The Department of State for Communication, Information and Technology (DOSCIT) is also committed to creating the necessary enabling environment. This would enable government and the public utilise the opportunities offered by ICTs and their applications to service delivery, operational efficiency and improvement of people's lives. The Secretary of State for Communication, Information and Technology, Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh, made these declarations on Wednesday at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in a statement to officially open a one-day workshop to validate the national information and communication infrastructure (NICI) policy and plans for The Gambia.
"The policy must necessarily be broad enough to cover the entire information and communication infrastructure sub-sector; deal with emerging technologies, increasing convergence of technologies, human resource, economic and social issues", he noted.
In November and December 2004 a meeting was held at the same venue to formulate the draft policy, which has been further developed by the NICI core group.
"This workshop will validate the contents of the policy and accompanying plans before they are forwarded to Cabinet for endorsement", Janneh announced in his speech which was delivered on his behalf by his permanent secretary Dr. Saidou Jallow.
He spoke of the considerable developments in the area of technology, principally through the information revolution. The key to this revolution is the technology that allows data, images and sound to be stored digitally, and to be accessed instantly, regardless of where they are physically stored, he said.
"This phenomenon is the direct result of the growth of global data communication networks, the internet being the best-known example".
Infrastructure and resources needed Therefore, he went on, countries that wish to ride on the information revolution to enhance their socio-economic development need to mobilise local infrastructure and resources, including a modern telecommunications infrastructure, preferably based on digital technology, with international connections of sufficient bandwidth; reliable domestic electricity supplies and well developed national technology infrastructures; an adequate level of computer literacy, which will necessarily involve improved levels of education and training; an adequate computer density, that is, the number of personal computers per 100 inhabitants; sufficient interest on the part of local and international private sector organisations to invest in developing technology infrastructures and in setting up communication and information services; and, sufficient public interest in the services offered by these private sector providers, combined with a willingness to change traditional ways of doing things.
AISI
In line with its mission to achieve a middle-income status and information-rich society by the year 2020, and in recognition of the pivotal role information and communication technologies (ICT) will play in this endeavour, The Gambia together with other African countries adopted the African Information Society Initiative (AISI) in 1996.
The basic objective of AISI is "to end Africa's information and information technology gaps by bringing it into the Information Age, he pointed out.
The growth and development of ICTs world-wide has accelerated dramatically over the past decade, spurred on by an increasingly globalized world.
The progress made during the past three decades in ICTs has engender considerable changes in many fields of human endeavour, including the social and economic spheres.
In particular, the rapid expansion in the use of the internet, the world wide web, as well as the growth of wireless communications are more visible manifestations of what is often termed the "ICT Revolution", he further noted.
"Today the environment within which business is transacted and people live is no longer defined simply by geography or citizenship, but rather by technology and related global realities that have fundamental impacts on our everyday lives.
"Government is committed to improving access to information and communication technologies and promoting their use to stimulate economic growth, increase equality, and reduce poverty".
Developments at DOSCIT
There are a lot of exciting developments at DOSCIT, according to the CIT minister. "I am happy to inform you that my Department of State continues to forge ahead in the information and communication technology sub sectors".
In addition to the current policy formation process, UNECA is supporting the E-Government initiative.
DOSCIT has connected up to 10 departments of state with a high-speed wireless network to, among other things, access the internet and enhance interaction and sharing of information among departments of state.
After the completion of the wireless connectivity exercise, the major focus will be on connecting all the departments of state and agencies' web sites to a government-wide portal (WAN), to make it easier and quicker for government to interact with citizens and businesses.
Arrangements are far advanced to build the capacity of departmental network support personnel for each department of state, he further informed his audience.
"With the necessary support from the respective departments of state, DOSCIT will facilitate the training of up to 30 staff from 10 government departments of state in systems administration, web technology and network and data security at the Advanced Information Technology Institute, in Ghana.
"The E-Government project is a bold initiative that will transform the nature of interaction among government departments and between government and the recipients of government services, notably, the general public and private sector, he further noted. With sufficient infrastructure, including energy, skilled human resource, and sufficient financial resources, government can create mechanisms through which citizens and business can experience seamless interaction in the conduct of business, while pushing existing institutions towards greater efficiency and improved service delivery", Janneh added.
He thanked UNECA "for the support it continues to give to the NICI process, and the e-Government initiative in The Gambia". "I would like to specifically thank Dr. Baharul Islam, UNECA NICI consultant for his personal interest in The Gambia's NICI policy and e-Government initiative.
The CIT minister also thanked "our local partners notably, Gamtel, Gamcel, Africell and QuantunNET for making this validation workshop a reality". He thanked the participants "for making yourselves available for this very important national event".
Autor: Alieu F. Sagnia
Quelle: AllAfrica, 15.04.2005
