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.
These days, it is near impossible to find an office without a computer, and mobile phones have become a basic necessity for every citizen. However, there is a big difference between the high prevalence of these devices, and the efficiency with which they are being used.
"There is no one here who can convince me that he uses more than 20% of the potential of his mobile or iPad," was the challenge launched by ICT Minister Jean Philbert, talking last week at Police headquarters where he kicked of a campaign to increase and improve the use of ICT in the public sector, which is part of a wider drive to raise awareness on technology among the general population.
According to Nsengimana, many people limit themselves to making calls, sending SMS and maybe use the phone to check their e-email, but most ignore other options such as task management, a calendar to follow up on appointments, etc.
The campaign will mainly focus on the role of ICT in fostering productivity and e-government where government bodies use technology to facilitate service delivery; social media such as Twitter and Facebook to facilitate effective and fast sharing of information as well as cyber security which is very important to control fraudulent activities online.
"We have made significant progress, but there is always a room for improvement," was the Minister's rather vague conclusion.
Then again, there are indeed huge discrepancies among public services in the use of ICT. On top are institutions such as the Immigration and Emigration services, where you can apply for a visa or passport online and even follow the progress of you dossier. Other worthy initiatives are online tax declaration and electronic payment, the still under-used e-Soko, as well as applications in education and justice.
At the other end of the spectrum: the megaphone. That is indeed what Achille Niyireba, the executive secretary of Kicukiro sector of the same district resorts to when public announcements need to be made in the imidugudu, such as reminding people of umuganda or other special meetings or activities.
And in more remote areas, even the high-tech megaphone is not available and they just have to find a loud-mouthed person to make the announcements.
However, Niyireba adds that when it comes to communication either with central government officials or with village leaders, the use of ICT has resulted in significant improvements.
Affordable devices
And officials are confident that things will change as more people get sophisticated ICT devices. Minister Nsengimana said last week that the target is to increase mobile phone ownership from 55% now to over 80% in five years, while computer users should increase to 50% from the current 3%.
Didier Nkurikiyimfura, the director general in charge of ICT at MYICT, said that negotiations are ongoing with telecom operators so that people can obtain affordable devices like smartphones with access to internet and social media, among other options, to facilitate fast communication. The initiative is also to increase other devices such as laptops and tablet computers that have the potential in helping to achieve the information-based society.
All this is being done line with the country's general ICT policy, the National Information and Communication program, the third phase of which was launched in 2011. The focus has now been shifted on ICT in service delivery, after the first two phases concentrated on ICT literacy and infrastructure development.
Nkurikiyimfura pointed out that the ultimate goal is to enable all government entities to offer their services online within the next five years of the implementation of the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS II).
"We have contracted a company and we are making an inventory of all services so that they can be put online," he said, adding that they will start with the ones that are most used.
The exercise to assess the services is expected to be finalized by May, while the system to apply for the most sought-after services should be operational in two years.
Finding an alternative for the megaphone might be a good place to start.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Eric Didier Karinganire
Quelle/Source: AllAfrica, 18.03.2013
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