Ten months after Vice-President Joseph Belmont’s declaration that “efforts towards the government offering electronic services continue to edge closer to realisation,” questions are being raised about what is happening to the e-government project.
In a rare article on ICT issues, the latest issue of the (Le Nouveau)Seychelles Weekly says the ministry concerned should enlighten the public about the demise of this project.
On its popular page 3 column “As told to Troukler,” the headline screams: What on earth happened to the e-government project? Troukler (the columnist) is the Creole description for a simple man of great wisdom, feared by many because of his uncanny ability to see things as they really are.
The columnist reminds its readers that it was amidst much “fanfare and publicity,” that Seychelles announced its intention to introduce the project. An expert was flown in from Canada to advise the government on the virtues and benefits of e-government.
Speakin about the project in January, the principal Secretary for technology, Benjamin Choppy said: “At the moment, the MITC is working with different government ministries and departments, assisting them with their computerisation processes.”
The column says it is incomprehensible why the government did not embark on this project at all.
As Seychelles is an archipelago, one of the many benefits of the project is that people from all the inhabited islands will eventually be able to apply for driving licences, planning permission, passports, a plot of land and file Pension Fund returns, etc, online from their own premises and without having to come to the main island Mahé at great expense.
Editor’s note: Seychelles Digital has reported on the e-government’s initiative. I’ve also approached various local ICT specialists about this project and there are indications that there are problems in its implementation.
1 comment:
Le Nouveau Seychelles Weekly has every right to seek such clarification. This is taxpayers’ money we are talking about. The project was indeed announced and launched with great fanfare, but where is the result? Since the state media is keeping quiet on the issue (lack of follow-up news is a major problem in Seychelles’ media), it’s only professional on Le Nouveau Seychelles Weekly’s part to raise the issue.
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