While being conservative with the figures, information executive director Audrin Mathe said it will cost around N$100 million over the next three years to fully implement Namibia’s digital strategy.  

The strategy, he hastened to say in an interview with New Era yesterday, is still being crafted following consultations with end-users, before it makes its way to Cabinet for further scrutiny.

“The idea is to develop a programme that will map a way for Namibia’s trajectory into the digital world. One of our missions is to have a digital government by 2030,” Mathe noted.

“Where we are [right now], providing figures would be premature. What we are doing is that over the next three years, beginning the next financial year from April 2024, we have asked the ministry of finance to give us N$20 million [this year] and [a total of] N$100 million for the next three years so that we roll [out] this gradually. At the end of the third mid-term budget, we will see how far we have gone in terms of rolling this out, and what other areas have not been covered,” he added.  

Chiefly, the government faces an uphill battle in rolling out the National Digital Strategy (NDS) and accompanying or enabling infrastructure due to the country’s vastness and topography.

“What we are doing is to maximise the potential of the terrestrial network to the level where we have enough information to go on satellite because we have engaged the government of Angola. 

Our minister met with his counterpart in Dubai to really explore the issue of satellite because it will resolve the issue of distance. Satellite can cover several countries at the same time,” he continued.

Digitisation

The NDS seeks to ensure that there is sufficient human capital in place to drive Namibia’s digital agenda.

“The second aspect of that is infrastructure. Namibia is very big. If you drive from one town [to another], like from Windhoek to Otjiwarongo, which is 240km, there will be blind spots in- between [without coverage]. It is also true when if you drive to Gobabis or the south. So, we need to develop a strategy on how we can increase our footprint around the country to ensure there is connectivity, whether it’s broadcast technology or internet connectivity,” Mathe stated optimistically.

At the heart of the strategy is to smoothen and synchronise government services, improve efficiency, and cut costs related to service provision as well as make the business environment more conducive.

“One is [to achieve] full digital literacy. If everybody can be connected everywhere in the country, it becomes easier to use either your laptop or cellular phone and interact, and how you engage with the government. What we are looking at in the future - is that, for example, job applications are being done manually - the intention is that you should process those things online, and it will cut costs because the whole country should be able to have connectivity. You can just load your documents, and you are good to go. Banking services – you don’t need to come into the queue for you to deposit or withdraw money or transfer money. You should be able to do it from your home, irrespective of your geographic location,” the executive went on to explain.

The government is already reaping benefits from digitisation.

“At the moment, 75% of schools have access to broadband, and 70% of hospitals and clinics have access. We want to increase that to 100%, and when you have infrastructure across the country, it becomes very easy. Now, our country is connected to a terrestrial network. What we intend to do is to connect the country through satellite. Satellite will mean that the same way you receive television signals, it covers wherever you are. That’s really where our heart is. It doesn’t matter where you are,” he said.

He pointed to Kunene as Exhibit A, where connectivity is at 41%. This, he said, is due to the reliance on terrestrial networks, “and mostly we have to depend on where there are higher mountains so that we can put up a transmitter”.

“So, that becomes irrelevant in the greater scheme of things when there’s satellite connectivity because the internet will come from the air. The idea is, we want to have a digitally-connected Namibia. That will also lower the costs. We have gone down now from the 18th-most expensive country in Africa. Now, we’re among the top 12 cheapest on the continent. These are the efforts that have been made by the government to ensure that through the Communications Regulatory Authority [Cran], we talk to operators to reduce the data bundle [cost]. It’s even better when you have total connectivity,” he said.

Infrastructure

Now, he said, the government is availing funding to put up terrestrial network infrastructure across the country that not only have telecommunications, but also broadcasting capabilities.

“From this current financial year, we will put up infrastructure where we think our people are not covered sufficiently… This will also solve the issue of infrastructure- sharing. There are those who are very reluctant to share [infrastructure] because they want to be dominant in that area. We are saying, we don’t want that. We will put up such infrastructure at the government cost; whoever wants to piggyback on that, we’re good to go,” Mathe continued.

Global digitisation

Recently, India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar indicated that the power of digital technology cannot be over-emphasised.

In fact, he credited the fastest-growing economy in the world’s success to digitisation.

With a population of 1.4 billion, the Indian government can provide services at massive proportions and can verify the same as each citizen has a digital ID, while most also have bank accounts.

This happened in the last decade.

The digital system has also allowed the Indian government to extend loans to at least 400 million of its citizens.

What is more, in the last 10 years, the country built 40 million houses for its citizens. The houses were allocated via a digital system.

“The houses are meant for low-income families, so we know who is and who is not eligible,” he said last month. 

When this example was put to Mathe, he said it is something Namibia would emulate, albeit already being halfway there.

“I can tell you now that we are getting to electronic identities [eIDs]. The government already approved that last year. We’re going to be engaging with the ministry of home affairs; they are the implementer of digital IDs. But we are the regulator in terms of policy. One of the issues that we’re going to resolve is to legally impose e-signatures. At the moment, you can only sign a document [physically]; it’s a word signature. There’s a provision in the law where we want to regulate the issue of e-signatures so that it gives effect to the issue of digital IDs,” he added.

An eID is distinct from a digital identity card, even if in some cases the two concepts could converge. An electronic identity is a means for people to prove electronically that they are who they say they are, and thus gain access to a panel of services.

“We have done a lot of work in terms of the digitisation process. Your e-passports are in place; e-health, the ministry of health has done that; e-justice, the Judiciary has implemented that. That’s why we are giving ourselves sufficient time, but we could achieve that sooner. If you look at the Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPP) target for technology, it is to reach 80%. We have exceeded that by 5%. I am sure by the end of this year, that figure will change too,” Mathe enthused.

- emumbuu@nepc.com.na