Former communications minister: I found EUR 1.3 mln IT system that had never been used

Romania’s Communications Ministry implemented a RON 6 million (EUR 1.3 million) IT system three years ago but didn't use it, according to former communications minister Marius Bostan, who was changed by Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos on Tuesday, July 5, after seven months in office. Some 60,000 civil servants were supposed to benefit from online training via this program called e-Academie (e-Academy), but the system was only used after Bostan took office in November last year. This is one of many examples in which Romanian public authorities bought IT systems or services that they didn't need or they never used. “When I came to the ministry, there were about 200 people registered on this platform, which cost a lot. The e-Academie project was supposed to provide training to more than 60,000 civil servants in Romania in the field of e-governance. Now, more than 500 institutions and more than 5,000 students have joined the program,” Marius Bostan said, according to local Digi24. The information also appears in a 4,000-page report of the Court of Auditors. Marius Bostan is one of the four ministers Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos changed in just one day. The Prime Minister’s official motivation to change Bostan was that public institutions have different IT systems that are not compatible with each other and that the minister hasn’t done enough to coordinate public IT projects better. The other three ministers were Dan Costescu – transport minister, Adrian Curaj – education minister, and Dan Stoenescu – minister delegate for Romanians abroad. Romania’s EU Funds Minister asks prosecutors to check IT system Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (Photo source: Ministerul Comunicatiilor si pentru Societatea Informationala on Facebook)