USAID/Guinea: e.government program in Guinea

March 10,2008

Prime minister and U.S.Ambassador Carter

USAID provides assistance to implement a system of “e-government” in Guinea

Prime minister and Ambassador looking the Satellite

On February 21, 2008 the U.S.Ambassador Phillip Carter III and the Guinea Prime Minister Lansana Kouyate signed an agreement for an innovative USAID project to create an information system to facilitate communication among the Government of Guinea’s various ministries. The $530,000 project will provide computer equipment as well as technical training for 105 administrators from the ministries of health, economy, finance, agriculture, environment, education and the Prime Minister’s office. The program will also provide LAN and WAN networking, among various government agencies.

In 2004, USAID established, in conjunction with Microsoft, the Internet Connectivity Project (ICP) pilot.
The primary goal of the pilot project is to progressively modernize the Government of Guinea’s infrastructure and capacity in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Improved and more effective use of ICTs presents real opportunities for the GOG to improve its services (in terms of accessibility, quality and speed), its image (in terms of communication, transparency, reliability, traceability and effectiveness), and its performance (in terms of interactions with its users: private sector, citizens, employees and development partners). The ICP plans to connect 76 principal administrative sites in Conakry, 33 Prefectures, eight Governorates, and the Republic of Guinea’s Embassies in foreign countries.
In November 2005, as a part of the ICP, USAID/Guinea signed a Project Implementation Letter (PIL) with the Government of Guinea (GOG) to finance the inclusion of the following four Ministries in the ICP: The Ministry of Cooperation; the Ministry of Environment; the Ministry of Agriculture and the Office of the Prime Minister.

In late 2006, USAID/Guinea financed the inclusion of a fifth Ministry; the main building of the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research also has now been equipped and wired for internet access and a computer lab has been installed.

In 2007, based on the excellent results of these first five Ministries, USAID/Guinea expanded the e-government initiative to include two additional divisions of the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research (the National Civic Education Division and the National Secondary Education Division), the Superior Institute for Education Sciences, the Ministry of Health, the National Direction for Water and Forests in the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Economic Control by the Prime Minister.
.
A result of this effort, 13 government departments are now connected with each other, and some have launched their own web connections improving efficiency of public services.
All the recipients have expressed their appreciation for this effort which should help to improve governance and better control corruption in Guinea.

Story and photo by Francesca Munzi