Russia to Help Africa with Public Service Digitalisation
Russian and African civil servants are to exchange experience in the field of digitalisation. The programme was presented by HSE University’s Centre for African Studies in cooperation with the Innopraktika company. The programme organisers are also ready to carry out educational events in any country on the continent.
In recent years, Russia has gained a leading position in international rankings of e-government development and has managed to significantly increase its sovereignty in the digital sphere. African countries, where the digitalisation of public services is currently taking place at a high pace, show interest in the successful Russian experience.
HSE University’s Centre for African Studies and Innopraktika presented a knowledge exchange programme in the field of public administration digitalisation. It will start this autumn in St Petersburg, said Andrey Maslov, Director of HSE University’s Centre for African Studies and Programme Coordinator, at a round table titled ‘Competence Transfer: Exchange of Experience in Digitalisation of Public Administration.’ The event was held at the site of the second Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum.
The discussion was moderated by Anastasia Pavlenko, Deputy Executive Director and Director for Strategic Partnerships at Innopraktika. She highlighted Russia’s leading positions in international e-government development ratings, which are due to the high level of development of Russian digital services. Anastasia Pavlenko emphasised the importance of creating independent digital government systems in African countries to increase sovereignty and the significant potential for the exchange of experience and knowledge between Russia and Africa in this area.
The programme for the exchange of knowledge in the field of public administration digitalisation will be attended by civil servants and chief government officers of African countries authorised to regulate and develop digital public administration. The training will include lectures, seminars, problem-oriented case studies, and other educational events organised by Russian and African experts. The participants will discuss theoretical and regulatory aspects of the implementation of e-government services and technological solutions. Particular attention will be paid to in-demand topics for African countries: legal regulation, infrastructure and security, electronic services for the population, and the formation of a digital urban environment.
Andrey Maslov said that the programme organisers are ready to carry out educational events in any country in Africa for audiences that gather following the recommendation of the relevant ministry or embassy.
Souef Kamalidini, Minister of Post, Telecommunications and Digital Economy of the Comoros, named the significant benefits of public administration digitalisation for the state, citizens, and foreign contractors. He said that due to the introduction of digital technologies, the customs service of the Comoros has tripled the speed of freight processing over the past two years.
‘The experience gained in the Russian Federation in the development of information and communication technologies and in the field of public administration digitalisation will definitely serve as a model and a good example for the Comoros. I think it will be useful for all African countries. Although African countries are at different levels of development, the reality is the same for all: investments are needed, knowledge is needed,’ Mr Kamalidini emphasised.
Peya Mushelenga, Minister of Telecommunication Technologies of Namibia, spoke about the priority areas for his country in this sphere—the introduction of electronic services in the field of taxation, customs, healthcare, justice, and civil registration. He also noted the prospects for the development of e-education.
‘In the course of our activities, we got acquainted with examples of countries that have reached a good level of development as regards digital government services. We hope that we will be able to put into practice the experience of these countries, including Russia,’ the minister said.
Igor Lyapunov, Senior Vice President for Information Security of Rostelecom and General Director of Rostelecom-Solar, briefly described the key areas of activity and achievements of PJSC Rostelecom and Rostelecom-Solar. He also stressed that today, ‘in this difficult time, Russia shows good progress towards integrating digital services into public administration and ensures their safe use.’ ‘In the last year and a half, we have managed to replace almost 90% of Western technologies (which 10 years ago were the basis of digital public services) with Russian databases, virtualisation platforms, and cyber defence. This is a unique experience that has become the foundation of digital sovereignty,’ Igor Lyapunov said.
Programmes to increase digital literacy must be implemented at the state level, says Orlando Mazuze, General Manager of MaCh Digital, a company in Mozambique. In his opinion, Russia and African countries have a huge potential for developing cooperation in this area.
Adamu Garba II, President of the Nigeria-based company IPI, emphasised the importance of data protection and building a sovereign digital system of public administration that takes into account the culture and values of a particular country.
‘Right now, probably only Russia, Iran, and China have digital sovereignty,’ he stressed.
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