Friday 13th June 2025
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and PNG DataCo Limited have officially signed the Managed Service Agreement, declaring PNG DataCo’s role as the Government’s implementation partner for critical digital infrastructure.
Addressing Senior officials from DICT and DataCo at the signing event, the Minister for Information and Communications Technology, Hon. Timothy Masiu emphasized the significance of the partnership in strengthening PNG’s digital ecosystem.
“Today’s signing officially establishes PNG DataCo as the Government’s implementation partner for GovCloud Infrastructure Services, the Central Electronic Data Repository, and the Government Private Network,” Minister Masiu stated.
“This agreement aligns with key frameworks, including the Digital Transformation Policy 2020, the Digital Government Act 2022, and the Digital Government Plan 2023-2027, ensuring secure cloud hosting, data redundancy, and seamless connectivity across public institutions.”
Minister Masiu declared that a core component of this agreement is Data Sovereignty, “non-negotiable.”
He affirmed that PNG DataCo’s stewardship guarantees that all government and citizen data remains securely within Papua New Guinea’s borders, protected under national laws.
DICT Secretary Mr Steven Matainaho, highlighted the progress from policy to legislation and then to execution.
“We must ensure that we get the framework right,” he said.
Echoing this sentiment, PNG DataCo CEO Paul Komboi highlighted the years of groundwork leading up to this moment.
“We have been working behind the scenes with DICT. This is not new to us—this partnership is about taking action,” he stated.
Immediate directives under the agreement include:
- Migration of all public bodies to gov.pg domains
- Transition of all cloud-based services to GovCloud
- Backing up critical government data in the Central Repository
- Routing inter-agency traffic through the Government Private Network
- Integration of G2G systems with SevisPass, the forthcoming Digital ID solution
Minister Masiu made it clear that compliance with the Digital Government Act 2022 is mandatory.
He urged agencies yet to appoint a Digital Transformation Officer (DTO) to do so and ensure alignment with DICT and PNG DataCo.
With the agreement now in place, PNG’s digital government agenda enters full-scale implementation, building trust in government digital services and enhancing operational efficiency across the public sector.
“Let us work together to ensure timely compliance, data security, and unified digital service delivery for the benefit of our people,” Minister Masiu concluded.