ECA has been supporting the Government of Sierra Leone to develop National Information and Communication Infrastructure (NICI) policies, plans and strategies led by the Ministry of Development and Economic Planning (MODEP). The first ECA mission to the Sierra Leone was conducted in March-April, 2005 to:

• Assist the government agencies in charge of ICT policy formulation to take active part in NICI development process.
• Undertakes desk and Internet research on key policy documents in order to have a clear overview of the countries’ socio-economic development goals (national development plans etc.) and its official positions in relation to international development trends, such as poverty reduction strategies, governance issues, Millennium Development Goals, etc.
• Based on the results of the desk/Internet research, identify existing ICT resources and define new requirements in various sectors of the national economy in relation to the information society
• Organize consultations and workshops with government officials, the private sector, civil society, academia, the media, women groups, and various other stakeholders to develop framework documents and build a consensus among all stakeholders on key components of the national ICT policy, plan and strategy
• Advise concerned government ministries and other stakeholders on matters related to the NICI plans
• Build a consensus on national ICT Vision and commitment to yhr ICT policy to be based on the countries’ socio-economic development goals and to the results of the various consultations

During the mission several consultative meetings took place with the Ministries, Agencies, Civil Society representatives and other stakeholders. The aim of these meetings were to brief the participants about the NICI mission, ensure the high level commitment and contribution for the exercise and to obtain information regarding the objectives, challenges and ICT policy requirements of the various stakeholders consider and experience. With each Ministry and other stakeholder groups the core of the discussion was targeted to the primary objectives and expectations about the NICI policy and especially about the ICT use and impact. In some cases like the meeting with the International NGO Forum, the number of stakeholders was so numerous, that direct feedback from every participant was not possible. Even in these cases a feedback cycle was agreed using the questionnaires.

The first phase of the NICI process in Sierra Leone and consultative meetings highlighted the following aspects:

• Strong political will at the higher level noted during the meeting with the Minister, Communication and Transport, and Minister, Information and Broadcasting.
• Buy in of the initiatives by the stakeholder / civil servants. Participatory and enthusiastic approach of the government to involve civil society and academia.

The Government and other stakeholders recognized the need to promote harmonization and coordination of ICT policy and plans at the national level, to create framework for sharing, promoting collaboration on inter-departmental data flow issues to avoid duplication, error, aggregate resources for the benefit of the community. The consultative meetings also constituted an opportunity to share view, experience, raise bottleneck and agree on the major pillar for the NICI. Commitment of the stakeholders to collaborate with the MODEP and ECA for the development of the NICI was secured during the mission to ensure a smooth way forward for the process.

ECA has been supporting the Government of Sierra Leone since March 2005 to develop its NICI plan. The Ministry of Development & economic Planning coordinates the process. Several consultations and workshops were organized with government officials, the private sector, civil society, academia, the media, women groups, and various other stakeholders in order to build a consensus on key components of the national ICT policy. The draft policy was validated at a workshop held in the first week of July 2006 and submitted to Government for adoption.

Telecom Regulation

A consultant was recruited to examine telecommunication regulation within the framework of the national ICT implementation plan being developed in Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Two well-documented reports on ICT convergence in Nigeria and Sierra Leone with clear recommendations on integrated institutional mechanisms and the way forward are expected by December 2006.

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