Banjul, Gambia, 17 May 2024 (ECA) - A two-day validation workshop for The Gambia’s National Digital ID and Digital Transformation Strategy for the period 2023 - 2028 was held on 16-17 May 2024.
At the workshop’s opening, Ousman Bah, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy and champion of the country’s digitalization initiatives said, The Gambia’s Digital Transformation Strategy represents the country’s commitment to harnessing the power of digital technologies for the benefit of all citizens and that "the identified digital transformation pillars are the foundation of this strategy document and are aligned with our development aspirations enshrined in the Recovery-focused National Development Plan."
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Lamin Camara elaborated on the government’s support for the initiative, while Mactar Seck, ECA’s Chief of Technology and Innovation Section outlined how the validation workshop can further contribute towards the process.
The two-day validation workshop featured two sets of group discussions focused on refining and validating the action plans for both the Digital ID and Digital Transformation strategies. Technical discussions were led by Mr Seck of the ECA and Mr. Lang Loum, Director of E-government at the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy with Gambian stakeholders from all ministerial offices, immigration departments, and The Gambian Police Force.
The two-day validation workshop featured comprehensive presentations on Digital ID and Digital Transformation strategies, with presentations covering international best practices, the Gambian current context and policies and the methodologies used on various statistical data, such as qualitative and quantitative tools.
Comments and inputs from all governmental stakeholders were drawn from ICT technocrats from various government ministries, including the country’s newly established Information Communication Technology Agency (GICTA).
Mr. Bah noted that The Gambia aims to provide “secure and efficient digital identification for all citizens, ensuring streamlined access to public services and fostering a more connected society.”
Addressing privacy and safety considerations, he assured the meeting of the government’s commitment to implementing stringent measures to safeguard citizen privacy, adhering to international best practices and standards in digital identity management.
Initiated by the Government of The Gambia in December 2022, through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, the initiative, under the technical and financial support from the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has gone through several discussions, including on the side lines of the 17th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) held in Addis Ababa and stakeholder engagements in the country in January 2023. This was followed by eight months of engagement and strategy development led by ECA ahead of the validation workshop.
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org