When we compare the ICT industry in Rwanda at the pre- Genocide period and today, there is a big difference. I doubt whether the ICT sector had any mention during the pre-1994 government's plans and policies.
The only technology worth talking home about then was the fixed telephone network and the sole public radio station, all of which were only accessible to a tiny privileged minority.
In all likelihood, the Minister is right. While the country has a vision of becoming a regional and African information hub, and mobile telephone penetration is increasing rapidly, a lot still needs to be done to make good use of the available technology.
Read more: RW: Public Officials Need ICT Training, Not Just Sensitization
"There is no one here who can convince us that he uses at least 20% of his mobile or iPad potential," the Minister while addressing police officers at their Kacyiru headquarters on Tuesday during the official launch of the ICT awareness campaign for the public sector.
New information and communication technology (ICT) systems, awareness campaigns and other initiatives have been making frequent headlines off late because of the government's drive to boost ICT in service delivery.
For example, e-Mboni, a document tracking and workflow management system, was recently launched to replace the manual system in order to facilitate all government entities to share documents electronically. The system has a centralized structure that can be used in any ministry or public service organization to track the progress of documents.
The campaign was launched at the police headquarters in Kacyiru, yesterday.
"Normally people are supposed to know the role of ICT but we reserved this little time to remind them the benefit of offering ICT-based activities, starting from officials at this briefing," said Jean Philbert Nsengimana, the Youth and ICT minister.