By Tevita Motulalo
CHINESE telecom enterprise Huawei Technologies is the architect of Tonga’s central and national electronic infrastructure.
“The aim of e-government is to create a Tonga National Information Network to connect multiple arms of government through a central electronic system,” stated the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC).
According to the Secretary of MIC, Paula Ma‘u, Huawei is undertaking a survey of the infrastructure construct, and will make recommendations in a report to government on how to further the initiative.
Ma‘u says the network will exclusively be for government departments, while another project on the pipeline is to facilitate community wide utilization.
The project has the ability to cut out inter-departmental communication that could have otherwise circulated the globe before reaching their destinations, given the departments’ relative proximity.
A delegation from the company has presented a proposal for “a ground-breaking e-government system” to the Prime Minister, Lord Tu’ivakano, before the proposal was discussed with Cabinet on Thursday.
“If approved, the project can bring huge gains in terms of better service delivery and public access to government information,” said Ma’u.
According to Ma‘u, the report submitted by Huawei will also be part of a proposal for funding from partners.
An electronic identification system and electronic surveillance for police were also discussed.
The shift to “paperless” communications is expected to cut administration costs, as well as boost revenue through methods such as network sharing, e-tax and e-finance.
The public can also expect to see better transparency, participation and efficiency in service.
The scope of the network includes all main island groups – Tongatapu, Vava‘u, Ha‘apai, ‘Eua and the Niuas.
Other potential applications proposed by Huawei include e-education and e-health, connecting schools and main hospitals to the government data system.
According to Ma‘u, the report submitted by Huawei will also be part of a proposal for funding from partners.
An electronic identification system and electronic surveillance for police were also discussed.
The shift to “paperless” communications is expected to cut administration costs, as well as boost revenue through methods such as network sharing, e-tax and e-finance.
The public can also expect to see better transparency, participation and efficiency in service.
The scope of the network includes all main island groups – Tongatapu, Vava‘u, Ha‘apai, ‘Eua and the Niuas.
Other potential applications proposed by Huawei include e-education and e-health, connecting schools and main hospitals to the government data system.
No comments:
Post a Comment