Enterprise Integration Challenges in Libya's Digital Transformation Journey: A Government Service Bus Perspective

Abstract

Government digital transformation initiatives increasingly depend on secure and governed interoperability among public-sector institutions. Yet fragmented information systems, organizational silos, and the absence of common integration standards continue to impede the delivery of integrated government services—challenges particularly pronounced in emerging digital government environments such as Libya. This paper presents a Government Service Bus (GSB) reference architecture grounded in Enterprise Architecture principles and evaluates its practical applicability through the Nawa interoperability pilot, a GSB-based proof-of-concept connecting four Libyan governmental institutions: the Tax Authority, Commercial Registry, Central Bank of Libya, and Customs Authority. Implemented by a five-member team within approximately one month using exclusively open-source technologies, the pilot successfully deployed 23 cross-agency services supporting taxpayer verification, compliance assessment, and tax-clearance workflows. The solution demonstrated that a standards-based interoperability platform can substantially reduce integration complexity. For the four participating institutions, the required integration links were reduced from six point-to-point connections to four governed interfaces while preserving institutional autonomy and existing information systems. The proposed solution was subsequently awarded first place in a national interoperability hackathon organized under the patronage of the General Information Authority and Expertise France in Libya. The findings indicate that successful interoperability initiatives require governance structures, regulatory modernization, and organizational readiness alongside technical integration capabilities. The paper further discusses governance, organizational, and regulatory considerations, together with a phased roadmap for scaling GSB adoption within Libya's emerging digital government ecosystem.