Keynote address by His Excellency the President, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, at the launching of the e-Governance Platform for effective and efficient service delivery at the Miatta Conference Centre, Freetown, Thursday 24th March, 2016.
Salutations,
Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Ladies and gentlemen,
We live in a new world; a world that has become increasingly smaller and interconnected; we live in a world in which the needs of our citizens and the ways to address them have become more complex; we live in the world of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTS). In this new world, physical boundaries are no longer an impediment to national development, information and knowledge are no longer restricted to a few privileged people, government and the private sector can no longer do business as usual. ICTs have led to a significant evolution in the pattern and posture of governance towards a more citizen-centric and result-oriented system.
The adoption and integration of digital technology into our daily life at home, at work and at play has transformed governance, it has transformed our relations with citizens, with businesses and the wider world. It has increased citizens’ participation and optimized service delivery. With the introduction of the one integrated e-Government portal, citizens and businesses can access various types of information, government services, conduct online transactions, and interact with various government bodies. They no longer have to stand in long queues or wait for office hours or handle lots of paperwork. Processes have become more streamlined, efficient and less dependent on human interaction. This, by itself, has a knock on effect on corruption, the cost and time involved in the processing of transactions.
When citizens become this much empowered through access to information; when government becomes more efficient through simplified internal operations, the result can only be better governance. But e- Governance is not just about making ICTs available, it is also, and more importantly, about the development, deployment and enforcement of the policies, laws and regulations necessary to support the functioning of a Knowledge Society as well as e-Government.
With the appropriate regulatory framework, e-Governance will become much easier and transparency and accountability will be more meaningful; public misinformation and anxieties will be minimized through effective interaction between the people, businesses and government. This in turn will help in building a more cohesive society; it will help in consolidating peace and in strengthening national security.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, governments must either adapt to the new world or go out of governance; businesses must either adopt the new technologies or go out of business. This is because with the dawn of the information age and the emerging knowledge regime, it is no longer tenable for citizens to endure services delivered only by frequent physical visits to offices; citizens are no longer prepared to spend long hours waiting for services that are anchored on a paper-based system. The modern citizens want fast and efficient systems available at the click of a button; today’s citizens do not want to know the faces and names behind the bureaucratic structures.
This is the reality our new world has thrust upon us and since we want to stay in governance, my Government has acceded to this reality.
We have therefore been working on an elaborate e-governance programme in order to expand access to information and freedom of expression, and to reinforce civil liberties. This is why my Government has integrated ICT development into our national development agenda. This is why we landed and we are leveraging the fibre optic cable to connect Sierra Leone to the wider world, this is why we have libralised the gateway to ensure affordable access.
My Government enacted the Right to access Information law and established the Secretariat to ensure its implementation; to ensure that Government’s decisions, activities, policies, programmes, projects and service delivery methods are easily made accessible to the public.
Mr. Chairman, distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
Today’s launch of the E-Governance is the icing of the cake; it is an important step my Government is taking into the new world, the world in which citizens are better catered for and more empowered in the ways of the world of ICTs which include clearing goods at the ports, applying for enrollment at universities, applying for jobs to the public service, seeking information on public projects and programmes, and in some cases in seeking justice and health services.
E-Governance has become a way of life we must support because we believe that the deployment of ICT and E-government initiatives will help to take this country to another level of development; it will tackle issues related to cost, efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, universal service delivery and greater participation by stakeholders, offering innovative solutions for public institutions and private actors. It will serve as a strong tool for combating corruption, promote peace and security.
But complete and successful implementation of e-governance needs the continued support and collaboration of our partners and all stakeholders including the media, civil society and public. This is why I would like to applaud the World Bank and all our partners for the sustained support in this journey. I am confident, more than ever before, that we have crossed the threshold into the new world and there is no turning back.
I now have honor to launch the Sierra Leone e- Governance Platform.
I thank you for your attention and God bless Sierra Leone.
---
Quelle/Source: The Patriotic Vanguard, 25.03.2016
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
