Posted by By Lere Ojedokun on
President Olusegun Obasanjo, Tuesday directed two federal ministries, - Education and Finance as well as State House to create full-fledged information technology (IT) departments/units within the next three months.
President Olusegun Obasanjo, Tuesday directed two federal ministries, - Education and Finance as well as State House to create full-fledged information technology (IT) departments/units within the next three months.
He also mandated the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to assist the establishments in setting up the IT units which would serve as a pilot scheme.
Receiving the report of the inter-ministerial committee of the Nigeria Software Development Initiative (NSDI) at the State House, Abuja, he said creating awareness about available Nigerian software products was very crucial.
He also assured that government would do everything necessary to encourage the development and patronage of indigenous software.
Managing Director, Zenith Bank Plc and chairman NSDL, Mr. Jim Ovia who presented the report, said recommendations forwarded to government include making banks in the country to set aside 25 per cent of their small and medium enterprises (SMEs), funds for investment in the software industry.
It also recommended that 70 per cent of the revenue from Technology Import Tax should be channeled into software development.
Government, he said, should also mandate all its agencies to procure and use indigenous application software just as he urged that incentives be provided for the Organised Private Sector (OPS) - especially the finance, telecommunications and oil sectors, to patronise made-in-Nigeria software products as well as to invest in the subsector as part of their social responsibility initiative and national development programme.
On market protection, the committee asked that customs tariff on imported foreign application software and services be set at 100 per cent partly to generate revenue for the Nigeria Information Technology Development Fund (NITDEF) as well as curb discrimination against software Nigeria which it noted should first be acceptable at home before gaining international recognition.
"At present, computer software is not mentioned in the Customs Tariff Handbook or form M-over $500 million worth of software every year is imported free of duty. Effective date should be immediate," he said.
Mr. Ona added that the committee acknowledged the country's huge potential for software capabilities, said there was urgent need to build software engineering human resources to realise its goals.
While commending government for approving the establishment of six public/private sector-driven Information Technology Training Institutes nationwide, the committee recommended that three of the institutes be redesignated as software Engineering Training Institute (SETI).
It further called for full automation of government operations just as it said practitioners in the software industry had developed an array of products, solutions and services worthy of adoption and use by government.