THE Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, has said her ministry has commenced the leveraging of Information Technology to reduce the cost of governance and increase transparency in the polity.Johnson, who stated this at the flag-off of a five day free Software Entrepreneurship workshop in Lagos, organised by the Jim Ovia Foundation, said that the ministry, in conjunction with Galaxy Backbone (GBB), the provider of ICT infrastructure services for government and an agency under the ministry's supervision is looking very carefully at government's IT spend and implementing opportunities for cost reduction especially in the areas of application hosting, data centres and connectivity.She also said that the ministry will also be working to increase government's institutional presence on social media in a more strategic manner to facilitate the flow of accurate, relevant and timely information from government to her citizens. Johnson said that the planned Citizen Information Centres is a technology driven and technology based initiative that will facilitate the provision of government services to the general public.The minister also unveiled some of the initiatives of the ministry in the last six months to include the setting up of a joint committee of the public and private sector that will develop a framework for the establishment of IT Incubation centres in Nigeria. The centres, she stressed will help to accelerate the development of a commercial software industry by ensuring that appropriate support and funding is available to software and other IT entrepreneurs. She also disclosed that a professionally managed IT innovation venture capital fund that will have the initial seed capital provided by government with contributions from private sector is being worked out and the launch of this fund will coincide with the rollout of incubation centres in the three 'four initial pilots across the country.On NIPOST, Johnson said that the ministry is continuing the reform process in NIPOST to transform NIPOST into an agency that will not only provide universal postal services but will, through its existing and planned diverse infrastructure will be central to Nigeria's financial and digital inclusion agenda and aspirations.On the Draft ICT Policy released on the January 9th for comments and suggestions,Johnson said that the ministry will convene a Public Forum on the Draft ICT Policy in March.She said that the policy document is the harmonisation of all existing policies in the ICT industry. Johnson said that 'we have had various policies covering the IT and the Communications industry but the convergence of technologies and the industry have dictated the need for an integrated policy document. The role of the committee was therefore to harmonise all the existing policies, reflect new realities where necessary in order to provide a working document and a take off point that could elicit robust debate and discussion by stakeholders''Johnson disclosed that the ministry over the last month has received comments from industry groups, companies in the ICT industry and other ICT industry stakeholders both in Nigeria and abroad. She added that 'the comments are being collated in preparation for the public forum that will hold in March to discuss and come to some consensus on the big issues and ensure that we have a policy document that all our stakeholders will join hands with us to implement''.She also stated that 'the policy document is a statement of intent for us. Once we are agreed on this statement of intent we will then develop a country ICT masterplan that will include an implementation plan with detailed implementation activities, timelines, milestones and of course funding requirements and funding options. In some instances we will have to create more detailed policy documents. This process will be a much broader and will require the deep involvement of the industry stakeholders. We expect that this process including approval of the policy at the highest level of governance in this country will be completed by June/July 2012.'The Communication technology minister also hinted that the country would need to employ technology to stem the tide of insecurity in the country.On software development, the minister said the ministry is not happy about the increasing importation of foreign software in the country, stressing that, there was urgent need to stem the tide.She hinted that software development was one area that the country can explore to create jobs for the teeming youths who roams the country daily.The minister posited that with the right training and capacity building, youths in Nigeria will not only be able to develop the necessary skills that will enable them innovate and create software applications to be reckoned with, but it will also enable them establish IT businesses that can thrive and make a difference.'The youth of Nigerian are dynamic, hardworking, entrepreneurial in nature and hungry for technology. If given the chance and the enabling environment to develop their inherent skills, they will not only thrive but will make Nigerians and Africans proud. We have seen the result of what exposure to ICT can do with the remarkable achievement of some of our youths who have excelled in several local and international software competitions', she stated.
Click here to read full news..
