Joining the global information community Government is going hi-tech [Archives:2003/53/Business & Economy]

BY MAHYOUB AL-KAMALI
YEMEN TIMES STAFF
Getting Yemen’s government on high-tech information systems was the focus of a meeting that attracted several international companies to Sana’a Dec. 16
The Ministry of Communication organized that event to further move along the move to electronic systems in the government, a program previously authorized by the cabinet.
In the meeting, attended by Eng.Abdu al-Malik al-Mulami, the Minister of Communications, speeches and lectures highlighted a number of projects the ministry has carried out in order to pave the way for better use of information technology.
The meeting included the sharing of expertiese from different companies who are prominent in this field.
That will enable Yemen to properly invest resources to make the project proceeds.
Nine companies from America, Europe, East Asia and Africa answered the invitation to attend and share their previous experiences in preparing electronic government systems.
The meeting has also confirmed the importance of good planning, so that Yemen would benefit from the new knowledge economy to shore up the gross domestic product and increase efficiency of Yemeni productive sectors.
With the spread of the electronic government program in Yemen, it’s expected that jobs will be created for Yemen’s unemployed.
Dr Ibrahim al-Qadhi, head of the regional bureau of he international union for communications confirmed that Yemen’s endeavour is to take serious steps towards finishing the project. An electronic government would it:
-change its production sectors into an economy for knowledge,
-improve services of the sectors of trade, transport, education, health and banking,
-reduce migration from the countryside to major cities,
-narrow the gap between the rural and urban areas.
The consultative meeting gave attention to study the IT master plan, its estimated cost and how to provide necessary funding.
The project comes after Yemen has realized, with a number of Arab countries, the need to move into the age of information and communication, an age that is making a global information community.
The government of Yemen is moving towards implementing the Arab strategy on communications and information prepared by Arab communications ministers who met in Amman in 2000.
Implementation of the IT master plan would facilitate the ongoing process of administrative decentralization and help local councils in the governorates and districts. An electronic government would help local councils in financial independence and ease communication with relevant ministries and institutions through the network.
Local councils will also be linked directly to the ministry of local administration for correspondence through the network of information and communications technology.
It’s all geared to help Yemen keeping pace with developments achieved in other world communities.
At the same time, Yemen is preparing to implement a new telecommunication system for rural communications (CDNA) which is a developed model for (GSM) systems. A Korean company (L.G) will implement this project in 2003-2004 covering 78 positions and 50,000 telecommunication lines in Sana’a, Dhamar. Ibb, Taiz, Amran and Saada.

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