Government to outsource ICT jobs

The Seychelles’ public sector ICT workforce will shrink considerably as a result of the current restructuring - being undertaken by the government.

In a recent interview the minister responsible for Information and Communication Technology, Jacquelin Dugasse said his ministry intends to outsource most projects to the private sector.

“This is an opportune moment for our young professionals to apply their trade in the private sector or even set up their own businesses,” says Dugasse.

Amongst the ICT specialists who could lose their current employment with the government are several developers, designers, programmers, analysts, administrators and technicians.

A government spokesperson says in the last three weeks 57 employees from various professions, including ICT have been made redundant.

Critics have questioned the government’s motives since ICT has been identified as the backbone for the country’s ambitious plan for the next ten years called Strategy 2017.

“This is ironic. Seychelles is already heavily dependent on foreign expertise in the ICT fields, yet we are now witnessing qualified local talents being made redundant,” commented a chamber of commerce official.

The government has defended its decision to lay off workers, claiming it will enforce its role as facilitator and regulator rather than the major service provider.

“We intend to refrain from employing people doing specialist jobs that the private sector can do more effectively, whilst contributing positively to Seychelles’ prosperity,” says vice president Joseph Belmont.

The main opposition party has expressed dismay at the reasons given for the redundancy and has accused the government of insensitive handling of the situation.

Cost is irrelevant. But speed not!

A leading Seychellois ICT pioneer is offering options to the government on how best to finance the country’s quest to get connected to a regional submarine fibre optic cable project.

Marc Hoareau the man credited with connecting Seychelles to the World Wide Web, says the private sector which is the sole providers of ICT services in Seychelles should be the principal backers of this national ambition.

“First and foremost, it’s right, because at the end of the day it’s not the government that’s providing telecom services to Seychelles. It’s simple. It’s Cable & Wireless. It’s Intelvision. It’s Airtel and even Kokonet,” says Hoareau.

In a recent interview, the minister responsible for ICT Jacquelin Dugasse said the project will cost between $US35 and 40 million.

In an exclusive interview with Seychelles Digital radio programme, Mr Hoareau points out Seychellois companies are currently paying satellite companies around $US25, 000 monthly for bandwidth.

“So why should I give IntelSat $US300, 000 a year if I was part of this project,” he states.

Mr Hoareau also offered the introduction of an ICT tax as a mean to repay a loan that Seychelles can borrow to invest in the venture.

“It‘s very simple. The people of Seychelles would understand. This is a tax and the benefits are huge. It’s not just for businesses in Seychelles, but for our future.”

Thirdly Mr Hoareau who’s the CEO of the leading ITC training centre VCS has challenged prominent financial institutions to support the country’s next development stage.

“What’s the point of having a new port, if we’re not going to have the telecommunication part to bolster fishing in the region? Tourism, you have new hotels being built. There’s online reservation into Seychelles. We have to be connected. We cannot continue to use satellite.”

The government recently revealed an ambitious plan for the next ten years dubbed Strategy 2017 in which ICT has been identify as the backbone of any future development.

“I think any government today that is smart enough to look at the future of their own country must realize that without Internet, without telecommunication, without the speed for us to process information, we’re going to be left way behind. So to me it’s something that needs to be done and as far as I’m concern, the cost is irrelevant,” concluded Mr. Hoaureau.

Digitalizing COMESA’s customs procedures

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) through the financial backing of the European Commission has announced plan to digitalize the economic block’s customs clearance procedures.

Under the project member countries will receive donation of computers, equipped with a computerized customs management system, which will eventually introduce a paperless system of customs processing.

At its last summit in Nairobi earlier this year, COMESA observed that the custom service in many of its member countries is still stuck in the pre-independence era, remaining a paper transaction from beginning to end as far as clearance of goods are concerned.

Under the new plan, members will use the Automated System for Customs Data and Management (ASYCUDA) software, developed by the United Nations conference on Trade and Development in 1981.

The software covers most foreign trade procedures and handles manifests and customs declarations, accounting procedures, transit and suspense procedures. ASYCUDA also generates trade data that can be used for statistical economic analysis.

A COMESA spokesperson says the project is aimed at increasing trade facilitation, improved efficiency and effectiveness in customs procedures, provision of timely and accurate trade data and the use of international standards.

The system is also expected to enable member countries to streamline customs procedures and adopt cohesive strategies that would foster the cargo processing and promote regional trade.

COMESA says it will donate computers to the value of US$100,000 to US$400,000. The Democratic Republic of Congo, the Comoros, Eritrea, Swaziland and Seychelles are the five newest countries that will benefit from the donation.

The ASYCUDA system is already in operation in nine other COMESA countries.

SBC in new regional partnership

The Indian Ocean public television stations have launched an online content management system to boost regional media coverage.

SERTOI (Report Exchange System for Televisions in the Indian Ocean) developed by GlobeCast, functions similarly to an electronic mailbox allowing participating stations to make audiovisual files available via the Internet in a non-proprietary form.

The project was put on trial earlier this month during a workshop in Mauritius where editors from the six regional public television stations were meeting to finalise the project.

All newsrooms will have an identical computer equiped with the appopriate software. The workstation is design to the surmont the instability of Internet connection in the region.

The Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) Chief Editor Antoine Onezime says SERTOI is part of a project to set up a network to promote the exchanging of reports in the Indian Ocean

“We will now be able to exchange up to 3,000 reports annually, that will not only enrich the region’s televised newscasts, but also open up a new window of information on the world’s third largest ocean,” says Onezime.

The stations will shortly initiate a monthly regional magazine to consolidate the exchange process, to promote the region, its history, culture and inhabitants.