Govt in race against time to establish ICT agency

The government is in the final stages of establishing a new agency that will champion the implementation of the Smart Rwanda Master Plan. The master plan, adopted by Cabinet in November last year, outlines a five-year strategy for the ICT sector and was set to take effect at the beginning of this year. The soon-to-be-formed agency will focus on digitising the economy and positioning ICT as one of the key pillars of the country. Officials from the Ministry of Youth and ICT said government is currently in the process of drafting a regulatory framework for the agency, setting up the agency’s structure and planning for resources to run it. The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Youth and ICT, Rosemary Mbabazi, confirmed the development, saying they were currently holding discussions with relevant ministries on the operationalisation of the agency. The proposed agency will have an independent budget and will also outsource work to the private sector. “We are discussing between relevant ministries and it will be clear in the law and the prime minister’s order setting up the structure, reporting lines, roles and responsibilities of the agency. All relevant ministries are working tirelessly to enable the establishment of the agency,” Mbabazi said. The master plan seeks to build on previous generations of the National Information and Communication Infrastructure (NICI) plans that have guided the national ICT sector strategy for the past 15 years. The previous plans have had five-year spans and began implementation in 2000. Last year saw the completion of the last plan, NICI 3, which had been in place since 2011 and was focused on aspects such as skills development, cyber security, e-Government and private sector development. Among the tasks at hand, the new agency will have an oversight role over 67 priority projects that are estimated to have an investment value of over $519 million about (Rwf 385 billion). According to the master plan’s concept note, the accumulated economic benefit of the implementation of the plan’s activities is over $1 billion (about 142 per cent return on investment). “By 2020, it is projected that ICT sector contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) will grow from 3 per cent to 5 per cent, while 100,000 new jobs will be created,” the document reads in part. The tasks of the agency rotate around four pillars, including business and innovation, national economic digital transformation to facilitate other sectors adopt ICT and future planning focusing on research and development. The business and innovation function aims at facilitating existing indigenous companies in their competitiveness and growth to global-player-status with targets to have about 100 indigenous companies with market capitalisation of $50 million and 50 stock market list-able companies. The national economic digital transformation function will facilitate and support projects in other sectors, including agriculture, finance, trade and industry, health, education, governance and women and youth empowerment. The agency will also oversee planning aspects that will focus on research and development so as to leverage global technology trends so as to tap into exports and economic digital transformation. In this aspect, the master plan targets trends that have been identified to have potential are in areas of smart cities and smart communities, the internet of things, big data and analytics, drone technology, creative industries and cyber security. The plan to be implemented by the new agency drew orientation from the Smart Africa Manifesto that was launched during the inaugural Transform Africa Summit in October 2013. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Govt in race against time to establish ICT agency