ICT Ministry, Stakeholders Parley on Draft Policy

The Ministry of Communication Technology will engage ICT stakeholder to deliberate on the national draft policy aimed at steamrolling the Nigeria into the digital age. Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can report that the Policy when completed will be the platform for the overall development of the ICT industry to facilitate the creation of a digital, knowledge based economy.
Efem Ekanga, special assistant on media communications, to the Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson said the stakeholders’ forum which will hold at the Lagos City Hall on March 9th is aimed providing a platform for government-public engagement.
“The draft ICT policy was released by the ministry for comments and suggestions from stakeholders and the general public on the 9th of January, 2012. The Ministry since it unveiled the policy document has received suggestions, comments and inputs from industry groups, companies in the ICT industry and other ICT industry stakeholders both in Nigeria and abroad that have been collated and the Forum will provide a veritable platform for the Ministry to engage stakeholders for robust discussions on the suggestions and comments received by the ministry on the policy,” said Ekanga.
The ICT ministry had a few weeks ago met with industry associations like ATCON, ALTON, ISPON, NIG, NCS, ITAN, CPN and NATCOMS who had sent in their inputs on the Draft ICT Policy to discuss the comments and suggestions on the policy framework sent to it by the concerned associations in Abuja.
Mrs. Johnson had at an interactive session recently stressed the need for an intergration of the existing plethora of policies on IT.
‘’We have had various policies covering the IT and the Communications industry but the convergence of technologies and the industry have dictated the need for an integrated policy document. A committee was set up by the Ministry to harmonise all the existing policies, reflect new realities where necessary in order to provide a working document and a take off point that could elicit robust debate and discussion by stakeholders,’’ said Johnson.
Johnson who described the unveiled policy document as a statement of intent, stressed that once there was an agreement on the statement of intent, a country ICT masterplan will be developed that will include an implementation plan with detailed implementation activities, timelines, milestones and funding requirements and funding options.
Mrs. Johnson had last August set up an Adhoc Committee to harmonize all the various policies for the different sectors in the ICT industry (Telecommunications, Broadcasting, Information Technology and Postal Services).
This was followed up with a first ever stakeholders forum last September where she unveiled her roadmap for ICT development. “The Stakeholders forum will be held regularly to engage the industry to ensure that the Ministry achieves its set targets for the ICT sector,” Johnson had promised.