Editorial
A grandiose project
Implementation will be challenging
The government has approved a Tk.1,333 crore project that aims to bring 17,000 government offices at district and upazila levels under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) network. What has been learnt from newspaper reports, the programme will connect the capital city with all districts and 485 upazila-level government offices. The scale of procurement to equip the various levels of the government structure is stupendous. Thousands of pieces of equipment that will be procured under the Tk.1,087 crore loan from China will include video conferencing systems and personal computers. While appreciating China for its assistance we wish to point out that the procurement exercise should be undertaken with due honesty and efficiency.
There is no denying that such a programme will help revolutionise the way the government does business and provides service. The question is, why embark on a programme at this late stage in the tenure? Is this being done by taking into consideration the corresponding needs assessment for training up requisite manpower to handle the equipment that will be inducted into service? Secondly, given the power deficiency the country has been experiencing, particularly in areas outside the capital city, precisely how will the procured equipment be run? Have these fundamental questions been asked or, more to the point, addressed prior to approval of the programme? However, the crucial point is to ensure a steady start to it.
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