The Minister in charge of Planning, Statistics and Regional Integration, Ingrid Olga Ghislaine Ebouka-Babackas, launched on November 24 the study of digital transformation in Congo. This study should lead to the adoption of a master plan for public administration information systems and the strengthening of infrastructure.
The meeting, which took place within the framework of the National Development Plan (PND 2018-2022), will allow the experts to readjust their methodology in order to develop technical and financial files that will serve as advocacy to mobilize the necessary funding for the achievement of a double objective, namely the modernization of the information systems of the Congolese administration and the installation of a digital data center in Pointe-Noire.
According to the Minister of Planning, the Congo is facing major structural challenges for the development of its digital economy, including the poor performance of information systems, the quantitative and qualitative deficit of basic infrastructure, especially those of technology. information and communication.
“Information systems in Congo suffer from a lack of coordination, structuring, coherence and investment. Each ministry or public administration defines its own information system making hoped-for investments and use unsuccessful, ”lamented Minister Ingrid Olga Ghislaine Ebouka-Babackas.
Funded by the European Union to the tune of 400,000 euros, through the Cotonou investment facility implemented by the European Investment Bank, this project benefits from technical support from the Deloitte and Tactis consortium.
For the Ambassador of the European Union to the Congo, Raul Mateus Paula, the digital sector occupies a strategic place in the entire development strategy. In Congo, he said, the internet penetration rate has increased from 3.3% to 7.7% over the past five years and digital technology has become an increasingly important lever for development.
“This technical assistance mission aims to support the Republic of Congo’s transition to a digital economy. It includes two components, namely the development of a master plan and a feasibility study concerning the modernization of the information systems of the administration, as well as a study relating to the strengthening of national and international transmission networks and ‘data center infrastructure in Congo,’ explained Raul Mateus Paula.
Present at the launching ceremony, the Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, Léon Juste Ibombo, signified that this study materializes the e-gouv axis which will allow the government to have information systems integrated. “Each administration, ministry wants to implement its own information system when we should have only one operational information system,” he said.
