Communication ministry launches plan

Caption:  (L) Minister Mirringtoro and Secretary Korni displaying the plan document.

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, September 7, 2014 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)

THE Ministry of Communication and Information launched its five year corporate plan last week at the Hideaway Hotel in Port Moresby.

Minister for Communication and Information Technology Jimmy Mirringtoro and Secretary of the department Paulias Korni were present to official launch the plan which will be implemented from next year 2015 to 2020.

In his opening remarks- Secretary Korni explained that every government department and institutions are required to have a plan going forward to plan ahead for a number of years.

“It is to meet the government’s objectives in the medium to long term plans it has, in line with Vision 2050,” Korni said.

“Without proper planning we are doomed, and all agencies are guided by these plans- and also to guide our budget planning also, which has already been submitted already.”

“We have captured and collaborated with key agencies in the sector like NBC (National Broadcasting Corporation) and NICTA (National Information and Communication Technology Authority).”

Minister Mirringtoro said that with rapid changes occurring in the sector- the government was now embracing the change through collaborating with private sector partners like Digicel for vital voice communication services to be made available to the rural people in the country.

“However, while we embrace the benefits of ICT (Information Communication Technology), there are also negative effects also like cybercrime.”

“There are provisions in the plan moving forward for the department to work with various agencies to combat cybercrime.”

He congratulated the secretary and his staff for the launch of the plan, but also challenged them that the plan would be truly achieved through its implementation.

The Department of Communication and Information was enacted to provide advice to the government on the effective implementation of the National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy and dissemination of development information to achieve the objectives of vision 2015.