The minister made this statement yesterday in Lagos, while speaking to industry stakeholders in a conference at the City hall. She pointed out that the sector has the capacity to create jobs for the unemployed youth in the country, and that current estimation for job creation by 2015 is 1.3 million. Nigeria does not have the skills and capacity for off-shore businesses because off shoring is a business of volume.
She also hinted that the current GDP is 3.5 per cent and, in the next three years, ICT contribution would have increased it by 1.5 per cent, stressing that the government is now set to digitalize the economy.
While explaining that internet users will increase by 70,000 people, mobile penetration will also jump to 80 percent, fixed penetration by 2.0 percent, internet 34 per cent and broadband to 12 per cent. The conference, which was tagged: ‘The Information and Communications Technology in Nigeria: A Roadmap for a Digital Economy and Information Society in Nigeria’, addressed various issues that are stunting ICT growth in the country.
Johnson noted that the Nigerian ICT industry is a predominantly service-based one, characterized by the dominance of basic voice and data communication services provided by telecoms companies, in particular mobile (GSM) operators; limited manufacturing and assembly capabilities for ICT equipment and devices, would be further liberalized to ensure that the targets are met.
She acknowleged that there would be policy directions and interventions, with a promise to work with other ministries noted that the ministry has converged saying, “We will articulate (electronic)e-government and (mobile) m-government requirements, create an ICT centre in all ministries to ensure quality and value driven ICT services as well as refocus and strengthen agencies and parastatals under the new ministry’s supervision.”
Johnson, who spoke on the way forward in ICT while making technical and graphic presentations revealed that the federal government may scrap the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) or simply streamline its activities into that of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). Tentatively, she added that the NCC may soon become the regulator of all other agencies including Nigcomsat, NITDA, Notap, among others.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Bisi Olaleye
Quelle/Source: Daily Sun, 23.09.2011
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