Minister for Information and Communications Technology Hon. Timothy Masiu officially opens the Digital Transformation Officers  workshop at the Hilton Hotel this morning.

The Minister for Information and Communications Technology Hon. Timothy Masiu officially launched the first of its kind, the Government to Government (G2G) conference and workshop of all Government and State Agencies’ Digital Transformation Officers (DTO( at the Hilton Hotel in Port Moresby today (Thursday 10 November 2022).

Minister Masiu described the  DTOs Workshop  as  a significant milestone for  the country’s digital transformation journey.

He highlighted the important provisions of the Digital Government Act 2022 that is the key to driving the digital transformation agenda.

The  Act puts in place essential governance frameworks which include :

The   Digital Government Act 2022 also  establishes essential operations and programs which include:

Mr Masiu added that the  final provision  of the Act,  ensures that systems of government can be streamlined and fully integrated by providing:

Minister Masiu told  participants that this  important piece of legislation now sets the foundation to transform  the  public service.

“I understand that you all have been nominated as the Digital Transformation Officer for your respective agencies. This means you are now responsible for leading the digital transformation journey in your agency.”

“This DTOs’ Workshop serves as a critical milestone and now unpack all the efforts my department has made to commence our journey.”

Minister Masiu stated that these efforts include among others,  the cloud based digital building blocks, government shared services, and cyber security initiatives.

“One important effort is the training and capacity building’, said the Minister.

“As Minister, I have spent the last 11 months negotiating capacity building opportunities with development partners and organizations including the Australian Government, the ITU, the Internet Governance Forum and the Global Forum for Cyber Expertise (GFCE) and we have piloted a few already within the National Cyber Security Centre.”

Minister  Masiu said  both the  Ministry and the Department will commit to working closely with these partners to step up on capacity building programs and explore options with the Ministry for Public Services on introducing special allowances for those that obtain specialized ICT skills.

He added, this Government, and particularly the Ministry for ICT have done their part to introduce the Digital Government Act 2022 and it is now their turn to work under this legal framework to drive the digital transformation agenda in the public sector, and it will only happen if we work collaboratively and coordinate well

Minister Masiu thanked the ICT Managers, System Administrators, Network Engineers, IT Technical Officers, Cyber Analysts, and Partners of the Ministry of ICT , especially the  PNG University of Technology , PNG Business Council,  Development Partners and Stakeholders.