Consideration the facts that local government councils are those authorities close to the grassroots it is therefore no doubt to become a tier of government that can be targeted for any meaningful development agenda to succeed.
This is among few projects embarked upon by govern-ment that has direct link with the 7 points agenda of the president administration.
The objectives of eLGA according to the secretary to government of the federation, Mahmud Yayale Ahmed is to establish a central platform where the functions and activities of the local government councils can interact with other councils and with citizens and businesses at any time, irrespective of their locations.
The Platform ties together local government operations such as data gathering, revenue generation, job creation along with routine administrative functions and collaborations. It also enables special activities such as education and health management and has interface to serve as electronic gateway to investors, tourists and the rest of the world.
These goals are no doubt needed to transform the Local Government adminis-trations especially the issue of revenue generations and transparent usage of such revenues towards the developmental projects for our societies because LGAs are where the most corrupt officials are operate because there is no powerful system of check and balancing.
It is observed that some officials at the local government level are always waiting for the arrival of national grants to share among themselves and disperse away until another month end.
The eLGA as a platform will assists in tracing revenues and its judicial application, as the SGF said the system will make the LGAs operations more transparent and make governance more accountable and closer to the citizens and above all, make all local governments in Nigeria work in tandem in a constructive manner towards achieving the national goals set by this administration.
Explaining further, Yayale said the eLGA will allow Local Government to inject Information and Communi-cations Technology (ICT) tools in a structured manner to make them efficient and responsive to the citizens's needs so as to propel national productivity from the grassroots.
The initiator of the projects and chief executive officer of the NeGSt, Dr Olu Agunloye said injection of ICT is a major driver of productivity growth which makes it possible for an expansion of output, not just without concomitant increase in inputs, but with important reductions in hours worked over the medium term.
He said the platform will help in administering LGs to ensure; compliaance with interoperable framework, their operations are ICT driven within framework as well as contribution of LGs to national data bank are streamlined and can be monitored.
The beauty of eLGAs is a platform under public- private partnership. The project will be co-finance by one of the leading banks in the country- The Intercontinental Bank Plc. In his remark at the launching of the programme in Abuja, the Group Chief Executive, Intercontinental Bank Plc, Dr Erastus Akingbola said partnering in eLGAs is not only in-sync with the drive to popularize e-paymant in Nigeria by his Bank but also a very strategic initiative that will hep enthrone e-Governance in the country.
He said there is no better place to start the campaign for electronic government than the local government areas, because they are at the core of every government.
"if we are able to get the local government and their functionaries to buy in to this project we would easily leapfrog to the next stage".
Akingbola said the world has left Nigeria behind technologically. The only way for us to catch up is to embrace ICT, saying, with vast natural and sometimes difficult terrain of the country, our ever increasing population and peculiar political and economic situation, technology offers the best option in providing efficient, transparent and quality service and governance to our people.
The chief executive, intercontinental bank also said eGovernment is the surest way to fast forward the country's development and economic growth, therefore said " our bank is well placed to provide funds which will be used to develop the solution necessary to drive e-government".
Akingbola said his bank is ready to provide the needed expertise in terms of skilled human resources and platform to help in bringing about electronic driven government, adding that " We have the IT infrastructure to support the development of any epayment solution in respect of e-Government projects.
With these good promises to support this platform by all partners, hopefully it would be the beginning of eNigeria.
---
Autor(en)/Author(s): Hamisu Muhammad
Quelle/Source: AllAfrica, 05.01.2009
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
