Entering its 7th year, e-Gov Africa is a series of events created by the CTO to assist African stakeholders in identifying ways to improve efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of governance through e-enabling. The Forum is acknowledged by all parties, including NEPAD and ITU, as the foremost platform in Sub-Saharan Africa for sharing knowledge and best practices.
Earlier this morning, the Forum was officially opened by government officials, Hon. Amama Mbabazi – Prime Minister of Uganda, Hon. Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda – Ministry of ICT, Eng. Godfrey Mutabazi – Executive Director, Uganda Communications Commission.
1158hrs: Panel Discussion – Resolving Issues limiting effective e-Governance administration in Africa
Panelists Include: Hon. Jean Philbert Nsengimana (Rwanda), Hon. Sheka Tarawalie (Sierra Leone), Katherine Getao (Kenya), Dr. Jabiri (Tanzania) and Dr. Francis Tusubira, the Chairman of the National Information Technology Authority, Uganda #eGov
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1237hrs: Happening now – Q&A – (We shall highlight key questions)
Q. If IT agencies report to the Office of the president, do you get the necessary timely response?
This question has been responded to by Katherine Getao. She explains that the country has both the Ministry of ICT and the Directorate of e-Government. The e-Government Directorate is meant to improve efficiency of service delivery, and it under the Presidency.
One delegate asks Sierra Leone why they would “trust government’s service security with a foreign company” (ZTE).
In response, Hon. Sheka uses the example of printing of money which is done by foreign companies, yet it’s very sensitive. He explains that it is not a vote of no confidence to the African companies.
Side Discussion:
If government agencies are reporting to the president, won’t they focus more on impressing the president, rather than the people?
In a perfect world situation, the president represents the people. So if a matter is of public interest, the President should be able to ensure that it is done. But in most of our African countries, the is no vision as to what is good for the people. Government agencies are more focussed on not being investigated than achieving tangible outcomes. They aren’t giving value to the tax payers, but are busy writing reports…
