2.4 Goals The overall ICT policy goals are to: • Increase wealth creation and improve lives through the adoption and use of ICTs. • Promote affordable, universal access to ICT products and services. • Promote effective regulation of the sector by establishing rules and regulations that promote competition, protect and educate the consumer, create a level playing field among operators and service providers and encourage local and foreign investment in the ICT sector. • Increase ICT literacy levels in the country. • Coordinate the implementation of ICTs throughout the economy. • Develop the human resource capacity in ICTs to meet the changing demands of the national and the global economy. • Develop standards, practices and guidelines to support the deployment and exploitation of ICTs. • Provide mechanisms for empowering local participation of Basotho in the ICT sector. 2.5 Objectives The overall objectives of the ICT policy are to: • Create awareness among all stakeholders; Government, the private sector, civil society and the general public, about the importance of integrating ICTs in Lesotho’s development process. • Facilitate the deployment of a national broadband backbone network to enable the delivery of ICT services and products, to meet universal access goals. • Mobilise resources, attract investment and establish innovative financing mechanisms needed to realise ICT policy goals. • Facilitate the broadest possible access to public domain information. ICT Policy for Lesotho 19