Gov’t to do away with paper correspondence

In an effort to promote technology and make more advancement on the electronic path, Rwanda is considering banning the use of paper material in government correspondences by June next year.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

In an effort to promote technology and make more advancement on the electronic path, Rwanda is considering banning the use of paper material in government correspondences by June next year.

Deputy CEO of RDB in charge of Information Technology, Nkubito Bakuramutsa, said the move is one of the main targets envisaged in the e-Rwanda Project that seeks to increase the country’s connectivity that will fasttrack the country’s development through ICT.

"One of our objectives is to completely eliminate use of paper in government communications by June 2010,” revealed Nkubito during the e-Rwanda Project review conference in Kigali.

He said that apart from boosting the economy by avoiding the spending unspecified amount of government money on papers, this move would also play a key role in improving transparency and accountability in government institutions.

"As you know, what is electronically stored cannot be easily manipulated, and this goes hand in hand with the government policy of operating in transparency,” he said.
Government embarked on a national campaign to strengthen the use of technology in various sectors, which is believed to boost the country’s economy.

The e-Rwanda Project, mainly supported by the World Bank, has so far facilitated the increase of Telecentres in both rural and urban areas, and many projects to connect all corners of the country are underway, including the submarine cable and fibre optic.

Ends