Use 15% Nigeria's budget on IT funding, ITAN, WISTA says
Participants at the just concluded world Information Technology conference, ADIPENG 2009 rose up from the conference, calling on the federal government to use 15% of her national budget on ICT Investment and funding for vision 20_2020 imperatives.
According to the conference that attracted global IT professionals, business community, academia, NGOs, stakeholders and distinguished resource persons and facilitators who are global experts and champions in ICT , available Information estimates the current e_spending at about 3% of the National Budget.
In a communique jointly issued by Information Technology Association of Nigeria, (ITAN) in conjunction with World Information Technology Alliance, WISTA, the conference recommended the following:
*Policy makers should view ICT as the key and strategic component for actualizing economic policy and national development, ensuring that the policies and programs they put in place spur digital transformation and benefit societies at large.
*Enhancing the e_Readiness status of Nigeria demands that the President become the driving force behind ICT development – nationally and internationally.
*Adequate and consistent, energy supply and Broadband_centric ICT Infrastructure, Leadership and political will and IT Skilled Capacity building should become the strategic imperatives for National development
*Government should leverage on ICT solutions and policy makers to introduce fiscal stimuli and programs to develop an ICT industry and accelerate the use of the technologies across all economic sectors and society.
*ICT_based information, infrastructure and sustainable solution should be deployed to expedite economic recovery in Global Meltdown on the short term and provide the vehicle to generate prosperity in the long term.
*Adopt multi_stakeholder PPP approach to ICT policy re_engineering, that government and the private sector should work in concert to establish a national framework that offers the right incentives to encourage investment and includes the necessary structure to develop knowledge_based human capital *In line with 7 above, the Federal Government in collaboration with the ICT industry under the PPP scheme should spearhead an annual Africa ICT Summit as a credible medium of articulating policy direction for ICT development in Africa and Nigeria in particular.
*Sponsor an executive Bill on National Information Technology Framework capable of promoting the following Acts: Indigenous Software Content Act, IT Law and Cyber Crime Act, e_Education Act. Digital Signature Act, National Information Infrastructure Protection Act and others.
*Develop an ICT industry that can drive the economy by building businesses and creating jobs, among others
*Establish ICT Departments at all levels of Government operations at the Federal, State and Local Government. Retool the Civil Service operations by making all workers ICT literate and skilled.
*Review the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program and re_engineer its function to engage the opportunities in Offshoring/Outsourcing.
* Federal Government should ensure effective coordination of its disparate ICT initiatives across several Ministries and Agencies of government and also should be proactive in focusing of state ICT initiatives towards a common national goal.
*In view of 13 above, and due to urgent need for effective coordination of national ICT initiatives for rapid development and for the realization of the MDG and the vision 20 2020 of the Mr President, It is recommended that A* a Chief Information Officer (CIO) in the Presidency be appointed by Mr President B* the Ministry of Information and Communications be transformed into the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), and
C* that NITDA should be absorbed by the new Ministry mentioned above
written byEmeka Aginam, Wednesday, 06 May 2009
According to the conference that attracted global IT professionals, business community, academia, NGOs, stakeholders and distinguished resource persons and facilitators who are global experts and champions in ICT , available Information estimates the current e_spending at about 3% of the National Budget.
In a communique jointly issued by Information Technology Association of Nigeria, (ITAN) in conjunction with World Information Technology Alliance, WISTA, the conference recommended the following:
*Policy makers should view ICT as the key and strategic component for actualizing economic policy and national development, ensuring that the policies and programs they put in place spur digital transformation and benefit societies at large.
*Enhancing the e_Readiness status of Nigeria demands that the President become the driving force behind ICT development – nationally and internationally.
*Adequate and consistent, energy supply and Broadband_centric ICT Infrastructure, Leadership and political will and IT Skilled Capacity building should become the strategic imperatives for National development
*Government should leverage on ICT solutions and policy makers to introduce fiscal stimuli and programs to develop an ICT industry and accelerate the use of the technologies across all economic sectors and society.
*ICT_based information, infrastructure and sustainable solution should be deployed to expedite economic recovery in Global Meltdown on the short term and provide the vehicle to generate prosperity in the long term.
*Adopt multi_stakeholder PPP approach to ICT policy re_engineering, that government and the private sector should work in concert to establish a national framework that offers the right incentives to encourage investment and includes the necessary structure to develop knowledge_based human capital *In line with 7 above, the Federal Government in collaboration with the ICT industry under the PPP scheme should spearhead an annual Africa ICT Summit as a credible medium of articulating policy direction for ICT development in Africa and Nigeria in particular.
*Sponsor an executive Bill on National Information Technology Framework capable of promoting the following Acts: Indigenous Software Content Act, IT Law and Cyber Crime Act, e_Education Act. Digital Signature Act, National Information Infrastructure Protection Act and others.
*Develop an ICT industry that can drive the economy by building businesses and creating jobs, among others
*Establish ICT Departments at all levels of Government operations at the Federal, State and Local Government. Retool the Civil Service operations by making all workers ICT literate and skilled.
*Review the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program and re_engineer its function to engage the opportunities in Offshoring/Outsourcing.
* Federal Government should ensure effective coordination of its disparate ICT initiatives across several Ministries and Agencies of government and also should be proactive in focusing of state ICT initiatives towards a common national goal.
*In view of 13 above, and due to urgent need for effective coordination of national ICT initiatives for rapid development and for the realization of the MDG and the vision 20 2020 of the Mr President, It is recommended that A* a Chief Information Officer (CIO) in the Presidency be appointed by Mr President B* the Ministry of Information and Communications be transformed into the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), and
C* that NITDA should be absorbed by the new Ministry mentioned above
written byEmeka Aginam, Wednesday, 06 May 2009
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