The Impact of the COVID 19 Pandemic on the Digitalization of Municipal Administration, the Development of E-Governance

This paper essentially addresses the importance and contribution of digitalization in the creation and implementation of public policies, thus analyzing the activity of the Municipal Administration in Gjilan, Vitia, and Kamenica, the principles on which it relies and administrative bodies as an important part of administration. First, the importance of Public Administration and its principles is presented, then Municipal Administration and Ethics in Municipal Administration. It then analyzes E-Government and E-Kiosk as an important structure of the administration and the role it has given so far in administrative reform as one of the advantages for the integration of Municipal Administrations, strong management and use of information technology for a smooth-running of work quickly and accurately, especially in protecting the health of citizens from the Covid-19 Pandemic. To achieve the purpose of this paper, the method of surveying citizens directly through questionnaires was used. The questions are mostly qualitative and they are closed-type, open-type, but there are also Liker type. The questionnaire was used to survey 60 participants from the Municipality of Gjilan, 50 participants from the Municipality of Vitia and 50 participants from the Municipality of Kamenica. After completing the questionnaire, it was concluded that the digitalization of the Municipal Administration requires well-trained staff and continuous maintenance of information systems. E-Government should be the main goal in the reform of the municipal administration, which will promote radical changes such as: a new way of management, discussions and communication, more efficient and faster decision-making, access for all to services, elimination of corruption and administrative silence. It is a driving force for the reorganization and renewal of administration services. It also protects the health of citizens from contagious diseases, especially during the Covid-19 Pandemic.