Morocco
is another North African country that has made a considerable progress
towards information society. The Secrétariat d'Etat aux Postes et
Technologies de l'Information (SEPTI), which is under the auspices
of the Prime Minister was established in March 1998 with a main mission
to establish a national and integrated IT strategy which enables the
entry of Morocco into the Information Society. A
national IT policy 1999-2005 was elaborated and approved
in 1999 by the government for implementation. The policy has the following
strategic objectives:
Implementation of an
intergovernmental network;
Emergence of an economy
based on knowledge and innovation in Morroco;
Human resources development;
Infrastructure development;
and
Extension of the utilisation
of information technologies (IT).
The plan addresses five key
themes - education, governance, private sector development, E-commerce and access. These
themes, formed the basis for national strategy for IT development and are now regarded as
e-Maroc plan. The ICT strategies aim at improving the productivity of Moroccan industry,
modernizing the public sector administration, reinforcing the governments programmes aimed
at eradicating poverty, raising levels of literacy, improving delivery of services in
health, education and training and providing access to information to isolated rural
communities.
The achievement of strategic
objectives should go along with the following action plans:
Mobilising human resources
to monitor progress in the area of IT;
Implementing a legal and
regulatory mechanism for the introduction of I;
Dematerialisation and
externalisation of procedures by implementing a database system;
Extension of a new culture
based on steady-flow and transparent information circulation;
Awareness of policy makers,
users as well as every individual is essential to the success of this plan;
These priorities as well as
all action proposals gives SEPTI the role of a coordinator and a guide to direct and
federate the actions;
SEPTI will choose an
approach based on participation and partnership, with selective partners such as local
communities and professional associations whose participation is undeniable to
successfully implement the plans of action.
SEPTI will give priority to
the following areas:
Implementation of an
intergovernmental network: The government will set an example to the Morrocan
society through the use of IT because the rapid implementation of a government information
highway will promote national effort in information networking.
Emergence of an
economy based on knowledge and innovation in Morocco: a knowledge-based economy
will be the way forward as it focuses on investment, development of service activities and
employment creation. Therefore, Morocco should not, by any means, be left behind in the
the development process of this new economic system. A statistics agency will be created
to keep pace with progress in the information area and a new framework will be set up
enabling, among others, the emergence of a knowledge-based society.
Human resources
development: the need to modify the educational and training system by
integrating IT in the teaching, learning and training process.
Infrastructure
development: infrastructure development should focus on capacity, quality and
diversity of services provided.
Extension of the
utilisation of information technologies (IT): improving the quality of life of
the citizen by providing information through adequate, rapid delivery and affordable
services.
An implementation
strategy for the action plan was devised with emphasis on preparing
the necessary legal environment; building consensus and partnership
among the private and public sectors as well as civil society. There
are also awareness programmes on ICT for development to the public
including parliamentarians and the media.
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