ICT Policy
The ICT-2020 Policy, sets out the orientation of the Government’s ICT Policy and Strategies within context of the GOR’s broad socio-economic development objectives within the Vision 2020 time frame of 20 years.
The Government in formulating its ICT-2020 Policy is guided by the principle that if Rwanda is to take full advantage of the opportunities of the information age and develop a vibrant multi-sectorial information and knowledge economy, it should not as a nation be just a consumer of ICT goods and services but also a producer and developer of the technology.
The GOR believes that development of a local ICT production industry and service sector is as equally important as the deployment, exploitation and utilization of the technology to support the activities of various sectors of the economy and society.
The GOR as part of its ICT policy and strategy is therefore fully committed to simultaneously pursuing both ICT Exploitation and Production policy involving: the utilization and exploitation of ICTs to support the delivery of government services and the activities of various sectors of the economy as well as the production, development and delivery of ICT products and services i.e. towards the development and promotion of an ICT industry and service sector.
The GOR will implement this ICT Policy over a period of twenty years up to the Year 2020 through the implementation of four 5 Year NICI Plans with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd NICI Plans laying emphasis on the exploitation and utilization of ICT products and services to support the delivery of government services and the activities of various sectors of the economy and the 4th NICI Plan laying emphasis on the production, development and delivery of ICT products and services.
Each of the NICI Plans will therefore have elements of ICT Utilization and Exploitation as well ICT Production and Development. But the 1st, 2nd and 3rd NICI Plans will be designed to lay emphasis on programmes, projects and initiatives that promote the utilization and exploitation of ICTs in the society and economy with the 4th NICI Plan laying emphasis on programmes, projects and initiatives targeted at accelerating the development of the ICT Production Sector to facilitate the development and production of ICT goods and services for the domestic and the export market.
The Development of the Rwandan Information Society and Economy
The adoption of the socio-economic development policy in conjunction with the ICT-2020 policy framework will facilitate the process towards the realization of the Missions of the Vision for Rwanda --- to develop Rwandan’s Information Society and Economy.
The GOR is therefore fully committed to implementing this integrated socio-economic development and ICT policy within the context of the Vision for Rwanda to by the year 2020 transform Rwanda’s predominantly agricultural economy into:
* A high income economy dominated by the trading in ICT products and services * An economy characterized by a large commercial service sector with a reasonably large and vibrant, ICT service sub- sector and industry * An economy in which the majority of the working population are either directly or indirectly involved in information and communications related activities * An economy in which a reasonable large proportion of the population has access to information and communications technology products and services. * An economy in which the provision and delivery of goods and services of the key sectors of the economy are to a large extent facilitated by information and communications technologies * An economy in which the provision and delivery of services by government and its administrative machinery are to a large extent facilitated by information and communications technologies * A economy based on an advanced and reliable national information and communications infrastructure * An economy based on a literate society with a high proportion of computer literate