Summary of the Observations and
Comments of National Leaders and Stakeholders
The observations made by the
national leaders and other stakeholders as part of the dialogue that took place during the
meetings are classified under a number of broad headings as presented below.
ICT Policy Issues
Human Resource
Development as a Priority Area
Human resource development
is a priority area of the government.
The development of people is
top priority of government and the role that ICTs could play in the area is recognized by
the national leadership of the country.
There is an across the board
skilled human resource problem in Rwanda.
There is a severe shortage
of ICT skill in Rwanda as a whole.
The level of IT expertise in
the civil and public service is low and this is an obstacle to implementing new ICT
systems and the operation of the existing ones.
IT system installation and
implementation depend very much on outside expertise because of lack of adequate local
expertise. This problem is affecting the sustainability of a number of donor supported ICT
projects in Rwanda.
Low level of current ICT
resource utilization in civil and public service could be linked to the human resource
problem in this area.
Lack of ICT Skill is
hampering on-going ICT initiatives as well as the operations of existing ICT installations
nation-wide.
There is a need to put in
place IT skill-update programmes as part of ICT human resource development initiative in
the public and private service.
There a need to give
priority to ICT human resource development in area like: training of ICT specialists for
all sectors of the economy; the retraining of key ICT technical staff in the government
Ministries and public sector organizations; and continuos on the job training to support
skill update.
Problem of low level of use
of computers in the private and public sector organizations. Need to put in place ICT
human resource programmes to train people in the proper use of computers --- professional
level use of ICTs.
Need to develop mechanism
for training people in various areas, ICT could play a major role in this area.
The young population of
Rwanda can be transformed into an asset by adding value to human resources and provide the
environment for utilizing these resources for socio-economic development. ICTs could play
a major role in this area.
The development of people by
providing them with skills is key to the development of all sectors of the economy
including agriculture.
ICTs and the
Educational System
There is an urgent need for
IT training and education in schools, colleges and universities and a nation-wide IT
awareness programmes.
There is a need to improve
the educational system as a whole and in particular target the development of ICT-based
HRD across the board.
ICTs can play a role in
literacy education and promote the development of skills for employment.
There is the need to deploy
computers in schools, colleges and universities.
A National ICT
Co-ordinating Body
There is a need for a
National Body to co-ordinate the development of ICTs in Rwanda.
There is the need to reduce
the duplication of ICT efforts, initiatives and programmes through proper co-ordination
and sharing of information especially in the civil and public service.
There is a need to
co-ordinate ICT efforts in the civil and public service to eliminate duplication of effort
and reduce implementational cost.
The Deployment of ICTs
to Support the Operations of the Civil and Public Service
The deployment of ICTs to
support the activities and operations of government Ministries and public organizations
will assist in controlling the size of the civil and public service.
Modernization of the civil
and public service is a priority area of government and ICTs can play a crucial role in
this area.
ICTs can be used to support
management functions within the civil and public service.
ICT Awareness
Programme to Sensitize the Public
ICTs and the Delivery
of Government Services
There is the need to
establish what the Rwandan government can do with ICTs, and what the country as a whole
can gain from the exploitation of these technologies.
ICTs could be used to bring
government closer to the people.
ICTs could be used as a
vehicle for implementing the decentralization policy of the government.
There is the need for
government Ministries and the public service organizations to use ICTs to deliver
services, to educate and empower people.
There is the need to
inter-connect all the government Ministries to facilitate the sharing and interchange of
information between them.
The importance of ICTs in
information dissemination need to be recognized. Speed is an important factor in
information dissemination and ICTs can play a role in this respect.
ICTs could play a role in
assisting the government in implementing its decentralization policy and support the
activities of the local administrative units.
The Development of the
Service Sector through the Deployment and Exploitation of ICTs
ICTs could serve as the
engine for developing the service sector of the economy.
Rwanda can serve as a
financial service sector for the region and ICTs can be used to support the delivery of
these services.
Rwanda, by extensively
deploying ICTs to support the development of its service sector can serve as the Dubai of
the region and --- provide ranges of off-shore services to businesses in the region and
beyond.
The small size of the
country makes it possible to take decision quickly and this can be exploited to facilitate
a regional service sector in Rwanda.
There is a need for Rwanda
to develop a regional competitive advantage in the area of ICT exploitation and production
--- develop a competitive ICT industry and service sector.
The Role of the
Private Sector in Developing the ICTs sector
The Role of ICTs in
the Economy as a Whole
There is the need to use
ICTs to promote the provision of value-added services within the economy and facilitate
Rwandan's access to global electronic commerce system.
There is a need to implement
ICT systems that will facilitate the delivery of business and government services to the
rural areas where the majority of the population resides.
Rwanda, compare to its
neighbours does not have a competitive advantage in the area of agriculture --- The future
of Rwanda cannot therefore be coffee and tea but rather in high-value added services; the
role of ICTs is crucial in this regard.
It is possible to move
Rwanda from being a predominantly agricultural economy to a predominantly information and
knowledge economy by deploying ICTs in the economy and society.
Using ICTs in the case of
Rwanda is not a matter of choice but that of a necessity ---- ICTs could power the economy
and move it towards an information and knowledge economy.
The development of the ICT
industry and the deployment of ICTs in other sectors of the economy does not stop Rwanda
from promoting other sectors of the economy like agriculture for food security and for
rural employment.
The Implementation of
National Databases and National ICT Projects
There is the need to
implement socially-relevant ICT projects (like Telecenters, Telemedicine) that take
advantage of the Villagization Policy and the Local Administrative Structure of Rwanda.
There is the need to
implement a national database system for social data and indicators to facilitate the work
of the Social Ministries like, Social Affairs and Gender and Women in Development,
Education and Health.
There is a need to put in
place national database systems for main sectors of the economy, for example: food
security, education, health and agriculture.
The Deployment of ICTs
within the Society
There is a need to deploy
ICTs in the society at large to facilitate its use by the ordinary people.
The high level of illiteracy
in Rwanda is an impediment to development, ICT deployment can assist Rwanda in by-passing
this obstacle through the deployment and implementation of ICT systems that does not
require the need for people to know how to read or write to obtain and utilize
information.
The Establishment of
ICT Specialist Institutions
|
