The government has called on the public and private sectors to participate in the development and implementation of the national electronic government plan.
Acting Secretary to the Cabinet, Patrick Kangwa, explained that the national e-government plan will form the basis for providing a unit of purposes in addressing multi-sectoral information communication technologies (ICT) programmes in both the public and private sector in the country.
Mr. Kangwa said this when he officiated at the validation meeting on the implementation of the national e-government plan in Lusaka today.
He stated that the government is open and ready to partner with the private sector in supporting the development of home-grown digital solutions that promote job creation and socio-economic development of the country.
“I encourage the private sector participation through various incentive schemes, promoting diversification and innovation of ICT products and provision of ICT infrastructure to support effective electronics that serve the delivery of services to the citizens,’’ said Mr. Kangwa.
He noted that ICT is critical in accelerating public service management to achieve the strategic goals enshrined in the vision 2030 and the eighth National Development Plan (8NDP) of social economic transformation for improved livelihoods.
“I invite the private sector and all ICT and tech start-ups to engage and collaborate with the government in the area of digital innovation and development research. I also wish to direct the National Coordinator, Electronic Government Division Smart Zambia institute to ensure that a mechanism for monitoring ICT implementation and performance across government ministries, provinces, other institutions and sectors is defined and put in place,’’ said Mr. Kangwa.
He added that once validated, the national electronic government plan should provide strategy direction regarding all ICT based implementations across sectors.
And Smart Zambia National Coordinator, Percy Chinyama, explained that the national electronic (NEGP) government plan is intended to achieve strategies and projects for reducing paper documents in public bodies and strategies and projects for the management of administrative resources by public bodies.
Mr. Chinyama pointed out that the NEGP is aimed at providing projects for installing an information and communication network among public bodies and securing safety among other things.
“The draft plan was developed in consultation with Cabinet administration, policy analysis and coordination at the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, selected government institutions, Tony Blair Institute and Smart Zambia office.
The national e-government plan is not only intended to address public ICT initiatives but also bring on board the needs of the private sector and other key external stakeholders who have a stake in the operation of government,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, Management Development Division Permanent Secretary, Kusobile Kamwambi, said that the e-government plan should focus on a whole of government and holistic approach ensuring that all the implementation of ICT projects and initiatives are in conformity to the laid down standards and regulations.
Ms. Kamwambi noted that the plan should address the new dawn priorities of decentralisation by ensuring that all districts in the country are interconnected and have access to electronic government services.
For any e-government project or system to work it’s assumed that the entire country has got the required connectivity. Yes, in Lusaka there is good connectivity – but in 85% of the country there is no 3G or 4G access! Go and fix that first!
@No Corruption Zambia: Do you for one inch really think that the Dawn Gov. needs your stupid ideas or comments? You are too tiny to comment on such matters as they are out of your scope i believe. UPND & New Dawn are the most educated/qualified in the history of Zambia. So people or cadres like you (No corruption) can only watch from a distance & wait for results. Cos you had your turn & all u did was acquire more and more debt. So shut up and watch.