Efforts within the Sierra Leone government to kick-start the country's digital government drive are gaining momentum with the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) earlier this month signed an agreement with the Ministry of Communications, Technology and Innovation (MoCTI), laying the foundation for further partnership on data sharing to facilitate digital government transactions, NCRA said in a statement.
The MoU is expected to mark a new beginning in how NCRA will work with government agencies to facilitate real-time identity verification, secure data exchange, and strengthening the overall digital service delivery framework “while leveraging local data hosting and robust fiber connectivity.”
According to NCRA Director of Information and Communications Technology, Aliu Kallon, under the contract, NCRA will provide data hosting services to government ministries, departments and agencies to enhance the efficiency and availability of services to the public.
Mohamed Mubashir Massakoi, Executive Director of NCRA, commented: “Today, we are not only signing an MOU, but also embarking on a transformational journey towards digital empowerment, integrating every aspect of our interactions with government with innovative technologies and principles.”
“Thanks to this MoU, we have removed long-standing barriers, fostered synergies, eliminated silos and introduced a new paradigm that puts efficiency and responsiveness at the heart of our digital initiatives.”
The official noted that the MoU will put in place a Data Exchange Layer (DEL) to ensure effective governance leveraging technology to increase participation, create synergies to harmonize siloed operations, lay the foundation for digital identity verification, and enable smooth and instantaneous information sharing across agencies.
Communications Minister Salima Bah highlighted the importance of the agreement, saying, “Commencing this engagement with NCRA is a strategic move. Data is the foundation of digital governance, and streamlining access across services is critical to our collective success.”
Commenting on the partnership, Kumba Musa, ICT Specialist at MoCTI, said: “At the core of digital governance is the critical need for interoperability to enable secure and streamlined data sharing across platforms, which is the underlying concept that drove this initiative.”
New call for citizens to obtain biometric digital ID cards
In a related move, the NCRA has once again called on citizens and legal foreign residents to ensure they obtain their biometric national digital ID cards for easier access to services, local newspaper Calabash reports. The agency made a similar call earlier this year.
NCRA believes that the introduction of digital ID will be a driving force in Sierra Leone’s digital transformation plans and it is something it takes very seriously.
To facilitate access to IDs, NCRA said it will open easily accessible issuance centres across the country and also introduce shared services.
Citizens are required to have an ID card.
Article Topics
Africa | Biometrics | Data Sharing | Digital Government | Digital ID | National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) | Sierra Leone
