By: Kebba AF Touray
The ECOWAS Commission has provided a total grant of US$179,849 to the Gambia and Sierra Leone, to enhance online public service.
This information is contained in a report from the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalization of the ECOWAS Commission, presented to the regional lawmakers of the ECOWAS Parliament on Monday, 15 July 2024.
On the development of digital online public service, the report said the Commission is working with the Gambia and Sierra Leone this year, to develop their online services, and is specifically supporting the Digital Economy Ministry of the Gambia in regulatory governance, data protection and cybersecurity, capacity building and skills development, entrepreneurship and innovation, and the inclusion of gender, persons with disabilities.
The report highlighted smart cities, e-health, agri-tech, e-commerce, e-government, fin-tech and education, as the emerging technologies which enhance the way the Commission assesses and develops its services across all areas.
According to the said report, the vision of the Digital Sector Strategy corresponds to the vision of the department to position ICTs as a driving force for economic growth and inclusion, by pursuing efforts to build a single digital market for a future of shared and sustainable prosperity in the ECOWAS region. The report indicated that the Commission has conducted a training in 2023 for cyber diplomats, and 21 participants took part in the training that will provide these diplomats an understanding of cyber security and diplomacy among all ECOWAS Foreign Affairs diplomats.
The report also disclosed that in 2024, 24 participants took part in on-site training, mentoring and networking on cyber-security diplomacy.
The report informed lawmakers that the Commission in 2023 and 2024, trained a total of 91 youth in Benin and Togo, resulting in an increase in the cyber security workforce of the region, with 40 women trained on-site, mentoring and networking on cyber-security policy and diplomacy, in respect to cyber-security.
This, the report said, aims to increase the cyber-security workforce in the region.
Dilating on the Amilcar Cabral Submarine Cable System, the report said the objective is to provide redundant international broadband connectivity for countries relying only on the ACE cable, and to increase broadband capacity in participating countries.
“Regulation C/REG.21/12/17 on roaming on public mobile communication networks in the ECOWAS region was adopted by the ECOWAS Council of Ministers in December 2017, to address the issue of high roaming charges,” the report disclosed, noting that the department is derived from Articles 32 and 33 of the Revised ECOWAS Treaty.
It said the mission of the department is to facilitate and promote the development and modernization of Telecommunication / ICT and the postal sectors within member States for the provision of reliable, secure and affordable services for citizens as well as support to develop socio-economic sectors within the digital economy and digital inclusion.
It said the objective of the department is to “establish a single liberalized Telecoms/ICT market in West Africa that will facilitate the deployment of reliable, affordable and secure ICT services and applications, and to revive and transform the postal sector in the region towards the delivery of innovative services in support of activities in other socio-economic sectors.
Regional lawmakers who intervened in the presentation, commended the presenter of the report, and said the establishment of parliaments all over the world is to monitor the activities and programs undertaken by governments.
The lawmakers however urged the Commission to provide key performance indicators by outlining their set targets so that members in their own parliaments can also inform their governments on whether or not they are meeting the set targets as the ECOWAS Commission.
