Executive Development Course: Digital Government for Transformation Towards Sustainable and Resilient Societies the Singapore Experience

Transcription

1 Executive Development Course: Digital Government for Transformation Towards Sustainable and Resilient Societies the Singapore Experience Session <Digital Government Policy and Strategy for SDG Implementation> Mauritian experience: The role of digitization, policy and strategy for transformation towards a sustainable and resilient society and the achievement of the SDGs DAY 1 Monday, 2 April 2018 Ms. S.L NG YUN WING Director of Environment Ministry of Social Security, Solidarity and Environment and Sustainable Development. Republic of Mauritius

2 Country presentation Mauritian experience: The role of digitization, policy and strategy for transformation towards a sustainable and resilient society and the achievement of the SDGs By Mrs S.L NG YUN WING Director of Environment Ministry of Social Security, Solidarity and Environment and Sustainable Development. Republic of Mauritius

3 Location: The Republic of Mauritius is a group of Small Islands Developing States, in the Indian Ocean, 2400 kms off the east coast of Africa. It comprises : Mainland Mauritius; and The outer islands (Rodrigues, St Brandon, Agalega, Tromelin, Diego Garcia and the Chagos Archipelago)

4 Mainland Mauritius at a glance

5 Volcanic origin Area: 2000 km 2. Climate : Tropical Topography: A central plateau 600 m amsl and low lying coastal areas with 350 kms of coastline. Pluri -cultural Population: 1.3 million Official language: English Other languages: French, creole, hindi, urdu etc. Capital City: Port Louis

6 ICT Sector in Mauritius Mid 90s: Government transformed the economy from a manufacturing to a high tech financial services hub. Institutional, legal, regulatory frameworks, infrastructure, policies and procedural guidelines were put in place to promote ICT. In addition to these, digital literacy and adoption of broadband were instrumental in leading ICT companies to set up in Mauritius. ICT is now the 3rd pillar of the Mauritian economy, with some 600 ICT companies employing over 23,000 people. Mauritius is known as a cyber island in the Indian Ocean.

7 Harnessing the digital revolution for sustainable Development Digitalization : Bridges information and distance gaps. Facilitates access to knowledge and education, technology transfer and innovations. Promotes economic growth, job and wealth creation, poverty alleviation, social inclusion through empowerment of citizens, vulnerable groups and gender. The Government of Mauritius is committed to make access to Internet, a Basic Right for every citizen.

8 Fibre and submarine cables connect Mauritius to major internet backbones. Internet Subscriptions : > 86%. Mauritius, the 1 st country in Africa to offer 100 Mbps download speed. Mobile penetration rate: >145%. Transition from 1 G to 4G mobile network and Wi MAX mobile communication. 350 free Wi-Fi hotspots island wide. ICT has revolutionalised the way we live, carry out our day to day business, play, study, communicate and interact with others.

9 Access to a wide array of e-services: E-payment for utility bills, taxes, shopping, (PayPal), e-applications for passports, learner s license, e-banking and e-procurement. E-Procurement Launching of e-procurement in September 2015 is one of the initiatives to promote SCP and greening in the public sector. The Procurement Policy Office (PPO) with collaboration from UNEP, has formulated a National Action Plan (NAP) on Sustainable Public Procurement. The plan focused amongst others on paper and printing; IT devices; Cleaning products and services, food and caterings services. As at to date 15 public bodies have adopted e- procurement with 213 tenders issued.

10 Role of ICT in SDGs Implementation,Monitoring and Reporting Process It facilitates monitoring, analysis, measurement of progress and reporting on the 2030 Agenda. Statistics Mauritius (SM ) has a database of indicators for reporting purposes. Various institutions send sectoral data electronically to SM, which uploads same. Role of ICT in the National Budget Reporting Process All organisations have assigned officers who do quarterly reporting as per their yearly budget allocation. This allows the Ministry of Finance to track and monitor progress for each ministry/authority/parastatal body.

11 The Online Citizen Support Portal (CSP) The CSP is an initiative of the Prime Minister s Office launched in April It allows citizens to transmit requests, concerns, complaints or ideas to ministries/ parastatal bodies / local authorities through Citizens Advice Bureaus. Each complaint has a ticket number allowing citizens to keep track of same. The system has eased the complaint handling mechanism through prompt actions, response and constant provision of feedbacks to the citizens. Focal points of each organization have access code to feed in status reports on the complaints of relevance to them on the portal

12 Novel tools of communications allow Mauritian citizens to be in touch 24/7 with authorities and public services my.t Weather app has been devised to increase climate resilience and disaster preparedness of citizens. It allows relevant authorities to send alerts, communiqués, notices, emergency news on torrential rains, floods, landslides and cyclones amongst others. The Traffic Watch App provides live video feeds on traffic conditions during pilgrimage and peak hours at congested areas.

13 The National E-licensing Platform (NELP) Will boost economic growth through business facilitation and removal of administrative barriers. Will act as a single point of entry for applications and the issue of permits and licenses. The 1 st phase of the project focuses amongst others on BLUP, Land Conversion Permit, EIA licence and PER approvals.

14 Mauritius is one of the pilot countries selected by UNEP for the Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS) project Objectives of the project: Capacity Building for data and knowledge sharing. To improve access to scientifically credible data & information. To help in the decision-making process. To facilitate national reporting activities of indicator based SDGs, state of environment and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) reports.

15 Weaknesses and challenges Digital technology and generation gap. There is inadequate digital culture and lack of digital skills amongst public servants. The majority can manage only a few software such as windows, excel, power point and internet. The Department of Environment encountered difficulties in setting up the Environment Information System (EIS) due to the lack of IT skills and knowhow. However, the Government of Mauritius is committed to bridge the gap from a business as usual scenario to a more high tech public sector.

16 Way forward Provision of incentives and instruments in the government budget to promote IT literacy and drive the growth of ICT. Youngsters are encouraged to go for Computer Science and IT Studies. The Digital Youth Engagement Programme on coding/programming aims to make the new generation even more digital and technology literate. Government envisions to use ICT to green sectors like agriculture, land use planning and environmental management including new emerging ones like ocean economy and renewable energy. There is political will to make the required changes for the transformation.

17 THANK YOU