Editor,

Re: ‘Buy local and shun corruption: Kagame’ (The New Times February 8)

This move to incorporate government procurement to promote Made-in-Rwanda and coming from President Kagame himself is a timely one. As a firm believer in ICT and especially software development, I call for the use of local Rwanda softwares (or foreign softwares but with Rwandan software development teams) to be promoted in government procurements.

After a quick perusal of 2016- 2017 procurement plans available on the internet (procurement law obliges entities to publish annual procurement plans in media), kindly allow me to point out examples of software related tenders that could be done locally in Rwanda as an illustration.

1. The National Capacity Building Secretariat: Hiring a company to update asset registry software.

2. Rwanda Governance Board: Provide communication and research applied software.

3. Road Maintenance Fund: Upgrade the software of asset register with stock management software, supply and installation of finger print system to manage staff attendance, supply and installation of RMF management information system

4. Rwanda Civil Aviation: Parking system upgrade and maintenance,

5. Workforce Development Authority: Supply of smart classroom, supply of smart car parking management system, etc..

6. RSSB: upgrade of IP telephone system, modernisation of IT: TODAY IN HISTORY Business process reengineering, maintenance of existing systems, etc…

There are many examples similar to the ones given above. Government budget institutions probably number about 100-150, and going by the above sample, each institution has at least 2 or 3 software to be procured.

Roughly a software could cost between 20 million to 50 million (depending on scope, users, etc), one can do the mathematics, that government tenders could give a much needed shot in the arm to the local software industry. We are confident that this effort will be implemented sooner rather than later. 

Anonymous