UNDP ICT Programme Officer/Focal Point

ICT Programme Office/Focal Point A

Full Name

Georgina Bonin

Designation/Position

Assistant Resident Representative – Human Development

Station (UNDP Country Office)

Samoa

Email Address

georgina.bonin@undp.org

Telephone Number

(685) 23670

Fax Number

(685) 23555

ICT Programme Office/Focal Point B

Full Name

Mutaaga Faalogo

Designation/Position

Programme Associate

Station (UNDP Country Office)

Samoa

Email Address

mutaaga.faalogo@undp.org

Telephone Number

(685) 23670

Fax Number

(685) 23555

Government Agency(ies) with Primary Responsibility

Ministry/Agency

Treasury

Contact Person A

Full Name (First, Last)

Hinauri Petana

Designation/Title

Financial Secretary

Email Address

Contact Person B

Full Name (First, Last)

Mark Yeoman

Designation/Title

General Manager

Email Address

Samoa Post & Telecommunications

National Development Priorities

Please list the Government’s primary developmental and sectoral priorities:

National Strategic Outcomes stipulated in the Government’s Strategy for the Development of Samoa (SDS), 2002- 2004:

1. Stable Macroeconomic framework capable of generating positive real growth in GDP.
2. Improve Education Standards. Government will maintain priority support to education and training to raise teacher quality and to ensure all children receive a sound education, as well as ensure skilled human resources.
3. Improve health standards.
4. Improve private sector development and employment creation.
5. Enhance agricultural opportunities.
6. Strengthen social structure.
7. Improve infrastructure and services.
8. Improve opportunities for tourism industry.
9. Enhance public sector efficiency.
    

e-Readiness Assessment

Has the Government (or any third party or donor) conducted a multi-sectoral ICT or e-readiness assessment of the country?

NO

An e-Readiness assessment is required
 

Existing e-Policies, -Strategies, Acts, Decrees, etc

Has the Government developed, or is the Government planning to develop, ICT policies?

YES

If YES, please provide a description of the Government’s plan of action:

1.       Telecommunication Regulatory Framework established:

a.      Establish an ICT Council will be set up to formulate and national ICT Policy as well as to guide planning of all ICT matters.

b.      Set up a Regulatory Commission to ensure that all service providers adhere to required ICT standards, and a Spectrum Management Agency will also be set up to administer frequency allocation.

2.       Improve Infrastructure:

a.      Install fibre-optic technology;

b.      Introduce competition in the cellular market;

c.       Increase bandwidth for internet services;

d.      Standardize ICT development both in hardware and software; and

e.      Analyse the impact of ICT on employment.
 

Ministry/Agency in Charge of ICT Policy Formulation

A separate ICT Ministry will be established with strong policy and regulatory capacities. Currently carried out by Ministry Posts and telecommunications.
 

Scope of ICT Policies

The scope will cover education, health, rural access to ICTs eg internet cafes, telecentres), private sector development, public sector reform, etc. Currently, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications is responsible for policy making as well as regulating the telecommunication and postal sector.
 

Was the process of ICT policy formulation participatory in nature, and did it involve stakeholders?

YES

The process is incomplete at the moment as described above.  The main players have thus far been:

Government:
Treasury Planning Division
Ministry of Post & Telecommunications
Ministry of Health
Ministry of Education
Samoa Tel (corporation)

Private sector:
Communications Samoa Ltd (CSL)
Lesa Telephone Services
Ipasifika Internet Services
Procom

Education sector:
National University of Samoa
Samoa Polytechnic
 

Does the Government have an official policy on ICT and Gender?

NO

E-governance is a component in the new CP (2003-07) dealing with social cohesion and decentralization of decision-making to the rural areas, and sustainable livelihoods for the vulnerable.   UNDP will ensure that gender equality in use of ICT technologies is well incorporated particularly in provision of ICT services as an income generating activity for young male and female school leavers with potential, give training, etc.
 

Does the Government have an official policy on Open Source Software?

NO
 

Access

How is the Government addressing the issue of equitable access to ICT for all of its citizens, especially marginalized groups and those in rural communities?

Improved telecommunication access in the rural areas is considered a priority. In this regard, Samoa Tel is upgrading and expanding the basic communications infrastructure to encompass all of Samoa.

The installation of fibre-optic technology that has already commenced on the main island of Upolu, where the majority of the population reside, will be extended to the bigger island of Savaii which has less population but more land area.

Per capita utilization of cellular phones in Samoa, which is considered relatively high, is also expected to be further enhanced by the introduction of a digital cellular phone system.  Expansion of the cellular telephone network is seen as another option to extend telephone services to the rural areas.  Introducing competition in the cellular market would help in providing modern telephone and data services across the country.

Approximately 15% of the population have direct access to PCs and this indicator is rapidly improving with the increasing volume of PCs being imported.  

The current ADB funded Education Infrastructural  project is introducing computerisation of rural schools as well as telecommunication linkages through cellular phone usage.
 

What is the Government planning to do to increase local connectivity to the Internet?

The availability of Internet services and the growing accessibility of computers have overcome Samoa’s geographical isolation.  Access is now possible to an unlimited amount of information that was unimaginable a decade ago.  The development of tele-conference facilities is expected to impact positively on both education and health services.  The possibility of setting up internet cafes in rural areas will also be explored during the SDS period. Such a facility is now open in Savaii. There is increased connectivity of rural schools on both islands.
 

Has the Government implemented, or is it planning to implement, e-government/e-governance initiatives to better deliver government services through the application of ICT and to improve government transparency and efficiency?

YES

Yes, definitely the Government has plans to implement e-government/e-governance initiatives using ICT applications  (see answer to question on existing-policies for ICT and gender above).

All government departments and agencies are computerised. A Government wide area network has been set up to connect government departments to Treasury for online financial transactions. Many government departments have local area networks.
 

Local Content Development and Knowledge Management

Is the Government aware of or is it active in standardization and localization of ICTs (e.g. local input/output conventions and standards for digital exchange, development of local language character sets conforming to international UNICODE and other standards) for fostering local content development and knowledge management?

YES

These are in all in progress – see above for Government’s ICT strategy
 

International Donors of ICT for Development

Please list (in order of total contributions for 2002) the top five donors who have invested in ICT for Development.  DO NOT include UNDP.

Donor

Specific Area of Support

Amount (USD)

World Bank

Consultancies, Infrastructure Upgrading

4.9 million

ITU

Training

NA

Asia Pacific Telecommunity

Training

NA

AusAID

Infrastructure/upgrading/technical assistance/training

500,000

NZAID

Training/systems

300,000

Please list (in order of priority) the five top areas of ICT for Development for the donor community.  E.g. e-Government, e-Commerce, e-Learning, ICT policy, etc.

1

e-government

2

ICT policy

3

training

4

Technical assistance

5

infrastructure

Please list and describe the three primary ICT for Development areas of focus for your UNDP Country Office.

NOTE: Please DO NOT list actual projects/activities, there is another section for this information.  Please describe the general focus areas (e-policies, e-government, e-commerce, e-learning, etc.) instead.

Area One
e-learning for the CO

Area Two
e-government /e-governance

Area Three
e-commerce

Check List: Please provide additional comments where applicable.

UNDP has played or is playing a crucial role in assisting the national government with ICT policy formulation.

YES

Presently in planning phase. Proposed focus will be on finalizing the ICT Strategy, including conducting an e-readiness assessment
 

ICT for Development is a well established programme area within your UNDP Country Office.

NO
 

The UNDP Country Office requires assistance in identifying UNDP’s potential niche in ICT for Development interventions in the country.

YES
 

The UNDP Country Office is in partnership with the local government in ICT for Development initiatives/projects/activities.

NO
 

Please share with us some UNDP County Office success stories, lessons learned, etc., with respect to the work that you have done in ICT for Development.

We established the telecommunications system in the Tokelau Islands (1996) but none to date in any of the other countries. This is a new ball game altogether.
 

What are the major external obstacles in delivering ICT for Development outputs, thus far?  And how has the Country Office overcome these obstacles?

No comment.
 

What are the major internal obstacles in delivering ICT for Development outputs, thus far?  And how has the Country Office overcome these obstacles?  Please provide suggestions on how to overcome these obstacles.

No comment.