Digitalization of administrative services: The Accounting Chamber conducted an audit of the activities of the Ministry of Digital and Action
The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine (hereinafter - the Ministry of Digital Transformation) complies with all regulatory acts to properly ensure the functioning of the State Enterprise "DIYA" (hereinafter - the Ministry of Digital Transformation). Despite incomplete funding, the Ministry of Digital Transformation achieved the planned performance indicators, including thanks to international technical assistance. In general, according to international experts, the economic effect of the implementation of digital services in Ukraine in 2022-2024 amounted to UAH 59.7 billion, and the anti-corruption effect - 6.5 billion UAH.
At the same time, insufficient regulatory and organizational support for digitalization complicates the coordination of actions, and the lack of approved methods for assessing the quality of services does not allow us to properly track the progress achieved and respond to challenges in a timely manner.
These conclusions were reached by the Accounting Chamber based on the results of the compliance audit "Development of administrative services and their digitalization". Responsible for the control measure – member of the Accounting Chamber Gennady Plis. As part of the audit, the activities of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Diia for the period 2022-2023 and the first half of 2024 were analyzed.
Dia
In the conditions of a full-scale war, the digitalization of administrative services has become an important element of the state's communication with citizens and, as a result, a key factor in economic development. The Diia portal has become one of the most innovative platforms for access to electronic services. Today, the platform provides access to over 200 administrative services used by more than 20 million Ukrainians: digital ID cards and international passports, electronic driver's license, electronic service "eVidnovlenie", car re-registration, marriage, etc.
In 2024, the Diya Portal achieved the planned indicators in terms of the number of services (209 out of the planned 210),and the number of users of the mobile application itself exceeded 18.5 million people.
The auditors note that the available expert assessments confirmed the security of state information resources and personal data on the Diya Portal from unauthorized access. Thus, certificates of conformity of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Technology certify that the comprehensive system of protection of the information and telecommunications system of the Diya Portal and its mobile application ensures the protection of information in accordance with the requirements of regulatory documents on technical information protection. And the Management Systems Evaluation Certification Body certificate confirms that the Diya information security management system meets the requirements of the international standard (ISO/IEC 27001:2022).
Lack of a unified digitalization strategy
During the audit period, the Ministry of Digital Affairs' need for funding to create, modernize, develop, administer, and ensure the functioning of the Diya Portal was duly justified, but not fully provided. At the same time, this underfunding did not have a significant impact on achieving the planned performance indicators thanks to international technical assistance. In particular, thanks to this support, software and cryptographic equipment worth over UAH 120 million were received.
The auditors point out the shortcomings of the lack of a single digitalization strategy in Ukraine. After all, this process is currently regulated by two strategies: the National Economic Strategy and the Public Administration Reform Strategy, which are not fully consistent with each other. For example, the Public Administration Reform Strategy envisaged the provision of 130 electronic public services in 2022, 150 in 2023, and 200 in 2024 by the Diya Portal. At the same time, the National Economic Strategy envisages the transfer of 100% (more than two thousand services) of administrative services to the online mode by 2024, which is an unrealistic indicator.
Also, the Ministry of Digital Economy’s determination of the economic and anti-corruption effects of digitalization not based on its own methods, but by using methods used by international experts, complicates monitoring and providing an assessment of progress, and, if necessary, taking timely response measures.
Internal control and evaluation
Currently, the internal control system in terms of the processes of documenting business transactions in the Ministry of Digital Economy is not perfect. As the auditors found, for this reason, the Ministry put into operation 78 results of the Portal modernization worth UAH 113.3 million without complying with regulatory requirements for documentation. During the audit, the object of control eliminated this financial deficiency. However, the internal control system of the Ministry of Digital Economy still needs to be improved.
The mechanism for assessing the level of satisfaction of users of the Diya Portal mobile application developed by the Ministry of Digital Economy remains unregulated. As of 10.10.2024, this indicator was 79%, while the level of user satisfaction with the work of the Diya support service is 90%. At the same time, the auditors emphasize that the lack of a properly approved methodology for determining these indicators makes it impossible to obtain a reliable assessment of the effectiveness of the services provided and their compliance with the real needs of citizens.
Certain difficulties are also caused by the existence of two different registers of administrative services: on the websites of the Ministry of Digital and the Ministry of Economy. This fact can disorient users who are looking for relevant and reliable information about available services.
Conclusions
According to Hennadiy Plis, the digitalization of public services – This is not only a convenience for citizens, but also an important factor in economic growth and the fight against corruption.
"Also, Diya is actually the only channel of communication with Ukrainians abroad. I would like to thank you for your professionalism and wish you success in the development of this system, because we understand how great its potential and capabilities are - emphasized Hennadiy Plis.
Therefore, the following recommendations of the Accounting Chamber are aimed at improving individual digitalization processes:
- develop a single strategy for digital public services or set out its provisions, which are currently defined in different strategies, in a single document;
- prepare and approve methods for determining the assessment of the quality and satisfaction of users with digital public services, economic and anti-corruption effects of the implementation of digital services;
- initiate before the Ministry of Economy the removal of the Register of Administrative Services posted on the website of the body in order to bring it into line with the legislation;
- improve the internal control system in terms of the processes of documenting business transactions, etc.
Also present at the meeting of the Accounting Chamber was the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine for Innovation, Development of Education, Science and Technology — Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov who presented in detail the achievements of the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Diya application. In particular, according to him, Diyu is installed on 70% of all smartphones in Ukraine, and four more countries are in the process of implementing this application.
«The most important product of digitalization – is trust. And Diyu really has a high level of trust and high ratings from users. If there is no trust within the state in our institution, our team and what we do, we will not be able to convey our position to users at the most critical moments. And the work that we have carried out together with the Accounting Chamber – is a step towards building this trust. We will solve the problems that have been identified», – Mykhailo Fedorov noted.
The report and decisions of the Accounting Chamber will be sent to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and published on the official website of the institution.
For reference: in 2022, the Accounting Chamber previously conducted an analysis of the state of use of state budget funds for e-government. Of the 13 recommendations of the Ministry of Digital Affairs provided as a result of this control measure, 12 were fully implemented, and 12 were partially implemented – one related to the limitation of martial law.