[AfrICANN-discuss] Nigeria : ICT Agenda 2010 - What's in the 2010 Budget for ICTs?

Wed Jan 13 17:55:43 SAST 2010

Nigeria: ICT Agenda 2010 - What's in the 2010 Budget for ICTs?
10 January 2010

THE rising rate of unemployment in Nigeria threatens the welfare of hundreds of thousands of individuals, and exacerbates the current economic crisis.

However, industry experts believe that only spurring investment in Nigeria's ICT environment may effectively provide immediate strategy to compensate for the damages unemployment has created.

Yet, while investments to improve the country's traditional physical infrastructure like roads, bridges, rail system systems, among others are necessary and important, investments in certain parts of Nigeria's information and communication technology (ICT) resources, or digital infrastructures, will have a greater positive impact on jobs, while at the same time laying the groundwork for sustained productivity and innovation.

Nigeria has made considerable efforts to be one of the leading nations in ICT development, atleast making history today as front runner of African and world telecom growth. But playing up investment in other areas of ICT like software, broadband, computer and electronic payment platforms would further, rather than undermine, those efforts.

This ambition, though should be consistent with the 2010 budget which was allegedly signed by President Yar'Adua into law recently.

Unfortunately, while other nations like Australia, Canada, UK and the Americas are reviewing the ICT involvements taking painstaking decisions to leverage their economies on the shoulders of technology, Nigeria's budget proposals do not reflect a country that understands the power of ICT as economy lifter.

For instance, the 2009 Budget provided 91% of the capital vote to five key 'priority' sectors: Critical Infrastructure which includes capital allocations, Power, Petroleum Resources, Aviation, Works and Transport; Human Capital Development, comprising Health, Education, MDGs Conditional Grants, MDGs Quick Wins Projects and MDGs Capacity Building; Land Reform and Food Security focusing on Agriculture and Water Resources; Niger Delta, comprising NDDC and the newly created Ministry of the Niger Delta.

The 2010 budget, takes similar turn, resting its economic recovery path on some other factors other than the ICT even when the thrust of the 2010 budget is to " accelerate economic recovery through targeted fiscal interventions intended to further stimulate the economy and support private sector growth".

The same purpose serves the Canadian budget proposal in 2009 but the difference is that it tailored the federal budget to include several investment initiatives geared to the ICT sector. With a view to closing the gap in broadband access between urban and rural areas, the Canadian government pledged $225 million to Industry Canada over three years to develop and implement a strategy on extending broadband infrastructure in unserved Canadian communities. The budget described this funding as an example of the government's commitment to encouraging the private development of rural broadband infrastructure.

However, to ensure that Nigeria's economic recovery actually rests squarely on ICT, industry practitioners have provided a roadmap which the government must follow if the journey to economic recovery is sincere.

>From the President of Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria, ISPON, Mr Chris Uwaje, President Nigerian Internet Group, NIG, Mr Lanre Ajayi and Chairman Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria, ALTON, Engr Gbenga Adebayo among others, the resolution is that critical investment must trail the entire ICT sector for the country to get its footing in the world order.

Adebayo said: "We need a continuous improvement in our National Energy Supply, we need a continuous improve on security of existing infrastructures and we have requested that Government should classify telecom infrastructure as National Security infrastructure and ring fence same from all forms of interference.

"There should also be rapid improvement in our Broadband penetration, Government should remove any form of barrier that will hinder broadband deployment across the country.

Most importantly we need to keep up the pace of progress and development of the industry and be mindful of processes and policy directions that may limit the growth".

After looking back at 2009 with a view to determining what 2010 would give, Mr Lanre Ajayi, said that "there was a dire need for appropriate specrum for the rollout of broadband Internet. The licencing of the 2.3 GHz spectrum was a great opportunity to fill this gap. The cancellation of the licencing exercise was therefore an anti-climax.

The controversy that surrounded the licencing exercise was unnecessary and could have been managed better. The consequence of that is the fact that operators who had wanted to invest are not able to rollout broadband service thereby limiting the broadband penetration of the country. For accelerated growth of the Internet sector, there is an urgent need to make spectrum available for broadband Internet rollout.

"We need to be consistent with our policies. We decided to opt for a liberised, deregulated,and private sector led economy as conceptualised in the Telecoms policy and Telecoms act 2003. It is therefore a seeming policy reversal when government starts to run ICT businesses as the case with NIGCOMSAT and Galaxy Backbone. It is important that government is seen to be consistent with its written down policies. ,

For Mr Uwaje, a critical mission, demands a critical strategy and those involved must be focused, doing the right things at the right time. The agenda for 2010 must among other areas of ICT, see to an increased investment in the software sector. But the key assignment is establishing and passing a National IT Framework Bill as the superstructure and Roadmap to our national ICT success.

Source : Vanguard

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> 1. Reminder fellowship - 38th ICANN meeting (Anne-Rachel Inn?)
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> 3. AWID : Femmes et gouvernance de l'internet (Anne-Rachel Inne)
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> Date: Thu, 7 Jan 2010 09:33:40 +0100
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> Subject: [AfrICANN-discuss] Reminder fellowship - 38th ICANN meeting
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> Cc: Mahamat Charfadine <mahamat.charfadine at groupe-soteltchad.td>
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> The 38th International Public ICANN meeting in Brussels, Belgium 25-30 June
> 2010
> 
> *Application Round opens: 11 January 2010*
> 
> * Application Round closes: 19 February 2010*
> 
> * Selected Fellows announced: 16 April 2010*
> 
> Online Application
> Form<https://forms.icann.org/fellowship/applications/icann37/index.php>
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> *Documentation *
> Terms and Conditions<http://www.icann.org/fellowships/terms-and-conditions.htm>
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> <http://www.societesdelinformation.net/index.php> Sociétés de l'information
> 
> Sociétés de l'information
> 
> 
> <http://www.isoc.org/> Avec le soutien de
> l' Isoc Monde <http://www.isoc.org/>
> * N°65 - Janvier 2009 *
> Internet, on t'aime !
> 
> *Internet, on t’aime !*
> 
> 
> 
> Focus
> 
> *Les enfants d’Internet*
> 
> Où comment une classe de maternelle voit le réseau. Les commentaires
> facétieux des moins de 6 ans sont à lire avant qu’ils grandissent. L’on
> apprend notamment que seuls les enfants sages ont le droit de jouer sur
> l’ordinateur !
> 
> 
> 
> Face à face
> 
> *Internet, ami de l'art et des artistes *
> 
> Denis Ladegaillerie dirige Believe, une maison de disques numérique.
> Directeur du théâtre de Chelles, Marc Le Glatin a publié « Internet, un
> séisme dans la culture ». Ils analysent les nouvelles pratiques culturelles
> de la toile, leurs apports et les manques qui subsistent.
> 
> 
> 
> Vues d’ailleurs
> 
> *2009, l’année d’Internet en Afrique*
> 
> En partenariat avec la lettre mensuelle Batik. Son rédacteur en chef,
> Olivier Sagna, nous envoie de bonnes nouvelles du continent. Câbles
> sous-marins, traitement des déchets électroniques, l’Afrique avance !
> 
> 
> 
> A la barre
> 
> *Homme : 1 – Ordinateur : 0*
> 
> La sécurité bancaire a subi un drôle de revers en 2009. Où l’on découvre que
> les failles de sécurité proviennent bien de l’homme, surtout de celui qui
> est motivé par une certaine vision éthique de son travail.
> 
> 
> 
> Enquête
> 
> *Eternel retour vers le passé*
> 
> Amateurs ou professionnels, les généalogistes adorent leur nouveau terrain
> de jeu électronique. Archives poussiéreuses ou registres numérisés, les
> sources se multiplient et la « profession » rajeunit.
> 
> 
> 
> La page de l’Isoc Monde
> 
> *Collaboration Internet Society et W3C*
> 
> En 2010 et dans les 2 années qui suivent, le partenariat entre deux
> organisations de la gouvernance d’Internet se renforce. L’Isoc offre un
> soutien financier au W3C pour son développement au services des normes et
> standards ouverts du web
> 
> 
> 
> Emergences
> 
> *Le cinéma de demain, c’est plus du cinéma !*
> 
> Francis Ford Coppola n’est pas un nostalgique de l’argentique. Et il le
> prouve en déroulant un avenir radieux pour le 7ème art version 2010 et
> après. Un point de vue rafraichissant.
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