" ITREALMS: Draft ICT policy: CommTech plans stakeholders’ interaction

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Draft ICT policy: CommTech plans stakeholders’ interaction


The stakeholders’ interaction over the draft national policy on Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) being put together by the Ministry of Communications Technology, is billed to hold in March.

Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson made this disclosure in Lagos, while briefing newsmen after a keynote address to the week-long ICT empowerment for some 500 Nigerian youths being organized by the Jim Ovia Foundation.

This is coming after the comment duration for the draft ICT policy has been extended till last Monday, January 30, this year.

The stakeholders’ interaction, she said, would ensure that relevant organizations and agencies agree on what should be and discard what should not be.

She also disclosed that CommTech the interaction would be followed by the ICT master plans.

The master plans, she said, would be a lot broader and everything about the ICT master plans strategies is expected be concluded between June and July this year.

The first main objective is the creation of innovation incubation centers; which she hinted would definitely need the support of the private sector.

“We think that the private sector would take this up and run,” she declared.

Additionally, she said that there would be funding facilities for industry players, even as her ministry expressed the hope that the organized private sector would buy into this by putting some fund down to support the incubation centres.

Mrs. Johnson expressed optimism that there would be about four incubation centres before the end of this year.

On the convergence of ICT, she said that her Ministry is working on ensuring that there are true convergence regulators for all the sub-sectors of the industry.

As for the NIPOST, Mrs. Johnson, who was accompanied by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mrs. Efem Nkanga, noted that with over 1,000 postal offices across the country, thus stands a greater chance of bridging the gap on cashless economy.

NIPOST, she said, would play a very crucial role for this ministry by bridging digital divide and bring about digital inclusion because it has over 1000 post offices and other agency outlets.

Remmy Nweke
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D

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