By Yerima Kini Nsom
The Director General of the National Agency for Information and Communication Technologies, known by its French acronym, ANTIC, Prof. Ebot Ebot Enaw, says local and urban councils can leverage digital technologies to improve the living conditions and wellbeing of citizens in their various areas.
He made the remark while speaking to the press shorty after chairing the opening of a capacity building seminar for ICT managers in local councils in the Centre Region on May 7 in Yaounde.
According to him, the seminar that was hinged on the theme, “Local governance in the era of digital transformation,” lays bare the imperative of councils to mainstream the use of ICTs in order to ensure better service delivery to people of the municipalities.
The use of digital technologies in councils will bring better working conditions and satisfaction to council workers and they would, in turn, increase productivity and render better services to citizens.
In an opening speech earlier, the ANTIC boss regretted that out of 71 councils in the Centre Region, only 18 of them have websites and this represents only 23 percent in relative terms. He revealed that only 42 councils have Facebook pages, which represents 59.1 percent in relative terms. Such Facebook pages, Prof. Ebot Ebot Enaw, went on, are not certified and as a consequence, they remain vulnerable to cyber-attacks and identity theft.
He said ANTIC in a bid to help the council to fully embrace digital transformation and certify their social media accounts. He said digital transformation will equally accelerate the process of decentralisation in the country.
The seminar that took place at the Elite Guest House at the Mbalgong neighbourhood in Yaounde was the sixth in a series of such trainings organized by ANTIC. It comes on the heels of five others that took place in Bafoussam in 2020, Ebolowa in 2021, Limbe in 2022, Ngoundere in 2023 and Bertoua in 2024.
ANTIC authorities said they have already enhanced that capacities of ICT managers in 159 out 360 councils in the country. These agents are now said to be fully armed with knowledge on how to fully integrate ICTs in local governance.
The Director General of ANTIC rejoiced over the fact that the nationwide capacity building seminars on Information and Communication Technologies, ICTs, for municipal councils is following the path of success. He said the 159 agents already trained should be now accelerating the integration of ICTs in view of fostering local governance.
Going by him, the training sessions provided ANTIC with the opportunity to offer technical support to councils in developing and implementing several key projects. These include the development of IT Master Plans for the Bafoussam City Council and the East Regional Council, the implementation of ICT projects in Ebolowa City Council and Lokoundje Municipal Council, and the securing of the National Civil Status Registry platform in pilot councils in Diamare in the Far North Region and Wouri in the Littoral Region, using key infrastructure.
“For this year’s event, as has been the case with previous editions, ANTIC is partnering with key stakeholders notably MINDDEVEL, FEICOM, BUNEC, ARMP, PNDP, and Prolog, underscoring the importance of collaborative efforts in advancing digital transformation at the local level. The agenda of this seminar reflects contributions from partners and is designed to foster insightful discussions and practical training on topics critical to ICT adoption in councils adoption in councils,” he explained.
This approach aims to enhance to fully enhance the capacity of local councils to provide efficient and effective services to the people of their municipalities.