nation’s limited health facilities, improve management of health services and information dissemination, and enhance medical research. Policy Statement 3: Government shall develop a large pool of highly skilled ICT personnel to carry out ICT research and develop ICT innovations within the country. 3.3. E-GOVERNMENT SERVICES Electronic government is the utilisation of ICTs in provision of public services. Use of ICTs enhances accountability and promotes equitable allocation and distribution of public resources. ICT plays a crucial role in improving the efficiency of the operations of the public service; particularly in improving the delivery of quality service to the general public and the provision of national security. Malawi is currently ranked 159 out of 190 countries due to its low utilisation of ICTs for public service provision. Policy Statement 1: Government shall deploy ICTs to facilitate effective and efficient public service delivery and interaction between the public service and citizens of Malawi, companies, government institutions, cooperating partners and other stakeholders of the Government of Malawi; Policy Statement 2: Government shall deploy ICTs in order to enhance oversight functions in Government. 3.4. ICT IN INDUSTRIES Malawi is currently promoting the production of export-quality products and services through its local industry sector. However, the country still depends on imported goods as the local industry is unable to meet even the internal demands. The ICT industry in Malawi is under-developed. The growth of the ICT industry, if properly harnessed, will influence the rapid development of all industries in Malawi. Policy Statement 1: The policy shall promote the use of ICT in the private sector’s service delivery and in research and development of goods and services; 9