As part of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and National Information Technology Development Agency (Nitda) target objective of providing internet access to the undeserved communities, a rural information technology centre (RITC) and mobile internet unit was last week launched at Guards Brigade, Mambilla Barracks, Abuja.
The centre is expected to make internet browsing accessible, ATM point of sales terminal and provides host of ICT complimentary services such as telephony and bill payment through chams access booths and kiosks.
In his speech, Prof. Cleopas Angaye, director general, Nitda, said the effort was through a public private partnership between Nitda and Chams Access.
He explained that the RITC and the mobile internet unit will bridge the digital divide and also give hope to the people to join the rest of the world in the digital inclusion.
He said among the 80 centres established across the six geopolitical zones, Mambilla Barrack is the first to commence full operation under the partnership and that if they are properly handle the partnership with Chams Access through the centres will empower rural populace to participate in ICT development and enhance accessibility to information and public administration create job and wealth opportunity and also eradicate poverty among the timing youths.
The DG also said, an appropriate mechanism will be put in place to use the RITC and internet unit to achieve the MDGs objective such as project re-conceptualization, engineering, process design, product installation and marketing.
Angaye noted that chams access is expected to undertake the project management services of the RITCs, and build capacities of the location by adding more hardware facilities as well as providing other services such as e-learning, e-payment, e-telephony, e-health and e-voting. He said chams access will provide business centre, operation facility such as internet access desktop publishing call centre and printing and also recruit and train the man power within the locality.
In a remark, Mr. Femi Gureje, managing director, Chams Access, stated that the mobile internet unit and the RITC initiative will be a veritable tool for information technology and will certainly achieve the mandate of Nitda in bringing ICT closer to the people through the rural internet projects.
According to him, it will provide employment through the youth empowerment and rural development scheme (NEED and SEEDS) and also provide basic infrastructure to enable the people access to basic facilities and services like emergency calls to police, fire service and emergency accident response. He said the partnership will achieve Nitda mandate in the area of rural and urban access to ICT.