As part of the implementation of the Digital Transformation Acceleration Project (PATN), the Minister in charge of the Digital Economy, Léon Juste Ibombo, received a delegation from the World Bank (WB), led by Djibrilla Karamoko, in Brazzaville on August 27. The progress of this project, financed to the tune of 100 million US dollars by this institution, was at the center of the discussions.
In execution for two years, the PAPTN aims at the physical realization of the digital transformation of the country, one of the strategic sectors included among the six pillars of the National Development Plan 2022-2026.
“We actually had a working session with the ministry to see the progress of this project and as you know, it is a project that is very important not only for the government, but also for the Bank. We are trying to work to see to what extent we can connect the entire Congolese population under this new technology. We think it is a very good thing, the project is progressing well, and we hope that the technical teams will continue to work to achieve the results that we have set for this project,” explained Djibrilla Karamoko.
On the connectivity aspect, Minister Léon Juste Ibombo noted that this point remains essential. Indeed, the stated ambition is to succeed in opening up the territory, to ensure that electronic communications reach the most remote localities in Congo. “We began this effort with the Fund for Universal Access and Service of Electronic Communications (FASUCE), and we have seen with our partners at the WB how to further extend this network, by supporting FASUCE so that we can connect as many localities as possible in Likouala, for example,” he said.
Strengthening the digital skills of young people was also one of the points discussed. On this subject, Minister Ibombo said: ” We need to train as many of our young people as possible; we have a project for 1,200 young people. These different training courses will be launched in multiple phases, including the first, second and third. Also, support will be provided for the construction of multimedia centers in areas that are not yet covered through post offices, high schools, schools and universities in the interior of the country. For digital skills, we will start with the large areas that have some infrastructure set up by the government, namely Pointe-Noire, Brazzaville, Dolisie and Ouesso. This will subsequently be extended to other localities.”
