Minister for Communications and Information Technology Hon Timothy Masiu has announced that Government ICT Infrastructure will now be consolidated and centralised under one Ministry – The Ministry for ICT.
Minister Masiu, in a media statement said “As many may be aware, the Integrated Government Information System (IGIS) Project under the previous Government was supposed to be a game changing Government ICT infrastructure project that would connect all national and provincial government agencies”.
“This key critical infrastructure was intended to enable connectivity while at the same time drastically cut goods and services expenditure through innovations such interagency VOIP audio and video teleconferencing, centralized data hosting, whole of government approach for internet, and various other shared services. Unfortunately, IGIS did not have an appropriate policy and legislative framework furthermore the project itself was not managed well”.
As responsible for ICT, Masiu said he is concerned that due to the current status of the IGIS Project, other ICT Government Projects under various Departments are now mushrooming, and declared that his Ministry will now taking charge.
The Department has already commenced an extensive evaluation on the IGIS Project. Upon the completion of the evaluation, a new design for Government ICT Infrastructure will be put in place, and consultation and consolidation for the intended Government ICT Infrastructure design within the Digital Government Bill will be developed worked on by the Department of ICT.
Masiu encouraged all agencies with ongoing ICT Infrastructure Projects to consult with the Ministry for ICT.
