Seychelles launched national ICT policy

Seychelles is the latest COMESA member country to launch its national ICT policy this week. The development came just over a year after the first meeting of the local consultative committee charged with providing policy direction to the government on ICT growth in the country.

The document sets national ICT policy objectives in five key areas, notably in ICT Infrastructure, legal and regulatory framework, human resources development, as well as industry and government.

“Through this policy document, the government recognizes that accessible, affordable, high quality and well-regulated ICT facilities and services with and within Seychelles is critical to the realisation of its vision of a modern, ICT enabled and knowledge-based information society,” says the minister responsible for ICT, Jacquelin Dugasse.

The policy drew together the experiences of countries such as Singapore, Malta, Kenya, Mauritius, Botswana and others which have over the last few years undertaken a similar exercise.

In reply to criticism raised about the transparency of the exercise, minister Dugasse said the policy was approved by the government on September 8th this year, only after extensive consultations and discussions involving a wide range of participants from the public sector as well as civil society was made.

“This policy is truly a public–private partnership at the highest level. In ensuring wider participation in the development of the policy, its draft was also distributed to other stakeholders such as the Liaison Unit for Non-Governmental Organisations (LUNGOS), the Seychelles Lawyers Association and others.”

The policy among other things takes into account the objectives of the Seychelles Government with regard to Strategy 2017 and the 10 targets of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS).

“This will be achieved with the commitment to monitor the implementation of the policy, through the use of appropriate indicators and review when necessary,” says the principal Secreaty for ICT Benjamin Choppy.

The policy came to being with the financial and technical support of the Commonwealth, COMESA and the India Ocean Commission. Meanwhile, the consultative committee has been mandated with the formulation of a comprehensive national ICT strategic plan for 2007.