NCS tasks FG on IT infrastructure

Rising from its recent concluded Annual General Meeting (AGM) and national conference with the theme Enabling Capacities of Information Technology (IT) for Sustainable National Development (ENCITDEV 2008), the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) has tasked the federal government (FG) to invest more on IT infrastructure.

This is coming as NCS invited banks in the country to invest more on credit card implementation.

NCS is the umbrella body of Information Technology professionals in Nigeria, which held its 2008 national Conference at the Valley View Auditorium, Government House, Abeokuta.

President, NCS, Prof. Charles Uwadia, made this call in a communiqué issued last weekend, and urged the government to further invest in IT infrastructural development and maintenance.

This, NCS said, would improve electronic governance (e-governance) and the delivery of high quality health care through an integrated National Health Information System and Telemedicine (NHIST).

The group also noted that the deployment of mobile clinic (m-clinic) in healthcare is expected to enhance the longevity of Nigerians and expand healthcare delivery to the hinterlands.

NCS equally said that by paying particular attention to the deployment of IT for effective management of local governments through proper budgetary control and management as well as improved electricity distribution, would curb public sector corruption through an IT framework for automatic data collection and early detection of management frauds in public offices nationwide.

They pointed out that private wealth creation is possible through the stock market, especially by deploying forex forecast using artificial neutral network as a tool to attaining accelerated wealth creation.

The group further commended the government through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for the award of 3G licenses to some telecom operators, saying it is a window of opportunities for job creation in the country.

“The Federal Government is thus urged through the NCC to grant additional licenses to increase the diffusion and deployment of the GSM and Internet access in Nigeria,” the communiqué read.

Stressing that in view of the increasing thirst for e-commerce for accelerated socio-economic and technological development, NCS highlighted the problem associated with credit card implementation.

They listed some of these problems to include credit card theft by 419ners and associated Internet rats, just as it recommended that banks should invest more on credit card implementation.

“Biometric Authentication Systems (BAS) should be deployed by all stakeholders in the credit card business,” NCS stated in the communiqué.

They added that this would protect the banker and the customer in addition to triggering geometrical growth in e-commerce implementation in the country.


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