Implementation of E-Government

in Cameroon

Presented by Eric Sindeu, Telecommunication Engineer

Head of Technical Studies Unit N° 2, Technical Department.

Telecommunication Regulatory Board of Cameroon (TRB)

www.art.cm

Muyono, Uganda 25th to 27th march 2013

7TH ANNUAL E-GOV FORUM

Summary

1. What’s E-Government?

2. Facts on Cameroon

3. Policy Environment

4. E-Government Readiness

5. Public Awareness

6. Major e-Governance Initiatives

7. Opportunities and Challenges

8. EGOV.CM’s Strategy

9. EGOV.CM’s Vision

10. Conclusion

11. References

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

1- What’s E-Government?

E-Government (short for electronic government, also known as e-gov, digital

government, online government, or connected government) is digital interactions between a government and citizens, businesses, employees, agencies or other governments.

e-gov delivery models can be briefly summed up as :1]

G2C (Government to Citizens)

G2B (Government to Businesses)

G2E (Government to Employees)

G2G (Government to Governments)

C2G (Citizens to Governments)

This digital interaction consists of governance, information and communication technology (ICT), business process re-engineering(BPR), and e-citizen at all levels of government (city, state/regional, national, and international).

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

1- What’s E-Government? (c’d)

E-Gov (or Digital Government) is defined as ‘The employment of the Internet and

the world-wide-web for delivering government information and services to the

citizens.’ (United Nations, 2006);

E-Gov describes the use of technologies to facilitate the operation of government

and the publication of government information and services

deals heavily with Internet and non-internet applications

non-Internet forms include telephone, fax, PDA,SMS, MMS, wireless networks and

services, Bluetooth, CCTV, tracking systems, RFID, biometric identification, road

traffic management and regulatory enforcement, identity cards, smart cards and

other Near Field Communication applications; polling station technology (where

non-online e-voting is being considered), TV and radio-based delivery of

government services

There are also some technology-specific sub-categories of e-gov, such as m-

government (mobile government), u-government (ubiquitous government), and

g-government (GIS/GPS applications for e-gov).

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

1- What’s E-Government? (c’d)

Examples of some trends in E-GOV:

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

1- What’s E-Government? (c’d)

There are several international rankings of e-government maturity . Top countries according to

the UN's 2010 e-Gov Readiness Index are:

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

RANK COUNTRY INDEX

1 Republic of Korea 0.9283

2 Netherlands 0.9125

3 United Kingdom 0.8960

4 Denmark 0.8889

5 United States 0.8687

6 France 0.8635

7 Sweden 0.8599

8 Norway 0.8593

9 Finland 0.8505

10. Singapore 0.8474

11 Canada 0.8430

1- What’s E-Government? (c’d)

So far, only developed countries are ahead, but watch out for developing countries !!

Mobile penetration rates are very high in Africa, and as ICT tools and services are becoming more and more affordable, the opportunity is real..

Governments and its agents also have the opportunity to follow citizens to monitor satisfaction with services they receive.

Through ListServs, RSS feeds, mobile messaging, micro-blogging services and blogs, government and its agencies can share information to citizens who share common interests and concerns.

Governments are also beginning to Twitter.

E-Gov is all about VALUE ADD !!!!!!!!!

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

2- Facts on Cameroon

Geographical situation: central Africa

Surface Area: 475 442 km2

Population : About 21 million inhabitants

GDP 25,41 Billion USD (Dec. 2011)

GDP annual growth rate: 5.60 % (June 2012)

Inflation rate : 2.90 % (September 2012)

Unemployment rate: 3.80% (Dec. 2011)

Official languages :French and English

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

2- Facts on Cameroon (c’d)

Estimated market penetration rates in Cameroon’s telecoms sector – end 2012

Market

Penetration rate

Mobile

50%

Fixed/fixed-wireless

3%

Internet

4%

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

3- Policy environment

Strategy Document on Growth and Employment (2010–2020) - vision is to

make Cameroon a emerging country by 2035:

maintain the average GDP annual growth rate at 5,5% from 2010 to 2020;

reduce the under-employment rate from 75,8% to below 50% by the year 2020;

reduce the monetary poverty rate from 39,9% in 2007 to 28,7% in 2020;

National Policy Document for the Development of ICTs in January 2007.

National Strategy for the Fight Against Corruption (2010-2015)

Strategy Document for the Reduction of Poverty (2010-2020)

Law on Cyber Security and Cyber Criminality (2012)

Law on Electronic Communication (2012)

Law on e-commerce ( e-trade) (2012)

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

3- Policy environment

This context prompted the elaboration of an Electronic Governance Strategy for

Cameroon ( EGOV.CM)

EGOV.CM was set up by the National Agency for ICT and the United Nations

University

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

4- E-government Readiness

• Leadership

Interest expressed by the Head of State.

Prime Ministerial decree of 21st August 2009, Creating a Steering Committee for

monitoring the implementation of the National Strategy for the Development of

ICTs.

Committee headed by the Minister of Post and Telecommunications

Organisational Structure of Steering Committee :

Committee;

Technical sub-committee;

Sectorial sub-committee;

Ministerial sub-committee.

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

4- E-government Readiness (c’d)

Institutions involved in the control and development of ICTs in

Cameroon:

The Presidency of the Republic;

The Prime Minister's Office;

The National Assembly;

Several Ministries;

The Telecommunications Regulatory Board (TRB);

The National Agency for Information and Communication Technologies

(ANTIC) ;

Computer Units/Divisions in ministerial departments;

The National Centre for the Development of Computer Services

(CENADI).

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

4- E-government Readiness (c’d)

• Human Resources :

About 500 graduates each year; Certificates from BSc. to MSc or IT Engineers from:

African Computer Institute (IAI);

Advanced National Polytechnic School (ENSP);

National School of Post and Telecommunication ;

Universities (5 state and several private)

• Infrastructure:

RASCOM (satellite resources)

WACS-SAT3 and ACE available (submarine broadband cable)

Fibre Optic Cable deployed to more than 90% of ministries;

Ongoing deployment of the national optical fibre network (close to 90%

completion).

Central African Backbone (CAB) project ongoing

• Web portals (on-line) Presence: about 80% of public institutions

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

5- Public awareness

Some seminars organised to increase awareness include:

ICT as facilitator of economic development 24 January 2007

Putting in place of an IXP 18-22 February 2008

E-Government in Cameroon 12-14 March 2008 (in partnership with UNU-IIST)

E-Commerce (in partnership with Ministry of Commerce, International Chamber of Commerce and ANTIC,19-20 March 2008)

Modernisation of Cameroon by ICT, 19 June 2007

Impact of ICTs on the quality of governance 27-29 October 2008

E-GOV Africa /Cameroon edition in 2012

International Events:

International Telecommunications day – each year in may by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

6- Major e-Gov initiatives

Computerisation Initiatives:

Management of State Personnel and Salaries ( SIGIPES)‏

Management of Public Finances (SIGEFI)

Management of Customs Transactions (SYDONIA)

Transport titles (driving licence, registration documents) (SYSTAC)‏

Electoral documents and biometry process (ELECAM);

civil status and identification documents – MINATD, Police

Judicial system & database for prisoners by Ministry of Justice

PRIMO project for Tender documents (Ministry of Public Contracts)

Interconnection Initiatives:

- CRD (Database Resource Centre) – for State Universities

- Tele-education and Tele-medicine projects;

- High Level communications-Ministry of External Relations; (in partnership with the Indian

Government)

- Pilot projects for the Central African Region.

Other Initiatives:

- Multi media centres in rural areas (50 operational and 145 in construction)

- 14 community radio stations

- E-post project ongoing

- Multi-media resource centres in government high schools - MINESEC

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

7- Opportunities and Challenges

• Opportunities:

- Political will expressed by State authorities at highest level

- Bilingualism :English/French

- CAB project; IXP, local content, '.cm' policy, value added services etc.

- Revision of the Legal and Regulatory laws in the ICT sector - conducive environment for private investment.

- Universal Free Trade Zone - reinforce capacity in the ICT domain.

• Challenges:

- Non optimal allocation and use of ICT-related resources;

- Response to Industry needs and public expectations;

- Public / Private Partnership;

- Mechanism for technological knowledge transfer;

- Economic Challenges: Project prioritisation, project interdependencies, rapid technological evolution, technology choice etc..

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

8- EGOV.CM’s Strategy

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

8 –EGOV.CM’s Strategy (c’d)

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

8 –EGOV.CM’s Strategy (c’d)

For the near future, a sustainable foundation building through E-GOV.CM process include:

Readiness assessment‏

Research

Strategy Development

Program Development

Human Capacity Development

Organisational Capacity Development

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

9 –EGOV.CM’s Vision

Vision statement:

“ The Electronic Governance vision for Cameroon is to effectively use both

traditional and new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT),

particularly those related to the internet and mobile technologies, in

transforming the Government of Cameroon to be perceived as open, inclusive,

friendly, efficient and effective by its people, businesses and international

community, by providing accessible information and services that meet the

socio-economic, environmental and political needs of all stakeholders

including public servants ”

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

10 –Conclusion

The transformation of Cameroon through ICT is justified in the National Policy

document for the Development of Information and Communication Technologies.

There are a number of ongoing initiatives aiming the modernisation of the public

administration;

Stronger coordination and integration between these initiatives is needed

The EGOV.CM program aims at providing the foundation for the integration of

existing and planned e-governance initiatives in Cameroon.

EGOV.CM ‘s vision defines an implementation strategy and a concrete

government program, through a participatory and inclusive approach, towards the

development of Electronic Governance in Cameroon.

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

11 –References

• Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon (www.prc.cm)

• Telecommunications Regulatory Board (www.art.cm)

• National Institute of Statistics (nada.stat.cm)

• National Institute for Information and Communication Technologies (www.antic.cm)

• Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (www.minpostel.gov.cm)

• United Nations University

• Wikipedia

• Jeong

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu

THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION

E-Gov in Cameroon by Eric Sindeu