However, despite his optimism, Senator Edgardo J. Angara noted that it requires investment in infrastructure from both the public and private sector.
To facilitate the growth of the ICT sector, Angara underscored the need to form a permanent entity that would promote ICT utilization and to effectively coordinate and implement national and local ICT services.
"ICT is a tool to boost a country's overall competitiveness by improving the efficiency of production processes across sectors and industries, accelerating the growth of knowledge-based services, and empowering people to access unprecedented sources of information and markets," said Angara who chairs the Senate committee on science and technology.
Governments around the world are crafting policies and creating institutions for ICT growth, using various developmental approaches.
Germany has an inter-ministerial agency handling Information Technology (IT) policies, while France and Portugal have established one central coordinating body, directly answerable to the chief executive.
Angara said that the country lacks a coherent, long-term policy for ICT development, as well as an agency that will implement the strategy.
"ICT has proven to be a significant catalyst for national development, without which coordination between government offices and partnerships with concerned agencies will be very difficult,” he said.
The creation of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), which Angara is pushing for in the Senate, shall coordinate with various public and private agencies to facilitate different government initiatives such as the e-government objectives in particular and national objectives in general.
The E-Government Fund which shall be created for the Department will serve as a special fund for cross-agency and government-initiated ICT projects.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Jmaes A. Loyola
Quelle/Source: Manila Bulletin, 10.01.2010
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