NATIONAL ICT VISION ‘To develop into a knowledge-based information society with a vibrant ICT sector as the engine of sustainable socio-economic development.’ 1. INTRODUCTION 1-1 The ICT Policy of Sierra Leone Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) play a vital role today in facilitating the attainment of development goals of any nation. Over the last few years, many African countries have taken advantage of the opportunities provided by ICTs and have put in place ICT-enabled implementation plans to support their socio-economic development efforts. These country-successes have been made possible due to the combined efforts of all stakeholders and with support from regional and international organizations as well as bilateral partners and the private sector. Regionally, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) developed a harmonised policy for ICT in the West African region. The 15-Member States of ECOWAS recognising the importance of formulating an ICT policy, adopted on 19 January 2007 in Ouagadougou, the Supplementary Act A/SA1/01/07 entitled the ‘Harmonization of Policies and of the Regulatory Framework for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)’. This Supplementary Act is a supplemental provision to the Revised ECOWAS Treaty of 1993 and provides guidance on the structure and contents of an ICT Policy for adoption by all Member States. This policy document is therefore in line with the ECOWAS ICT policy as it attempts to map the ways in which ICTs can be used to achieve the basic development objectives of Sierra Leone. Using the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, Vision 2025, and the Millennium Development Goals as a baseline for analysis, the policy links the application of ICT to national development goals identified under specific areas or ‘pillars’ with a series of ICTspecific objectives and targets for measuring progress over a 5-year implementation timeline. The development of this policy is the result of the consultative approach of the National ICT Task Force (NICTTF). Its policy work programme included: • a 2009 e-readiness survey; • industry consultations to obtain key issues, objectives, targets and challenges; • review of the draft policy over a two-day national workshop of stakeholders; and • a two-day stakeholders retreat to finalise the draft policy and incorporate the results from the national workshop. ICT Policy of Sierra Leone Page 10 / 63