DICT needs funding to deliver reforms, Narawec says

PERMANENT Parliamentary Committee on Communications chairman Marsh Narawec and member for Wau Waria has called for greater funding and resources for the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT), saying the department cannot be expected to deliver major reforms without the capacity to do the work.

Narawec made the call during the committee’s multi-agency hearing at Parliament yesterday, where agencies reported on progress against 40 recommendations endorsed by Parliament.

He said about 80 per cent of the recommendations were related to legislation and policy, much of which required work by DICT.

“If we are concerned about the space of technology, AI and social media and all this, this department needs to be funded,” Narawec said.

DICT Deputy Secretary for Policy and Emerging Technologies Mr. Flierl Shongol told the hearing that the department had an upgraded structure with 260 positions, but the full structure was not funded.

He said DICT submitted its funding requirements for the full structure but knew it would not receive the full amount, forcing the department to prioritise its needs.

“We submit for full funding, but we know we won’t get the full amount, so we break it down and prioritize,” Shongol said.

Shongol said recruitment was expected to begin next year if sufficient funding was available.

Narawec said the funding issue was important because DICT was carrying responsibility for a large number of the committee’s recommendations, including developing policies and legislation for the rapidly changing technology sector.

“If we are concerned about the space of technology, AI and social media and all this, this department needs to be funded,” he said.

The recommendations being followed up include work on misinformation and social media, artificial intelligence, digital and media literacy, government information and access to information.