Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) in collaboration with Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), organised a ‘Capacity Building on Web Development and Hosting Management’ for participants drawn from the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Government. The training held at the Main Auditorium of the Federal Ministry of Finance, in Abuja
Speaking at the training, Mr. Dasuki Ibrahim Arabi, Director General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) said the Federal Government Scorecard for ranking websites of Federal MDAs is an important index metric which the National e-Government Master Plan has employed for determining Nigeria’s e-Government Status.
Arabi, said their Bureau has made tremendous strides towards improving the standard of websites of Nigerian Government MDAs through the instrumentality of the Scorecard, with majority of the MDAs attaining global level in the quality of goods and services rendered to the public. He added that the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic have pressed the fast-forward button on the global shift to e-government.
He further emphasised that institutional websites, which provide the digital space to keep government business up and running in the face of the pandemic must be kept at optimal standard to exemplify the readiness to adapt to the new normal as well as drive investors’ and citizens’ confidence in terms of ease of doing business, Open Data and the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
Mr. Arabi, while speaking further, explained that there are fourteen strategic thematic areas by which MDAs’ websites must show compliance and are adjudged by the Jury constituted to coordinate the evaluation process. According to him, the thematic areas include gov.ng/ng domain string and local website hosting, Look and Feel, Content, Relevance to MDAs mandate and government policy, Structure, Device Compatibility, Security, Load Time, Usability (ease of navigation), Availability/Uptime, Functionality, Interactivity, Accessibility and Capacity Building.
He added that consistent application of these criteria to government websites will foster the aspiration of the government for MDAs to make information available to the citizens and involve them in the governance process.