E-Governance provides info to public - Botchway

Accra, May 3, GNA - A two-day seminar on E-Governance on Wednesday opened in Accra with a call on Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to develop their own websites so that they could disseminate information online to the public to save time and cost. Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, Deputy Minister for Information and National Orientation (MOINO), said E-Governance was more than just a government website on the Internet.

It was a strategic objective to support and simplify governance for all parties, including the Government, citizens and businesses, she said.

The seminar, which is under the theme; "Promoting E-Governance Through National Portals," would create a platform for MDAs to acquire more knowledge on the application of Information Communication Technology (ICT) tools and to develop and manage their own Websites to support the national portal.

It is envisaged that participants would understand basic e-governance concepts, examine different examples of national portals and gateways, discuss challenges to e-governance projects and possible solutions and gain understanding on the E-Ghana Project. Ms Botchway noted that governments all over the world were currently using the enormous benefits of ICT to enhance governance for the socio-economic prosperity of their citizens and as such Ghana could not and must not be left behind.

She said the Government of Ghana in 2003 launched the National Portal as part of the e-governance strategy to disseminate public information online and made the Ministry of Information responsible for the content management of the Government Website and all MDAs were to be automatic stakeholders.

She said efforts were being made to enhance the current national portal, which was www.ghana.gov.gh, within the framework of a proposed larger E-Ghana project.

"It is envisaged that when E-Ghana project comes into being, the national portal will be expanded in terms of government information and public services delivery online to the people of Ghana and beyond." Ms Botchway commended all MDAs that had made efforts to develop their own websites and encouraged the others that had not yet developed theirs to start something to help to make access to government information less stressful.

The seminar was organised by the Ministry of Information and National Orientation in collaboration with the International Institute for Communication Development (IICD) of the Netherlands. 03 May 2006