IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

The website www.ngwaketselandboard.gov.bw will make information available and communication easy between the land board and its customers, said Ministry of Communications Science and Technology (MCST) permanent secretary, Mrs Marianne Nganunu.

The advocacy and outreach specialist for African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnership (ACHAP), Tshepo Maswabi said the project was aimed at bridging the digital gap.

She said the programme is going to position libraries as necessary tools for access to e-government services.

"The draft policy focuses on seven key areas that are expected to deliver the level of impact required to transform our society and economy," she said.

The project, at an estimated cost of P150 million, will empower BoFiNet to offer fast and cheaper internet connections.

Open data will see government share non-sensitive data collected from its operations and make it available in readable form for commercial and non-commercial use.

The eight weeks assessment conducted with 53 interviewees has concluded that there is opportunity for technology start-ups, to develop datasets, among other benefits.

With 2015 coming to a close, a lot of local organisations are revisiting their pathways in the ICT domain. Botswana’s biggest employer, BotswanaPost, has shown a modest growth in its information and commucation technology deployment. Speaking to reporters at an end of year gathering, BotswanaPost CEO Cornelius Ramatlakwane said a lot has been done in the ICT space at his organisation.

“BotswanaPost launched the Icon of Excellence and come March 2015 we will be in a position to give our stakeholders an idea of our technological partnerships and operational efficiency. Our teams are talking to each other as we speak and we have already set then path for our next plans,” said the CEO.

Royal Click, a company owned by young Botswana has come up with an innovative application that lets local authorities and residents help to solve issues that affect them on a daily basis in their areas of residence. The project dubbed Power to the People, comes at a time when people are tired of trying to get the MPs and local leaders attend to issues that are really pertinent and perrenial in most parts of the city.

In an interview with Biztechafrica during the app launch at Railpark mall, the project initiator, Thatha Phole, said the idea is to create “social entrepreneureship stemming from the fact that there was a problem of reporting routing concerns such as potholes, poor services, lighting outages to the right officials with the right information. We seek to use the power of the internet to empower our citizens and bring them closer together and make our neitghbourhoods a better place to live and work,” explained Phole. Power To the People allows anyone to report and track non-emergency issues.

Mabeo said the new technology could benefit the e-government, e-health and e-education programmes and the nation, adding that telemedicine could help save many lives as mostly specialist doctors are based in urban areas.

Speaking during the launch, BAC Executive Director Michael Lesolle said the establishment of the centre was in response to internal and external stakeholder ICT needs as it will enhance relevant skills value of the individuals within the computing, communication, innovation and information services sector.

The project is estimated to cost P150 million. The FTTx is a single pair of optical fibre shared between two and up to 128 customers, hence lowering connectivity costs. It is expected to give consumers’ access to a larger choice of interactive applications, such as video conferencing, E-government, E-health, e-Commerce and business applications.

Botswana needs a centralised employment database in order to grow its job creation, a Namibian biometrics expert, Risco Mutelo has advised.

A centralised database stores and maintains data in a single location.

Giving a presentation at the Botswana Jobs Summit that was held in Gaborone this week, Mutelo explained that this is where all the statistics of employment can be monitored and evaluated.

Speaking at the launch of D&O Digital proprietary LTD, this week, Boshwaen noted that an innovation had no value until an ambitious entrepreneur builds a business model, which turns it into a product or service that customers would buy.

In an effort to make all government services accessible to citizens, government has developed the e-government service oriented Enterprise Architecture (EA) and interoperability framework.

An EA is described as a conceptual blueprint that defines the structure and operation of an organisation with the intent to determine how an organisation can most effectively achieve its current and future objectives.

The coordinator of Government Modernisation Office (e-Gov), Omponye Kereteletswe has said some significant inroads are being made to fully exploit ICT in financial services, health, tourism, social and government services.

Speaking at the 14th World Telecommunications ICT indicators Symposium this week, Kereteletswe said Botswana has made strides in ICT usage in her development agenda largely due to massive investment in infrastructure, information systems and human capacity.

Although the government continues to push for an enabling environment in ICT and business continuity management, the former Minister of Infrastructure, Science and Technology, Nonofo Molefhi appreciates there is still more that can be done in terms of legislation.

Giving a keynote address at a recent Continuity SA Botswana’s 10-year anniversary celebration, Molefhi said there is need for proper legislation on data protection and freedom of information. The Selebi Phikwe East legislator said this at a time where the Freedom of Information Bill has been brought before Parliament in the past, but never saw the light of day.

Speaking at a press briefing at the conclusion of a two-day e-Government strategy conference, Dr Omponye Kereteletswe said the contribution of both the public and private sectors were crucial in the implementation of the e-government programme.

He said the programme was a key reform initiative that would help increase productivity and the way service is delivered to people. "This is a continuation of the journey which the government started over four decades ago to transform the public service," Kereteletswe said.

The MD, Anderson Kgomotso, who is also a member of Citizen Owned Businesses in Information Technology (COSBIT), said citizens cannot afford to be spectators in the development and growth of the ICT sector. He was speaking yesterday at the opening of a two-day ICT Pitso in Gaborone.

Kgomotso said citizens get only 10 percent of funds spent on ICT in Botswana. The remainder goes to foreign-owned projects.

Giving the State of the Nation Address during the first session of the 11th Parliament, President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama said as an institution, Bogosi provides a solid foundation for community mobilisation, development and national unity.

He said in this regard, government is committed to strengthening the institution, ensuring its continued role and relevance. He further said government is committed to promoting local governance, while taking services closer to the people.

The Confederation expressed its dissatisfaction following the budget speech delivered this week by the minister of finance in which he reiterated government's commitment to improving ICT and e-government implementation.