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A delegation from the Zambian digital economy sector has arrived Nigeria to understudy the Nigeria’s National Public Key Infrastructure, (NPKI) which the National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA) is the country’s custodian.
The delegation, led by a Director from Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority, Mr Austin Sichinga, disclosed that they decided to “travel thus far” after comparing other African countries’ models and found Nigeria’s model most adoptable and adaptable.
He said, “We are quite eager to engage and learn as much as we can here; and if you see how diverse our team is and the portfolios we traveled with, it is an indication of how much we value the project as we intend to implement it for secured transactions and ensure we are moving on the right path.”
The Director informed that it is the desire of the Zambian government to move on digital path and focus on trade with other partners adding that “one of the things that has to happen is ensuring we are ready with services and interaction with the various partners across the borders.
“While acknowledging that the implementation of the country PKI is long overdue, Mr Sichinga maintained that Zambia’s President has made it known that he wants a non-stop border that will enhance data exchange, secured platforms across institutions.
“The project is long overdue. We have to implement before that conversation on trade and interactions across various platforms within the country and across can happen. So we are really eager to engage and create partnerships so that we can begin to learn from one another,” he said.
In his remarks, the NITDA’s Director General, Kashifu Inuwa, commended Zambian government for taking the initiatives to understudy the Nigeria’s National Public Key infrastructure declaring that NITDA believes that no one succeeds in isolation.
He said, “We need to work as a team, so as Africans, I think this is high time for us to come together; come up with our digital strategy because digital is beyond boundaries, it is borderless.”
Inuwa stated that the Agency has developed Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan, (SRAP) 2021-2024 with seven strategic pillars, and PKI fall under the Developmental Regulation.
He noted that regulation from the Agency’s perceptive is “any intervention that can influence the business social or market behaviour” adding that NITDA regulates to enable innovation and not to stifle it.
Photo Caption:
DG NITDA Kashifu Inuwa and the Director from Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority, Mr Austin Sichinga
