Harnessing the IT potentials

September 15, 2009

Firoz Ahmed — Bangladesh’s achievement in the realm of information technology (IT) has been negligible compared to the potentials. The country’s young and dynamic workforce can be quickly trained to make it an IT powerhouse, and pretty quickly. But successive governments only paid lip service to the potential sector without facilitating the development. For example, the allocation for the development of the IT sector was a meager Taka 1.25 billion in the last fiscal. The allocation in the current budget is also no better. Land for the IT park at Kaliakaur in Dhaka is yet to be acquired. The lone submarine cable connection linking Bangladesh with the rest of the world gets frequently snapped causing losses for IT businesses.

Meanwhile, people are tired of hearing about e-governance, a matter of suggestions for seminars over the years. But no one can tell why Bangladesh is yet to take to e-governance despite better and effective governance it promises. The Chittagong Port Customs House is showing what application of IT can do to improve efficiency and earnings and reduce the operational costs. The government of Bangladesh is yet to computerise most of its offices.

It was in this backdrop that Sheikh Hasina presented the time-bound vision of a ‘digital Bangladesh’ as a pre-election pledge. A comprehensive plan is needed for the Hasina government to utilise its five years to complete the ground work for achieving the goal of digital Bangladesh by 2021.

Expansion of IT education should be the first priority. Government officials and employees have to be trained for the adoption of e-governance.

IT can rapidly help the nation in wealth creation. Bangladesh can take a good share in mujlti-billion dollar international market for IT services and products.

Harnessing the IT potentials

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