Thursday 3 August 2023
Highlands Regional Workshop underway in Mt Hagen, (WHP). The digital transformation officer with the Hela Provincial Health Authority Ms Dora Dugube is seated far right.
A female digital transformation officer with the Hela Provincial Health Authority wants to see more awareness carried out in the provinces to educate provincial governments to align internal ICT plans with Digital Act 2022 and Digital Government Plan 2023-2027.
Ms Dora Dugube, Hela PHA’s ICT manager made these remarks after attending the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s Highlands Regional Awareness and Consultation workshop themed: ‘Be Informed, Be Aware”, conducted from 25-26 July, in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands Province.
For Ms Dugube and her team, who traveled by road all the way from Hela province just to attend the two days program, said it was an ‘eye-opener’ for her team which included HELA PHA chief executive officer, Dr James Kintwa.
“For me as a ICT female professional, it is quite a challenge working in the health sector in the Hela Province but hearing first hand how the Department of Information and Communications Technology is trying to get things moving in the ICT sector in the country, I am grateful and will work closely with the technical team from DICT to comply and meet set policies and standards currently being imposed by the Digital Government Act within my respective department and PHA.
“For us as DTOs’ working with the provincial governments and PHAs’, it is important for to comply and align our internal ICT policies and plans now to meet the government’s bigger aim of achieving service delivery at the sub-national and district level utilizing the digital space,” Ms Dugube said.
According to Mr James Ogia, DICT’s senior management advisor, “The objective of the workshop was to carry out adequate awareness about the Digital Government Act 2022, of which the DICT is a custodian.
“The main focus is to inform the Digital Transformation Officers (DTOs’) in the provinces and at the national agencies about the appropriate policies that are put in place as well as highlight other such polices being developed to ensure the implementation of the Act.”
Participants for the Highlands regional awareness workshop included DTOs’ and senior provincial representatives from Western Highlands Provincial Government, Western Highlands Provincial Health Authority (WHPHA), Hela Provincial Government and Provincial Health Authority (HelaPHA), Jiwaka Provincial Government and Provincial Health Authority (JPHA), Southern Highlands Provincial Government and Treasury’s highlands office who attended were able to get first hand information on what the Department of Information and Communications Technology is currently undertaking the GoPNGs’ digital transformation agenda in the country.
Participants expressed their gratitude and have vowed to network and work more closely with DICT to align their respective internal ICT policies and plans as stipulated under the Digital Government Act 2022.