Rwanda Information technology Authority

Strategies

The Government Of Rwanda is committed to the implementation of the following broad strategies towards the achievement of the Missions for the realization of the Vision for Rwanda:

Strategy A:
To transform Rwanda into an IT literate nation

It is envisaged that this Strategy will be implemented within the 1st, 2nd and 3rd NICI Plans. It will therefore be possible to transform Rwanda into an IT literate nation by 2015.

The implementation of Strategy A will require the need for: (i) putting in place special ICT promotion packages, policy instruments and incentives; (ii) developing the necessary human resource capacity in ICTs and in other professional areas; (iii) implementing a number of national ICT applications across all sectors of the economy and society, (iv) mobilizing and deploying the necessary financial and technological resources for implementing relevant ICT programmes identified within the NICI plans for achieving this strategy (v) developing standards, best practices and guidelines to guide the deployment, exploitation and development of ICTs in key sectors and (vi) providing the necessary legal regulatory and institutional framework for support ICT development in Rwanda.

Strategy B:
To promote and encourage the deployment and utilization of ICTs within the economy and society

This Strategy will be implemented in all NICI Plans up to the year 2020. The continuous promotion of the deployment and utilization of ICTs within the economy and society would require the (i) putting in place special ICT promotion packages, policy instruments and incentives; (ii) development of the necessary human resources in ICTs and in other professional areas to facilitate the process of ICT deployment and exploitation within the economy and society; (iii) implementation of a number of national ICT applications across all sectors of the economy and the society, (iv) mobilization and deployment of the necessary financial and technological resources, to aid the ICT deployment and exploitation exercise within the economy and society (v) development of standards, best practices and guidelines to guide the deployment, exploitation and development of ICTs in key sectors and (vi) providing the necessary legal regulatory and institutional framework for supporting ICT development in Rwanda.

Strategy C:
To improve the efficiency of the Civil and Public Service

The modernization of the civil and public service to improve efficiency and service delivery to the public can be achieved within 15 years. Specific programmes to facilitate this process will therefore need to be incorporated into the 1st, 2nd and 3rd NICI Plans. On the whole the implementation of this strategy will require the (i) development of the necessary human resources in ICTs and in other professional areas; (ii) mobilization and deployment of the necessary financial and technological resources, (iii) computerization of the civil and public service as a major civil service modernization exercise and (iv) the development of standards, best practices and guidelines to guide the deployment, exploitation and development of ICTs in the civil and public service organizations.

Strategy D:
To improve the information and communications infrastructure of Rwanda

It is envisaged that: the vast majority of the programmes needed for implementing this Strategy would have been implemented within fifteen years. It is therefore expected that the bulk of the required national information infrastructure (NII) for Rwanda would have been put in place by the completion of the implementation of the 3rd NICI Plan. However because of the dynamic nature of the ICT landscape which is characterized by rapidly changing and advancing technological offers, it is envisaged that some elements of the infrastructure will need to be updated, enhanced and expanded during the 4th NICI Plan period.

On the whole this strategy will require (i) putting in place special ICT promotion packages, policy instrument and incentives to facilitate the development, expansion and modernization of the national information infrastructure; (ii) developing the critical ICT human resources that will be required for supporting the rehabilitation, and expansion of the national ICT infrastructure (iii) implementing some national ICT applications specifically in the communications sector (iv) mobilizing and deploying the necessary financial and technological resources required for building the national infrastructure (v) developing the necessary standards, best practices and guidelines to guide the process of developing and improving the ICT infrastructure and (vi) providing the necessary legal regulatory and institutional framework for supporting the ICT development process in Rwanda.

Strategy E:
To transform the educational system using ICTs with the aim to improving accessibility, quality and relevance to the development needs of Rwanda

It is envisaged that the bulk of the task of transforming and improving the Rwanda educational system can be accomplished within 10 years. This process could be aided by the implementation of targeted ICT programmes, projects and initiatives that could be incorporated into the 1st and 2nd NICI Plans. Specifically the implementation of this strategy will require: (i) developing the necessary human resources in ICTs and in other professional areas; (ii) implementing a number of national ICT applications relevant to the educational system (iii) mobilizing and deploying the necessary financial and technological resources for implementing the necessary educational reform programmes and specific ICT programmes and initiatives targeted at improving the educational delivery system (iv) computerization of the civil and public service, especially the activities and the operations of the Ministry of Education and its organs in the Prefectures and the Communes (v) developing the necessary standards, best practices and guidelines to guide the deployment, exploitation of ICTs in the schools, colleges and the universities and (vi) providing the necessary institutional set-up to support ICT exploitation and development within the educational system, the ICT training provision sector and the research institutions.

Strategy F:
To improve the human resource development capacity of Rwanda to meet the changing demands of the economy

It is envisaged that the improvement of the human resource capacity of Rwanda to such a level that it can facilitate and support all key sectors of the economy can be accomplished within ten years. Again ICTs can play a major role in achieving the goals of this Strategy. Specifically human resource development (HRD) programmes will need to be incorporated into the 1st and 2nd NICI Plans aimed at developing and improving the pool of ICT professionals in Rwanda and for developing other professional skills in science, technology and in business.

The implementation of this strategy will on the whole require:(i) putting in place special ICT promotion packages and incentives to encourage the private and public sector organization to invest in the development of human resources to meet their needs (ii) implementing on a national level a number of HRD initiatives to boast up ICT skills and other skill areas (iii) mobilizing and deploying the necessary financial and technological resources to facilitate the implementation of HRD programmes and initiatives (vi) developing the necessary standards, best practices and guidelines to guide the process of HRD in key all sectors of the economy and (vii) providing the necessary and institutional support for facilitating HRD on a national basis.

Strategy G:
To develop the legal, institutional and regulatory framework and structures required for supporting the deployment and utilization of ICTs within the economy and society

It is envisaged that the bulk of work involving the development of the legal, regulatory and institutional framework could be carried out in the first two NICI Plan periods. It is however anticipated that some of the work will be carried over to the 3rd and 4th NICIs.

Strategy H:
To facilitate the process of national reconciliation and reintegration by promoting social and cultural interaction within the society

It is anticipated that the implementation of this Strategy will transcend all four NICI Plans and beyond. ICTs could in some way be used to facilitate the process of social and cultural interaction at all levels of the society, which could translate into facilitating the process of national reconciliation and social reintegration. The realization of the goals of this Strategy could in some way be facilitated by (i) implementing a number of national ICT applications specially targeted at improving the process of social interaction within the communities and (ii) mobilizing and deploying the necessary financial and technological resources to implement specific ICT programmes that support the objectives of this strategy.