By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
An assessment report has indicated that Sierra Leone’s data landscape does not make adequate provisions for telecommunications infrastructure development, availability, and uptake.
The research to assess the country’s data landscape and its use was conducted by the Ministry of Information and Communication through Global Development Advisory (GDA) with support from the Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL) and the Government of Sierra Leone.
The report mentioned the government as being characterized by disparate data collection and storage systems. It also stated there is limited infrastructure like data centres to support data localization.
It recommended that for data-driven services to become a reality, the storage requirements should be significantly expanded.
The need for the human capacity to build and maintain storage infrastructure and skilled human resources to provide a help desk and call centre for users of data infrastructure were also mentioned in the report.
It was also stated that power outages limit usage of cloud computing and other digital infrastructure and that unreliable and inconsistent supply of electricity poses a threat to the development and running of online systems and servers locally.
The report observed that although existing server rooms have backup batteries, they are insufficient to power the servers due to the frequency of power outages. A rhetorical question was asked: ‘’if the entity does not have the power supply, what use will it be to go digital?’’
The report referenced stakeholders interviewed that acknowledged the high connectivity and data costs limit and data collection within most Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
The report however recommended the need to build the requisite connectivity and power supply infrastructure and balance the anticipated increased demand for real-time data for robust offline capacity due to existing infrastructure limitations.
It reiterated the need for a resilient and reliable data infrastructure that will enable an efficient and cost-effective data landscape and recommended that projects which focus on broader connectivity and enhancements in digital infrastructure within government be implemented.
The MIC is expected to provide the people of Sierra Leone with reliable and timely public information and promote the development of information and communications infrastructure.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (25/07/22)
