By Sarjo M Camara
His Excellency Badara A. Joof on Wednesday, November 2nd officially opened a 2-day Senior Government Official’s retreat on Information Communication Technology (ICT), held at a hotel in Kololi. The retreat was organised by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy (MoCDE).
VP Joof noted that the retreat marked the Ministry’s first organised engagement with the wider government apparatus since the government policy direction to decouple the then Ministry of Information, Communication and Infrastructure into two stand alone ministries of Information and Communication and Digital Economy.
“This gathering marks a new era in the strive towards digital transformation. It is ushering in a collaborative atmosphere that will transform us into a digitalised nation of socio-economic development.
He described ICT as a ‘sine qua non’ knowledge shift, given that the fourth industrial revolution is anchored on innovation.
He went on: “ICT has that unique cross-cutting impact on productivity and outcomes. Therefore, with the right investment, ICTs can greatly improve service delivery in all sectors of the economy such as education, agriculture, trade, health; to name a few, for sustained economic growth. Furthermore, it can enhance transparency and make Government more accountable to the people”.
Further on the value of ICT development, the VP highlighted the impact of tech giants which started as startups.
He expressed believe that with the tech savvy youthful population The Gambia is blessed with, the country also has what it takes to produce disruptive technologies and solutions to leapfrog our economic development.
“The onus is on us to therefore create the enabling environment that will nurture and harness the immense potential of our youth”.
HE Vice President Joof reiterated the importance of enhancing coordination and synergy on our respective ICT development. He called on the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy (MoCDE) to take up its rightful central coordinating role and, help ensure that all ICT-related programmes are in-tandem with all systems, applications are interoperable and, all resources are streamlined rather than fragmented.
“I have been reliable informed that MoCDE is at an advance stage in establishing a Government Wide Area Network (GovNET/WAN) for all MDAs among a host of other ICT interventions.
The GovNET will ensure business continuity for government, reduce costs related to internet connectivity and enhance security and this represents an opportunity for us as a government to rebrand, re-strategize, restructure and realign our ICT interventions for the common good”.
