Officially launching the country's ICT advisory council, the president said: "ICT should be integral in our attempts to transform Sierra Leone and the advisory council must hit the ground running. We should live no stone unturned because there are great benefits."
Koroma called on all stakeholders to provide the necessary guidelines for ICT activities, while pointing out that mobile penetration in the country currently stands at 35%.
"We have succeeded in giving licenses to 31 radio stations. Internet access also stands at 0.3%. Good ICT systems promote good governance," he noted.
Minister of Information and Communication, Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo, said the rapid changes in the communications sector have given rise to the need to create a dynamic legal and regulatory framework that was responsive to technological changes and advancement in the ICT sector.
He maintained that the general purpose of the national ICT policy was to provide best practice guidance in the creation of an enabling environment for ICT development.
"The national ICT policy captures the key strategic issues of Vision 2025 for Sierra Leone for technology which pays premium on encouraging and improving the teaching of science and technology at all levels of education," he said.
Minister Kargbo noted that the government recognizes the fact that there was a fundamental need to modernize ICT in the country as it was crucial to socio-economic development.
Making a presentation on ICT policy implementation, Millicent Lewis-Ojumu said the council plays a pivotal role in the full implementation of the policy, adding, "The policy stimulates a participative approach for effective implementation."
She commended the president for recognizing ICT as a solution for economic growth, while calling on stakeholders to champion the activities of ICT.
Representative from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), David Kamara, said Sierra Leone was the first to develop an ICT policy around the ECOWAS regional policy.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Ibrahim Tarawallie
Quelle/Source: AllAfrica, 12.01.2011
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