Speaking at a press conference in his office on Wednesday (September 15), Sindh Minister for Information Technology, Mustafa Kamal gave the glad tidings of this variously depressed province gaining a great deal from the ongoing improvements in the Information Technology sector, thereby making it attractive enough for foreign investment too.
Viewed in the perspective of the federal government's several years of sustained efforts to enable Pakistan catch up with the earth-shaking IT revolution, some of the revelations he made, on the occasion, will appear to have come as no less than a pleasant surprise to many.
This, of course, has reference to the widely perceptible revolutionary changes in certain sectors, telecommunication and banking in particular. However, it will be noted that the high hopes raised by exciting promises at various stages in the process of IT development in the country, have largely remained unfulfilled.
Mention in this regard, may be made of a number of areas of direct public concern, including the ones related to the torturous inefficiency of the administrative machinery, in general, and police and taxation departments, in particular.
As such, heartening, indeed, should be the minister's elaboration on the Sindh government's ongoing projects, including the one relating to e-policing. Reassuring, also, should be, to some extent at least, his reference to the e-government pilot project taken up by the Sindh IT Department, initially covering the home, education, health and excise and taxation departments. However, the prospect of its expeditious implementation may be blurred by the slovenly pace of its processing.
Some idea of this may had from his observation that the project, though approved in principle, would soon be sent to the relevant authorities for approval. Which, in other words, may result in further delay in finalisation of the vital scheme.
Moreover, this may remind one of the federal government's ambitious e-government plan with the dual aim of efficiency and transparency, that is, in consonance with the overall strategy of revamping and restructuring of the government machinery on sound and healthy lines. Seemingly still caught in the cobweb of outdated formalities, thereby virtually remaining a non-starter, it will be seen to have dampened, generally speaking, the enthusiasm built around its prospects. It is, however, just another matter that, in the meantime, piecemeal implementation of certain projects has kept the hope of a comprehensive, integrated, effort alive.
It goes without saying that timely implementation of the federal e-government scheme, would have set the pace for the provincial governments to follow, to satisfy their own, understandable, urges to catch up with the IT revolution. However, hope-inspiring will be Sindh IT minister's pointed reference to prospects of signing of a memorandum of understanding, on September 23, with the Singapore Electronic System (SES) Technologies for improvement in the IT sector, for which its chief executive would be visiting Karachi.
What is all the more encouraging about it is the revelation the minister made that the SES has already invested $12,013 million in Pakistan and that, besides participating in other activities, it would be taking up the project of e-policing, as well.
These disclosures will certainly point to the Sindh government's keen interest in practical application of the gains of progress with a keen eye on the key areas concerning the people in general.
Reference, in this regard, may be made to his observation regarding Internet and Ethernet Communication links, as planned to be built through a networking project, which is marked for completion in the next two months. As for the progress in networking, one may look forward to the strong possibility of online data sharing and movement of files.
The Sindh government's keen interest in IT-related efforts, dating back to initial effort for computerisation of its offices, has continued to focus opportunities in other areas too. The minister also spoke of a plan to set up a media city in Karachi, an enabling effort having been already initiated in that direction. As he pointed out, the Sindh Governor has earmarked 200 acres in the outskirts of Karachi for the project, work on which is expected soon to begin. As for the motive behind this endeavour, he made no secret of the fact that it is linked to the agreement the federal government has signed with the United Arab Emirates for setting up media cities in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.
All this put together, while expressly pointing to the Sindh government's enthusiasm for purposeful development of the IT sector, should also beckon the federal government to hasten with the implementation of its own exhaustive plans to help the country benefit from it before it becomes too late.