ISLAMABAD:
Quickly after the launch of Telecom Coverage 2015, I wrote an article on this newspaper titled “Roadmap to Realise Pakistan’s Digital Potential”, the place I advocated {that a} high-level physique was wanted to supervise the adoption of data and communication applied sciences (ICT).
I referenced comparable high-level our bodies in nations like Japan, South Korea, India, and even the US (the place vp Al Gore had earlier offered a visionary management for the advantage of high-speed computing and communication).
Sadly, the IT ministry, not simply in Pakistan, is handled as too “junior” by the bigger and older ministries and departments. As an example, in Pakistan, the difficulty of the Proper of Approach stays unresolved, regardless of the IT ministry’s finest efforts. And it took practically 18 years to get the e-office system carried out throughout all ministries in Islamabad.
Subsequently, to foster collaboration amongst numerous state entities for a better goal, a high-level steering physique is a prerequisite.
I additionally expressed my frustration on one other matter – the continual lack of coordination amongst provinces (and between the centre and provinces) in issues associated to the devolved IT sector. Usually efforts are duplicated and options are reinvented moderately than adopting profitable practices from each other.
The Digital Nation Pakistan 2024 Invoice launched in parliament final week seems to deal with the above issues by the institution of a high-level “Nationwide Digital Fee” (NDC), headed by the prime minister and together with the 4 chief ministers. The NDC is to supply strategic pointers and assist align insurance policies and efforts between the centre and provinces.
To assist the NDC, the invoice proposes “Pakistan Digital Authority” (PDA). This authority is to function the implementation arm of the NDC and act as its interface with each the federal government and the non-public sector.
In session with stakeholders, the PDA can be to arrange a Nationwide Digital Masterplan, which is predicted to incorporate sector-specific plans, digital transformation roadmaps for key sectors, a complete listing of tasks, execution frameworks, and a digital economic system growth plan.
One of many important challenges for the PDA will likely be information governance and administration throughout each private and non-private sectors. The PDA must be sure that information custodians retain management over their respective datasets whereas creating safe frameworks for information change with different stakeholders.
To offer strategic oversight for the PDA, the invoice proposes a “Strategic Oversight Committee” (SOC). The SOC is meant to independently overview the PDA’s efficiency in relation to the grasp plan and the NDC’s directives. It’s then to supply suggestions to the NDC, importantly, “with out interfering with the autonomy of the Authority.”
Advantages
The numerous benefits of digitalisation are well-documented. International locations like Estonia, Denmark, the UAE, Singapore, South Korea, and India have demonstrated how digital applied sciences allow nations to leapfrog. The digital authorities permits people with distinctive digital IDs to entry authorities companies with out visiting authorities places of work, typically by just a few clicks on a smartphone.
For instance, the forms concerned in acquiring permission to start out a brand new enterprise may be reduce down drastically. Quite than filling out quite a few kinds and attaching copies of numerous paperwork, digitalisation permits people to deal with it with none interplay with authorities officers.
All of the required information is already out there with the federal government – private information is maintained by NADRA, tax information by the FBR, monetary information by banks, academic information by the HEC, enterprise information by the SECP, journey information by the immigration division, and so forth. Digitalisation facilitates automated information retrieval, simplifying the permission course of or offering causes if a request is denied.
Past minimising human interplay between residents and authorities, essentially the most vital good thing about digitalisation is enhancing the documentation of the economic system. The invoice seems to intention in the direction of these targets. This might be a sport changer.
Considerations
There are a number of issues of the stakeholders who’ve reviewed the draft invoice. Provided that no public consultations had been carried out (though some high specialists in each the private and non-private sectors contributed), these issues should be mentioned, debated, and addressed as completely as potential.
The first concern entails surveillance, significantly in mild of latest experiences the place the web, which helps all digitalisation efforts, has been steadily tampered with. Complaints about web slowdowns and shutdowns are widespread, and apprehensions concerning the invasion of residents’ on-line privateness (true or not) are sometimes raised.
Ideally, information safety laws ought to have been established by now. Nonetheless, even after such laws is enacted, there are fears that digitalisation could also be misused by the state to invade privateness, each time deemed needed. One more worry is that of potential conflicts or duplication with information safety legal guidelines, when enacted.
Two extra issues give attention to the Strategic Oversight Committee (SOC). (a) Out of the 9 SOC members, solely 4 are drawn from the non-public sector, a ratio deemed inadequate to make a significant impression.
From my very own expertise because the CEO of USF, the place 50% of the board members got here from the non-public sector, it’s evident that choices typically mirror the preferences of presidency representatives.
(b) All non-public sector SOC members are to be nominated by the prime minister. It’s unclear why the prime minister ought to have this authority.
Aside from the SOC, there seems to be no accountability mechanism for the PDA, regardless of its sweeping powers. Subsequently, the non-public sector ought to have a extra vital position within the SOC, permitting sub-sectors (akin to telecom, IT, manufacturing, and so forth) to appoint their very own representatives, just like the USF.
Lengthy-term endeavour
The draft Digital Nation Pakistan 2024 Invoice is an important and well timed piece of laws. Nonetheless, vital challenges stay, together with digitising all authorities businesses and constructing a strong, nationwide digital infrastructure. All this takes time.
Digital transformation is a long-term endeavour, due to this fact, such elementary laws should be capable of face up to any authorities adjustments. That’s the reason you will need to steer it fastidiously – very fastidiously.
The author is the previous CEO of the Common Service Fund and is offering telecom (coverage and regulation) consultancy companies in a number of nations in Africa and Asia