| POINT OF REFERENCE
...Africa develops best practices portal for government, NGOs
By SOLA FANAWOPO
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
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John Kuffour
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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The government of Burkina Faso has developed a portal serving
as a reservoir of African ICT Best Practices. Launched at
the ICT Best Practices Forum, held in Ouagadougou last week,
the portal provides a single point of reference for African
governments embarking on large-scale development projects,
says Microsoft, which is a partner in the initiative.
“The aim is to give African governments and NGOs a single
point of reference where they can go to see if the challenge
that they're facing has already been solved by another organisation,
and customise and apply these methods to their problems,”
the company says.
Public sector agencies across Africa can submit best practices
proposals for proven, successful projects that fit into any
of the categories listed in the projects section of the portal.
Submitted proposals are then assessed and evaluated by a technical
committee responsible for checking the reliability and validity
of the submitted information.
Microsoft chairman for Africa, Cheick Modibo Diarra, says
there are no boundaries to the best practices that could be
included in this database. Subjects could range from agriculture,
land affairs, civil services and even minerals and energy,
he says.
He adds that there is also no one-size-fits-all solution for
the unique challenges the continent faces.
However, the portal provides a basis to build on and will
help African governments save time and money, while also speeding
up overall service delivery, he says.
Facing challenges
In his commentary about ICT best practice in Africa, Balancing
Act CEO, Russell Southwood, says an understanding of the drivers
for the implementation of ICT initiatives in Africa will help
improve their chances of success.
“Countries may be poor, but hard choices need to be
made if the gap between intention and action is to be closed.”
He highlights the challenges faced by Burkina Faso, which
include a low PC penetration rate and a literacy rate of 30%.
The government is rolling out a $100 million nationwide
fibre network that is to reach every administrative centre,
he says. It also supports grassroots ICT training initiatives
and the annual Internet week, he says.
In 2007, the government facilitated the training of 6,000
individuals, including civil servants, teachers, students
and the general public, he adds. This year, the organisers
hope to train over 7,000 in 34 towns across the country, he
notes.
The best practice portal falls within a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) Microsoft signed with the government of Burkina Faso
in September 2007.
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