Coming from Ministry of Communications, Yang Berhomat Pehin Abu Bakar is one who understands technology and the issues around it. When he first took on the role of Minister of Communications, Brunei was spending close to B$1 billion (US$0.8 billion) on e-government. “One of the important initiatives then was to review the implementation of e-government. The study quickly revealed a glaring problem - ministries and agencies were operating in silos. When it came to IT procurement, departments tended to buy off-the-shelf products that might not be suitable for Brunei,” he said.
This issue was addressed through the establishment of the E-Government National Centre (EGNC) in 2008, which consolidated IT staff across Brunei’s government departments, and greatly enhanced the public sector’s capacity to work on flagship ICT projects. EGNC’s IT officers, embedded in other agencies, are now ‘ambassadors’ for a coordinated approach to government informatisation.
When Yang Berhomat Pehin Abu Bakar rolled out the flagship project e-Hijrah to transform the use of ICT in education in 2011, he made sure that the same problem did not stand in the way. A new Office of Project Management (OPM) was set up to be the nucleus that would ensure the smooth implementation of all initiatives.
Samir Patel, Principal Consultant & Project Manager of globalSOF Holdings, a key partner in the e-Hijrah project, commented that strong leadership and commitment from MOE is the key success factor so far. “From the beginning, Yang Berhomat Pehin Abu Bakar gave us a mandate to design a strategy that could leapfrog generations of technology, to become relevant for today’s global economy. Six months later, we told him that we needed 22 MOE staff, seconded to be full-time members of OPM, in order to achieve that. He didn’t hesitate,” Patel described how the Minister’s actions clearly demonstrated his commitment to e-Hijrah.
Today, eight out of 49 initiatives under e-Hijrah, have been successfully implemented. One of which is the launch of Media and In-Service Centre or MiSC last week, which will allow ministry staff and teachers to create relevant, inspiring, and outcomes-focused education resources.
“The buy-in from leadership does not stop at the ministry”, according to Yang Berhomat Pehin Abu Bakar. “We continuously engage the heads of departments and school leaders in one- or two-week programmes, so they understand the need to change. These leaders will identify staff who are capable to roll out and implement initiatives in their schools.”
Through the formation of OPM and firm support from the top, there has been strong cohesiveness and collaboration within MOE and across ministries. Yang Berhomat Pehin Abu Bakar added that MOE’s work complements that of other ministries, in line with Wawasan 2035, the nation-wide aim to achieve high quality of life and a sustainable economy with income per capita that ranks among the world’s top 10 by year 2035.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Kelly Ng
Quelle/Source: futureGov, 07.10.2013
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