The strategy document was presented to the media during a joint press conference at Castille by the Prime Minister and the IT and Investments Minister Austin Gatt. “We have an appointment with the future... and we don’t want to be late,” the opening words of the document say. The Prime Minister said that the ICT strategy was one of the main pillars of the government’s vision for economic development.
The final document follows a year-long consultation process that included a wide representation from civic society and the political parties, Dr Gatt explained. The consultation was done within the Information Society Consultative Council (Nisco), and included such organisations as the KNPD, KSU and the Women’s Councils as well as representatives from the PN, MLP and AD, the government and the ministries.
Echoing the Prime Minister, Dr Gatt stressed that this was not merely an initiative to encourage IT use but rather an attempt to promote the full exploitation of ICT, in order to upgrade economic performance and the general standard of living.
The strategy covers a number of areas such as the digital divide, promotion of education, more broadband accessibility and the amplification of e-government efforts, as well as initiatives for SMEs.
“Malta is among the leading countries in the EU in terms of ICT use – at work, at home and for entertainment,” the minister said. Among the targets outlined, the government has plans to increase internet service ownership to three quarters of the population within the next three years.
With regards to education, the plan is to have 500 ICT specialist graduates every year. Regarding e-government, Dr Gatt said that the government had already made a lot of headway in this respect, with 80 per cent of the government’s services accessible on-line, but added that this was a sector that needed constant input.
Asked by The Malta Independent to elaborate on some concrete proposals, Dr Gatt said that the strategy highlighted economic sectors such as SMEs and provided for a number of initiatives that should help the sector exploit it’s ICT resources further.
He said that the Maltese SMEs were relatively well equipped in terms of hardware and computerised systems but often did not exploit their technology to the full. He also said that there were certain systems that were often beyond the reach of single entrepreneurs but that they could be made feasible if the system was shared – an option made possible with certain technology.
Among the proposals for the end user, the minister said that there was need for more tailor made solutions in this area. He said the government wanted to encourage broadband use, adding however that the systems available were mostly “one size fits all”. He said that Maltacom was working on a broadband-by-meter system, whereby the user simply pays for consumption, a service which would make the service attractive to a new range of users.
Autor: Mark Micallef
Quelle: Malta Independent, 24.07.2004
