolution of their requests."
 
In addition to reinforcing the various services provided by each of the 54 RIAC offices spread across the archipelago, the Vice-President of the Government pointed out the creation of "more tools as a result of an investment intended to reduce the need for on-site services and to provide them without citizens having to leave home."