The project was conceived during a capacity building training for major communication providers in The Gambia at the Paradise Suites Hotel last April. That training, which was organised by the Taiwan Embassy in Banjul, got its funding from the Taiwan Institute for Information Industry (TIII); the major planner of e-government in that Asian island nation. In his inauguration statement, Minister Grey-Johnson applauded the government of Taiwan through her Banjul Embassy for her continued and unflinching support to The Gambia's development strives. He informed the gathering that the project came into being just after three months after his Ministry signed MOU with the Taiwan Institute for Information Industry (III).
"We have carefully identified GTMI as the host of this project due to my Ministry's desire to prepare the Institute as a Center of Excellence with particular emphasis on ICT education and training," he said. He expressed hope that the project will be given the necessary attention to make it the turning point in the transformation of GTMI into a specialised and quality-learning center.
The Information minister reiterated that the Center is meant to equip government officials and Gambians with ICT skills, saying his Ministry takes pride in receiving such support that addresses a key component of their strategic plan to sustain the e-government programme.
He acknowledged that the Banjul-Taipei ties have over the past years been constantly strengthened on the basis of mutual respect and shared beliefs, acknowledging that Taiwan has supported The Gambia in crucial areas of the economy, more especially in agriculture, education, health and security. "And here, we are seeing that same largesse being extended to the ICT infrastructure for its further development and advancement in The Gambia," he added.
While assuring the government of Taiwan through her Banjul embassy that The Gambia recognises the importance of the Center to the improvement of her human resource base, Minister Grey-Johnson maintained that the facility has everything to do with the way forward for the country's information and communication infrastructure. He used the opportunity to congratulate Presidents Jammeh and Ma for the establishment of the fruitful relations between the two countries. He also expressed Banjul's appreciation for Taiwan's continued assistance to its developmental aspirations.
The Taiwanese ambassador, Samuel Chen, underscored the fact that today's world has entered an era of ICT with its services being the indispensible way of life. He pointed out mobile phones, i-pads and other devices are today widely used in all walks of life, saying IT even develops the systems of e-government, e-commerce and e-finance. "The combination of computers and mobile phones has been widely used to increase the various services, upgrading the work effectively and improving the convenience and quality of e-government, which is very important for The Gambia's national development," he further remarked.
Ambassador Chen said Taiwan is aware that her ally is making significant efforts towards national development, while noting that the Center will be used to mainly train government officials to better improve their efficiency for national interest. "We therefore hope that with the establishment of such a Center, there will be improved e-services nationwide," he added.
The Taiwanese ambassador assured that as a development partner of The Gambia, his country is willing to share her crucial resources of scientific development with the country. He noted that the current cooperation between the two countries mainly focuses on agriculture, health, education and infrastructure. "I hope that our two countries' cooperation can increase in more scientific areas and through the DOC, this aim can be achieved," he remarked.
Ambassador Chen used the opportunity to thank the government of The Gambia for her continued cooperation with Taiwan. In the same vein, he also commended the Ministry of Information and Communication Infrastructure and the management and staff of the GTMI for their preparation and necessary future trainings. The head of academics at GTMI, Malik Bah, in his vote of thanks, commended the government of Taiwan through her Banjul embassy for the establishment of the facility, saying it will contribute to the strengthening of The Gambia's human resource base in the area of ICT.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Amadou Jallow
Quelle/Source: AllAfrica, 23.10.2013
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